Gloomis rod that might double as frog, pitching, heavy crank

[Pfisher]

I rarely do any of these but want to start with the frog and deep crank.  Is there a rod that might work for both without me having to buy two?  I'm looking at IMX pro or maybe even e6x.   

In case anyone is wondering, I'm not rich just getting ready for retirement in about a year and don't want to purchase any more rods after that. ?

Once again .... thanks. 

[JediAmoeba]

Neither one of these applications really require an ultra sensitive rod so why not buy two rods for about the same price - ~200 dollars per rod?  To me there is really only a huge jump in the more expensive rods when fishing contact baits.

 

Sounds like you will have a lot of time to fish so you may as well have technique specific rods.

[TigerBassAU]

E6x 884 swbr will do both. Not the best for either technique but can handle both. Also good for almost any heavy moving bait in the 1/2 - 1 1/2 range! 

[Pfisher]

If I can find something that will handle both reasonably well I will buy the IMX-Pro simply because of the weight difference.  In the rods I have used in the same model in both  e6x and IMX pro so far the IMX is lighter to me by some measure.  Or maybe they are better balanced?  

Thanks for the responses so far. 

[FishTank]

I have the older 844C IMX and it does pretty well for a general purpose rod when it comes to heavier applications.  My personal favorite rod for general purpose use though, is the St. Croix Avid 7' MH fast.  It is not as sensitive as the IMX but it gets the job done when I want to take one rod with me on my kayak or when I am bank fishing.  I have used it for pretty much everything.  As far as power goes, I would say the Heavy IMX is as equal to the MH Avid.  The great thing about the Avid, it is about $100 less than the IMX. 

[TigerBassAU]

The 884 is by far my favorite of the e6x models I own. It balances really well with my 7+ oz Lews super duty reel. It does feel a little heavy but not unbalanced. It has enough tip to walk the frog with braid but its action is slow enough to allow the fish to engulf it, then it hits its backbone. This is what makes it a good deep crank rod also. Bonus for large whopper ploppers, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, arigs, etc. IMX Pro has the 904 swbr, but not a fan of the 18 inch handle for froggin.  

[Spy]

Another vote for the IMX Pro 844c, it's one which does everything you asked for and everything you didn't as well.      Multiple rods are great if you have the deck space but when you add up the cost of putting reels on them all it gets to be a bit much. Better to buy it right the first time and get a quality reel to match so you can still be happily fishing without having to worry about upgrading.

[Dwight Hottle]

I would recommend the IMX Pro 844C MBR rated up to 1 oz baits. It's a classic rod taper that can handle just about anything. If you don't want that heavy you can go with a 843C MBR rated up to 3/4 oz.

[LegendaryBassin]

16 hours ago, TigerBassAU said:

The 884 is by far my favorite of the e6x models I own. It balances really well with my 7+ oz Lews super duty reel. It does feel a little heavy but not unbalanced. It has enough tip to walk the frog with braid but its action is slow enough to allow the fish to engulf it, then it hits its backbone. This is what makes it a good deep crank rod also. Bonus for large whopper ploppers, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, arigs, etc. IMX Pro has the 904 swbr, but not a fan of the 18 inch handle for froggin.  

Yep. 884 is the way to go. Much better than the 844 for the application. You'll be happy with the 884 and not look back as TigerBassAU suggested.

[roadwarrior]

On 10/15/2019 at 11:23 PM, FishTank said:

I have the older 844C IMX and it does pretty well for a general purpose rod when it comes to heavier applications.  

Great all-around rod!

 

[Pfisher]

On 10/16/2019 at 12:15 AM, TigerBassAU said:

The 884 is by far my favorite of the e6x models I own. It balances really well with my 7+ oz Lews super duty reel. It does feel a little heavy but not unbalanced. It has enough tip to walk the frog with braid but its action is slow enough to allow the fish to engulf it, then it hits itsbackbone. This is what makes it a good deep crank rod also. Bonus for large whopper ploppers, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, arigs, etc. IMX Pro has the 904 swbr, but not a fan of the 18 inch handle for froggin.  

I looked at those two.  I have access to an 844 that I can fish some and may order the 884 as it looks like a multipurpose rod also.  

 

So the e6x have a shorter handle?

 

Thanks for all the replies folks.  This would be much tougher without the responses.

[KP Duty]

The 844 is one of my favorite blanks in any loomis line, but I have eyeballed that 884 and in this case it gets my vote 

[WRB]

Every time I see "Loomis" it remands me of my late fishing partner Fred. Fred owned nearly every a Gary Loomis rod made including the NRX series in later years from Drop shot spinning to Big Sswimbait rods, 27 total.

I had the opportunity to try them all over several years, good rods but IMO not exceptional. Fred was always looking for the perfect rod and Loomis was his gold standard.

Long story shorten Fred usually  "borrowed" one of my rods to try out and caught bass with them. The bottom line is how a rod works for you not it's price tag.

If you want a rod to double as a deep cranking aand from rod try Irod IRG754F it works for both.

Tom

 

[TigerBassAU]

10 hours ago, Pfisher said:

I looked at those two.  I have access to an 844 that I can fish some and may order the 884 as it looks like a multipurpose rod also.  

 

So the e6x have a shorter handle?

 

Thanks for all the replies folks.  This would be much tougher without the responses.

Compared to the IMX Pro 904 swbr, yes! 

E6X 884 swbr 15 1/2".

IMX Pro 904 swbr 18"

The 844 MBR is 15-15 1/4 " for E6X-IMX Pro. 

 

 

 

[Efishin]

28 minutes ago, WRB said:

Every time I see "Loomis" it remands me of my late fishing partner Fred. Fred owned nearly every a Gary Loomis rod made including the NRX series in later years from Drop shot spinning to Big Sswimbait rods, 27 total.

I had the opportunity to try them all over several years, good rods but IMO not exceptional. Fred was always looking for the perfect rod and Loomis was his gold standard.

Long story shorten Fred usually  "borrowed" one of my rods to try out and caught bass with them. The bottom line is how a rod works for you not it's price tag.

If you want a rod to double as a deep cranking aand from rod try Irod IRG754F it works for both.

Tom

 

That is all irrelevant to the OP question. G Loomis is still the gold standard. Everyone is still being compared to G Loomis. The E6X rod is in fact the old IMX blank and is much improved over the prior generation. G Loomis is a premier high-end rod company in the fishing industry and they have been one of the leaders for years.

 

The G Loomis 884C SWBR E6X is a perfect rod as as versatile as it gets and was a great recommendation from TigerBass. The 844C MBR is legendary for its versatility but IMO the 884 will excel better for the applications described. Great recommendation TigerBass! I highly recommend that rod.

[scbassin]

What you are looking for is a rod that requires 2 different actions. The baits are fished in different types of cover.  Frogs are usually found in & around heavy cover where you need a different type of rod blank & power to set a different style of hooks & power to get the fish out of the cover. When fishing a crank bait you use lighter line so the rod blank needs more forgiveness to keep the fish buttoned up. If you know someone that designs rod blanks they can explain much better then I did. While looking around on the net I found that Dobyns Rods described what each rod was best suited for. I still wanted a little more info So I called the company & having a pair of brass ones I ask to speak to Gary Dobyns & told the girl what I wanted & he spoke with me. I have discovered they do have a few other people that answer questions. After he helped me I purchased a Dobyns rod to see if what he had to was a sales pitch. The rod was just what I was looking for, now every time I want a new rod I call or e-mail Gary tell what I am looking for & I get the rod he suggests & it has always been spot on. One can figure out I am a big Dobyns fan. I in no way work for the company the only thing I have to do with the company is that I buy their rods. There service is amazing they are very helpful. Gary told me that loves to talk to people about rods. I have 14 of there rods & spoke to him each time unless I was buying another of the same rod.

[Pfisher]

7 hours ago, TigerBassAU said:

Compared to the IMX Pro 904 swbr, yes! 

E6X 884 swbr 15 1/2".

IMX Pro 904 swbr 18"

The 844 MBR is 15-15 1/4 " for E6X-IMX Pro. 

 

 

 

That is exactly what I need to know!  Thanks!

 

Guys I know all about other roda and have fished many of them for a day with friends.  I appreciate the input but my original question still stands.