punch

I wrestled with this quite a bit and did a ton of research... NRX 4 power JWR VS. Megabass Destroyer FMJ?! I went back and forth and back and forth and decided on the FMJ as my dedicated jig rod. I've owned NRX's in the past, and really enjoyed them. First off, Megabass is NOT exactly in the same price range as NRX. Destroyers are $400, and NRX's go north of $500 MSRP. So there's more "value" in the destroyer. Heck GLX's are more expensive than a Destroyer. Used, NRX's go for about 325-350 and Destroyers go for about 300. Destroyers have way less of a deprecation, but NRX's never go under 300 bucks used. For tossing jigs from 1/2oz-1oz you're basically going to compare the NRX 894c/854c, and the FMJ. Allegedly the 894C is the gold-standard jig rod. The crown jewel in the NRX line. If you can afford that rod and have a locker that can hold a 7'5" rod. That's the one to get. End of story. What's the big differences between the NRX 4 power JWR's and the Megabass FMJ? I'll make a quick list.. 1.) Gloomis has a lifetime warranty, Megabass just has a 3 year warranty. Yup that sucks. 2.) NRX's fit & finish isn't even CLOSE to Megabass. The blank is the shining star on a NRX.. however the guides can typically be misaligned, guide wraps can be kinda imperfect, and the handle is kinda outdated and some find it uncomfortable. The fit & finish on the Megabass is impeccable Japanese perfectness. The guide wraps are beautiful, the handle is amazing and there's so many little details that blow away anything Loomis does. It's like a ferarri next to a chevy camaro. 3.) Balance. Megabass Destroyers are superbly balanced compared to the NRX. Yes the NRX's are insanely light but the balance is not $500 good. Destroyers balance is $400 'wow.. that's amazing'. Infact Megabass has amazing balance in the XX & new Levante's as well. 4.) Weight is a bit of a wash. They both are insanely light. 5.) FMJ has tons of power but also has a very good tip for a "heavy". The way they designed the blank for the FMJ, the tip's material has a different makup than the base of the rod making it feel less like a heavy meatstick. It almost feels like a MH if you pick it up and aren't aware that it's a heavy rod that can go up to 1.5oz. It doesn't feel like a broomstick at all. The 894 feels a little stiff BUT it makes up for that by being longer and giving you a lot of blank to load up with on a hookset. 6.) If you fish shallow cover & docks and want to skip, then you'll probably want to look at the FMJ vs the 854c. Lots of NRX nerds say that the 854c is NOT as good of a rod as the 894c. This is obviously personal opinions but people say the 4 power rod to get is the 894c. 7.) Both rods hold their value extremely well, and picking up a used rod means IF you get it for the right price, you'll be able to resell it in a few years for very close to what you paid for it. It's kinda like a rental if you treat it right! I picked the FMJ because I fish in 10' or less most of the time, and I love fishing docks with jigs.. so the shorter rod appealed to me more than the 7'5 NRX. I also liked the price AND I was floored with the balance & craftsmanship of the rod. I have a feeling more Destroyers are going to start appearing in my rod locker over the next few years.

Scott Martin and B. Lat are winning a bunch of money on Favorite rods already this year.... and Mark Daniels Jr won an Elite event last year with Favorite rods. They can't ALL be junk haha. B.Lat won his event flipping grass with a MH Big Sexy and a bug. I've "store tested" a few of the rods and they definitely seem to be pretty basic components & random japanese blanks with some very fancy colors/handles. I think their branding is a bit confusing to be honest.. what's the key differences between a big sexy, a phantom, a rush and a defender? Beats me. Favorite's niche is obviously the under 21yo market, which is fine. If my kid got amped up to go fishing and wanted a Lunkers or Rigged rod because thats what the youtube guys use.. I'd probably buy him one. Favorite definitely found an uncharted marketing stream by pushing hard on youtube and scooping up the influencers into long term deals. The other rod brands really wiffed on that and i'm sure are kicking themselves. Their sales must be great because they got a LOT of marketing dollars to throw around this year.

One of them actually has a 25% off code going right now... on everything.

They did? Where have you seen this?

Yeah... Garmin ain't worried. The image quality is pretty bad, IMHO. The ducer is a grand. If you have Carbon units you'll have to get an additional box. https://www.russellmarineproducts.com/Lowrance-LiveSight-Transom-Mount-Transducer-w-Moun-p/000-14458-001-low.htm

Yeah.. it's a pile of stuff that's clearly overstock/slow sellers. Lame.

They are discontinued, fyi

I'm definitely going to the show on Friday, I want to catch John Cox's Shallow Water presentation which I think is at 6pm.

Pretty sure Favorite's reels are just branded generic Doyo's.. the parts are interchangeable with some Kast King and other 'no name' reels from the same plant.

It'll be another month or two. Use the app people.

He already has. I'm going to assume there will be a Scott Martin series of Favorite rods next year. Favorite also has Dustin Connell, Mark Daniels Jr, Brian Latimer and some guy named Andy Morgan. Impressive bullpen.

My favorite thing in tournament fishing coverage right now is that the tours commentary teams can't say "Chatterbait" anymore, they have to say "vibrating jig". Everyone knows that 95% of them are tossing jackhammers (or another zman product).

I use 12lb mono

Funny because I use a GLX 852s and a ballistic LT for my ned duties. Sorry Mr. Kehde. There's a new Zodias 7'3" ML rod that came out recently that seems like it would be the perfect Ned rod. I keep playing with it in my local tackle shop.

I picked up that same legend glass model this winter. It's going to be my dedicated squarebill rod.. can't wait to use it.

Nobody had mentioned the Plano KVD speed bags yet?! These were a game changer last year for me in my boat. Kept me super organized and they don't take up the kind of room plastic bins do. I have a ton of them now. https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Plano_KVD_Signature_Series_Speedbag_Wormfiles/descpage-KSB.html?from=basres

daaaaaaaaaaaaaang

Some of these promo's are "expo only", like if you buy a reel at the expo and walk over they give you a coupon/form that you can send in if you show them you bought a reel at the show. A lot of the time they will have boxes of the shirts there and will just hand you one on the spot. If Daiwa's not advertising it on their site, this is likely the case. A lot of the bigger companies do these "show promotions" throughout the expo season.

Bass fishing can be expensive, but don't complain around around Musky guys.

TA is one of the best...a true fishing gear nerd.

13 runs pretty accurate to their ratings in my experience.

What do you guys like to use your 893C for? I picked up a GLX 893c and I've never owned this model loomis before. Seems like it can do a lot?

Because a hook will bend out? I'd argue it's MAYBE bad thing if you're not using quality hooks. If braid (on spinning gear) even had a chance of bending out light-wire hooks then why is nearly every pro bass angler that dropshots (or finesse fishing in general on spinning gear) using braid to a floro leader? They seem to be able to boat big fish on braid to floro, with no problems. Edwin got that 9lber in shallow water on a spinning rod/braid/floro leader just a few weeks ago in the BPT. It's basically the standard setup tournament anglers nowadays. Wouldn't using quality hooks matter the most? I use VMC neko hooks (so do many pro's), which i would consider 'light-wire' and i've hooked into some big fish and never had one bend. Heck I've hooked into some nasty rocks & tree's with a neko and the line broke off before it bent out. I hooked into a 43" Musky this past summer on a NRX 852s spinning rod, stradic ci4+ 2500 with 10lb power pro braid to a 8lb floro leader. I was fishing a neko worm with a VMC neko hook. I fought that fish for about 30 minutes, including multiple runs he made. The hook didn't even come close to bending out. I landed it too. I'm not trying to be a contrarian, but i'm a hardcore finesse guy and in my experience if you have a decent reel and a good hook.. you're not bending out a light-wire hook on a bass with braid.

If you look at the history of eBay coupon drops, they don't drop a good coupon until March.. https://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=95707580&postcount=364&attr_track=Meta:Checkout:not eligible|Meta:CheckoutDisplayed:False|Test:ButtonReturningUsers:AppToApp&adobeRef=dd77467ffadd4e11bc25106415599580