Manifestgtr

This is going to sound a bit odd but since both are great reels, I’d at least consider opting for the heavier one, whichever that may be. The NRX is a great line but they’re a bit older and they were designed with older, heavier reels in mind, balance-wise…reels that were being released 2010-2012. Strictly speaking, they’ve always felt BEST with e series, g series, etc…to me at least. That being said, my favorite NRX combo reels are 13-16 metaniums and aldebarans, the latter of which is ridiculously lightweight. They don’t balance perfectly but they’re SO lightweight, it’s kind of a wash. That’s my 2 cents…either go for balance with a slightly heavier reel or go for broke and get something so lightweight that it tends not to matter.

My budget’s pretty flexible…I mostly throw Conquests, NRXs, etc. but I love my St Croix Victory and Mojo stuff, too. If a $50 rod will throw comfortably for 8 hours at a clip, I’ll use that. Performance, repeatability and reliability are all I really care about.

Yes, precisely…that’s why you need anecdotal experience with rod recommendations sometimes. Most manufacturers don’t really give you the “light tip but gets into the backbone quickly” as part of their specs/descriptions. I have actually considered adding some floating weight…for whatever reason, I just haven’t gone down that road yet.

My favorite frog is the pad crasher jr in bluegill pattern…I’d say I throw it 80% of the time I’m throwing a frog. It just works in my area. It’s a tough bait to throw because its hook is somewhat stoutish but it’s incredibly lightweight. On top of that, I toss it in the usual froggy areas where you need to pump em out quickly. All of this adds up to a bait that you want to throw on a heavy rod…but it’s just been exceedingly difficult to achieve the accuracy/consistency I’m looking for with my heavy 7’2” zodias (current light frog rod). Does anyone else throw this bait or a similarly lightweight frog? My rod locker is entirely loomis and st croix but I’m wondering if I might have to branch out to find a more specialized rod for this application…heavy but capable of throwing a 1/4oz frog with authority. Any brand is fine…all I ever really care about is performance. Any suggestions would be a killer help.

the e’s and the higher end shimanos don’t really suffer from this issue. My aldes, metaniums and e series have remained solid (with normal maintenance and a yearly teardown). I think it’s mostly the smaller k’s and slx that go geary for some guys

Depends on what you’re looking to do and whether or not you’re willing to go used. The best <$200 I ever spent was on a 13 metanium xg. It was used but in great shape and it’s been a workhorse ever since.

This seems to be a hallmark of the smaller curado type reels, unfortunately…I also had an slx mgl go geary as well. The two that have remained rock solid for years on end have been my engetsu 100 and my original curado 70hg I stick mostly to aldebarans and metaniums nowadays as a result. I love the smaller curados but I hate that vibrating, geary feeling. Shimano is gonna have to address that at some point…

I went through a similar process when I finally decided I needed to get good with a jig. I spent an entire week fishing nothing but jigs, not caring if they were even hitting jigs (they usually were…) The “pick it up and sit there” hit is the reason I now use my most sensitive rod for jigs. If I miss a jig hit, I wanna know it’s “my fault”.

I purchased my first Victory at the beginning of the season…68mxf casting and paired it with a 13 metanium for jerkbaits. I’ve been a longtime St Croix fan…my entire rod locker (including fly rods) consists of Loomis and St Croix almost exclusively. It all fits under the “if it ain’t broke” philosophy, I guess. The Victory is the first rod in a long time that’s made a serious impression on me. From a purely ergonomic standpoint, it compares favorably with my Legend X, NRX and Conquest stuff. You’re not going to get that level of sensitivity with a $200 rod…it’s not a reasonable thing to ask for. But to have similar weights and similar levels of comfort, it really narrows the field in terms of feel on the water. Grabbing the Victory setup to throw a vision 110 after having worked a fluke down the bank for an hour with a legend x/aldebaran…and having it feel nearly identical in terms of comfort? It’s almost shocking, really. What everyone says is true…the actions don’t match their designation. If you’re looking for an extra fast rod, this isn’t it. It might be the fastest in the lineup but in reality, it’s a fast rod and that’s it. That’s one thing to look out for if you’re interested in this series. There have also been sporadic reports of breakage but I’ve never broken a rod where it wasn’t my fault so I’m not exactly worried. Other than that, it’s nearly weightless, it feels “expensive” (more expensive than NRX, imo) and it balances about as well as you can expect given the price/weight. If you’re a high end rod enthusiast, these are unbelievable for reaction style baits. That’s their true utility for my purposes. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, lipless, jerkbaits, swimjigs, all that fun stuff. I can’t speak to their use for bottom contact as the most feel-oriented bait I’ve thrown is a fluke and I’d say it returns about 75% of the sensitivity that my normal Legend X setup does. Again, not bad. That last 25% is gonna double the price of your rod but that’s just how these things go. All in all, these are remarkable rods and I’d say they excel in two categories. As previously mentioned, for reaction baits if you like high end rods. The other is if you want to experience NRX/Conquest levels of lightness and comfort without breaking the bank. My brother’s 68mxf victory/aldebaran is basically identical in weight and balance to my 803c NRX/aldebaran at nearly half the cost…

I’m a Shimano guy myself but either will be great for senkos. I’d say, if you like to lean on your brakes and let the reel work for you, go Daiwa…if you like a free-wheeling setup that’s more “user-controlled”, go Shimano.

Conquest 844c mbr It’ll happily throw any jig in my arsenal…even finesse jigs well below its intended weight range. A close second would be the legend x 68mxf…it’s dynamite for flukes specifically, so it’s less versatile than the 844c but it’s so good for weightless flukes, it’s in the discussion.

Agreed...modern manufacturing and machining tolerances have gotten tight enough that a “good” reel isn’t necessarily expensive anymore. There are sub $100 reels on the market that are perfectly usable...slx, fuego, etc. I look for serviceability and the easy purchase of parts. Even if it means importing them...that’s ok as long as I love the reel. OP, don’t worry about price *quite* so much. If you get a reel from a legacy manufacturer that appeals to you, with good “word on the street” (from trusted sources, like the folks here), chances are, you’ll have it for many years. I have a Scorpion XT1000 that’s well over a decade old and it gets better in my hands every day.

Not surprised at all. Big Game is great line. It definitely runs a bit thick for its lb test rating. I fish it a “size” down for such reasons. I believe the 10lb test has about a .012 diameter, so I typically fish Big Game 8lb for most 10lb applications....and it’s STILL a great line.

If you have a lot of pike, there are two options. One, do some research on steel leaders or two, target bass as best you can and come to grips with the fact that you’re just gonna get broken off occasionally. The latter is what I do. There are some pickerel and muskies around me but I don’t target them...they just hit sometimes. I lose a bait here and there but hey, it’s just the cost of doing business.

You can practice feeling that sensation by doing some little pops and lifts. If your rod is lively, you should be able to feel that landing on most bottoms...even on a somewhat slack drop. If you have 20 feet of slack, might be a bit tougher.

Legend X medium is one of my favorite rods. I’ve paired mine with a curado 70 quite nicely in the past...but for the last couple of years, I’ve kept an aldebaran hg on it which had spoiled me. I have combos costing hundreds more that don’t feel so nice. But yeah...either or...the Daiwa guys are gonna swear by Daiwa, the Shimano guys are gonna swear by Shimano. Buy what appeals to you.

This is a major reason I still use a normal clinch knot for most mono (maybe not so much with fluoro? I don’t use fluoro). It returns ALMOST 100% of your line’s strength but there’s just enough there to break off at the knot if you need to. I fish around a ton of wood and you’ll usually get your bait back when it hangs up but sometimes it’s just hopeless. The last thing I ever wanna leave in the water is any length of line so if things are obviously hopeless, I grab my line (never putting any excess shock or pressure on my rod/reel) and pull til it breaks. As an added bonus, sometimes you’ll actually force your bait free...

I use my most sensitive rods for jigs, bottom contact and moving plastics. Moving plastics might seem a little weird for sensitive rods but sometimes those bites can be a little funny to detect unless you’re working it near the surface.

This x 1000 I have an app that tracks the space station . There have been certain nights where I’ve watched the space station fly from the coast of North Carolina (I’m in Massachusetts) all the way over and past Halifax. You can set reminder alarms, too. Technology has gotten unbelievable...

Anyone who swings through the Boston area, feel free to shoot me a PM. My boat isn’t the nicest but if nothing else, I can definitely put you on fish near the mass/nh border.

Same here...bass have a much more vertical fight than pike species. And if the pulsing is rapid, you’ve probably hooked that little sunfish that was nibbling on your senko, etc.

I’ve spent the past 5 years or so really working on this. It’s all about technique and repeatability...you don’t need expensive stuff, just experience. I’ve spent several afternoons on docks practicing quiet entries and pitching. That’s the best way to practice, imo. There will always be a small margin of error (even high level pros get stuck in the trees) but you have to get it to the point where you know exactly what your bait is going to do on release. The one specific thing I can tell you is that raising your rod tip on the back end of the cast really helps. It has this dual action of slowing your bait down while disrupting its ballistic trajectory. It’s something I just realized I was doing one day and made a mental note. Once you have that timing down, you’re going to be a LOT less noisy. You can also experiment with your thumb. Try stopping your bait at different points, etc. See what’s most effective and develop that...

This is a really difficult one. I actually sat for a few minutes and thought about my favorite rods/lines. I have individuals from several lines that make up my personal favorite lineup of rods. If you really twisted my arm, I’d probably say the shimano/loomis conquest line. Among my rods, they have the best combination of stoutness, lightness and sensitivity. NRX is up there too...I just get a little wary about really swinging for the fences with my NRX stuff. The conquests feel like you could winch a truck with them... A really close contender is the Legend X series from St Croix. You don’t hear them mentioned often but they’re my favorite lineup from St Croix. Top of the line components, lightweight, great balance and amazing tapers for working moving plastics, etc.

I’ve been doing a ton of fly fishing this year. Some springs are like that for me. I get trout fever...then before I know it, it’s mid-April and I realize I’m completely blowing the prespawn. I do occasionally take a bass on the fly but it’s always unintentional. There are a few brooks near me where trout and bass coexist... The thing about fly fishing for bass is that it’s not quite as flexible. You really shouldn’t be casting a fly into small pocket of brush or large weed beds with the occasional hole. Maybe there are some guys who can do it? I’m not one of those guys. Freshwater fishing has always held two distinct forms for me. Conventional tackle for bass and fly rods for trout and panfish. I just see them as being two different skill sets.

I agree...I typically buy my rods new but I’ve gotten some killer deals on used rods over the years. Got a barely used 744c conquest for under $400 and it’s still my go to jig rod. One of my NRX was used too but I don’t remember exactly what I paid...still alive and kicking though, after several years. Some guys shy away from the used market and I understand why. Warranties tend to be limited and you never know who owned/maintained it previously. So you *have to* be willing to take that risk. If you aren’t though, plenty of manufacturers make great rods in that price range. My favorites are St Croix’s mojo bass (the victory is nice supposedly...I just haven’t used one yet) but Daiwa’s tatulas, pretty much anything Dobyns and basically any $100-200 Shimano will all be great. Rod manufacturing has grown LEAPS in the last ten years. You definitely don’t have to spend $400 to get a great rod anymore... Regardless of model, I recommend a 6’8”-7’2” MH for all around use. That length/weight will throw most baits at least reasonably well.