I was in the market for a North GA highland reservoir kayak rod to pair with a heavy rod (7’4” HF St Croix Legend X) and a moving bait rod (7’1” MHXF St Croix Legend Xtreme which is surprisingly moderate). The H rod will handle 1/2 oz+ jigs, Carolina, heavy duty everything and the current MH rod will focus on moving baits/trebles, with a spinning rod for finesse applications. The new rod will be the bridge between the two, really focusing on lighter (1/4-3/8 oz-ish) weight jigs and soft plastics with just a toe in some “all purpose” versatility. Looking for target casting in shallow water and bottom contact in deeper water. 
 

Was thinking the 853C fits the bill nicely. I’m also wondering if it’s fast to the point that landing fish in a kayak will be more difficult. I can tell this thing seems crazy sensitive and I could see loving it for the baits in its wheelhouse but keep hearing that jig rods should be slower for landing fish, especially for kayaks to which I am very new. 

873CRR without a second thought

23 minutes ago, MidwestBassAttack said:

873CRR without a second thought

Does it do well with lighter jigs/texas rigs? I heard this rod has more power than the 854. I wish they had one to test locally but the shop I go to didn’t have one of those to test. 

853 matches your request but another more diverse option is the 843 mbr. 

I threw lighter jigs and texas rigs with my 853c on my kayak and it suited me well.

 

I've since switched to a Poison Adrena

2 hours ago, TBAG said:

I threw lighter jigs and texas rigs with my 853c on my kayak and it suited me well.

 

I've since switched to a Poison Adrena

Interesting, why the switch? Those Adrenas always feel great in hand. 

I have the 853c NRX and have no issues landing fish. If you are fishing 1/4 to 3/8 jigs with a trailer you should be fine. I fish mine with 1/2oz jigs and it seems to shine here. I also use it for 1/2 Dark Sleepers as well. If you want a softer tip with a fast taper, look at the MBR series. The 843c would be great. I also have the 873c mentioned above.  It too is a great rod. A little heavier than the 853c but not much. 

3 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I have the 853c NRX and have no issues landing fish. If you are fishing 1/4 to 3/8 jigs with a trailer you should be fine. I fish mine with 1/2oz jigs and it seems to shine here. I also use it for 1/2 Dark Sleepers as well. If you want a softer tip with a fast taper, look at the MBR series. The 843c would be great. I also have the 873c mentioned above.  It too is a great rod. A little heavier than the 853c but not much. 

I went back to the store and they had an 873. It was definitely closer to my heavy rod than to what I wanted in a MH. Unfortunately I now also want either an 873 or an 894 for dragging slightly bigger stuff but for now I’m tapped out. The 853c came home with me and I just spent 2 hours on the lake in the rain. I reaalllly like this thing. 

7 minutes ago, Scud_Muffin said:

I went back to the store and they had an 873. It was definitely closer to my heavy rod than to what I wanted in a MH. Unfortunately I now also want either an 873 or an 894 for dragging slightly bigger stuff but for now I’m tapped out. The 853c came home with me and I just spent 2 hours on the lake in the rain. I reaalllly like this thing. 

Nice. I have yet to fish an NRX rod that wasn't a pleasure. 

 

On a side note, I just picked up the NRX+ NRR 821S. That makes 6 NRX's. It gets addictive. 

17 minutes ago, FishTank said:

Nice. I have yet to fish an NRX rod that wasn't a pleasure. 

 

On a side note, I just picked up the NRX+ NRR 821S. That makes 6 NRX's. It gets addictive. 

I could see this being a thing. I’m confident I will find a way to justify more. 

1 hour ago, Scud_Muffin said:

I could see this being a thing. I’m confident I will find a way to justify more. 

I have a few guys that will, when they can, get me a good deal on them but this last one I got at the Indy Boat Sport and Travel show.  I got if for $475. It's not a second, brand new with tags. At that price, I am sort of OK with it.  At full price, it keeps getting harder to convince myself that I need it (or at least that's what I keep telling myself). 

13 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I have a few guys that will, when they can, get me a good deal on them but this last one I got at the Indy Boat Sport and Travel show.  I got if for $475. It's not a second, brand new with tags. At that price, I am sort of OK with it.  At full price, it keeps getting harder to convince myself that I need it (or at least that's what I keep telling myself). 

Yes I don’t think I would pay full price. But if it can be found at a reasonable price point, I’m apparently willing to splurge occasionally. I really can’t get over this thing, I’ve not owned another rod like it.