What’s up y’all. Back again…. Any rods here seem redundant? The windbuster is new. Gonna see how I like it vs the 872 and then prob sell whichever I prefer less. Thinking my next rod should be an NRX+ 894c, other issue is I can’t bring all of these on the yak with me each time out. Think 894 is the right pick or go a different route? Is it too similar to the 873? Looking to find something for jigs in cover and would love if it could handle some frogging duties in sparse grass as well. 
 

Spinning:

 

- Expride 6’10 MSB (solid tip):  

dedicated strolling 3-4”

- Expride 7’2 ML:

Dedicated drop shots; neds; okashira’s

- NRX+ 842s SJR:  

4” senko work; heavier/deeper dropshots; neds; small swim baits/spybaits; 4-6” strolling; do it all rod

- NRX+ 852s JWR:  

shallow water - Shakey heads; 1/4 oz t rigs; wacky rigs; 5” senko work 

- NRX+ 872s JWR:  

deeper water - Shakey heads; tubes; paddle tails; free rigs??

- Megabass P5 Windbuster:

free rigs; do it all; jerkbaits when feel like throwing on spinning 

Casting:

 

- Megabass P5 Destroyer OneTen Stick: jerkbaits/finesse cranks

- Megabass P5 Destroyer Dark Sleeper:

3/8-3/4oz Dark Sleeper; 1/4-3/8oz Texas rigs; 3.8-4.3” swimbaits; do it all 3/8-1/2oz; spinnerbaits; underpins; 3/8 oz swim jigs; micro citizens; spark shads

- Megabass Orochi x10 Bandersnatch: 

3/8oz Chatterbaits; square bills; lipless; mid cranks; top water; 5-6” magdrafts

- NRX+ 844c MBR:

do it all 1/2oz+; 1/2oz Chatter baits; spinnerbaits; flukes; 1/2oz swim jigs; walking topwaters; kaera frogs; jigs; swim jigs; 5” magdrafts

- NRX+ 873c CRR: 

3/8-1/2oz Texas rigs / 3/8-5/8oz jigs / 3/8 oz shakey heads

 

I carry 4 to 14 rods on my kayak... 894 N 873 are completely different... 873 is way more parabolic and will not be as good in heavy cover... I use my 873 for any baits that I'll be dragging along the bottom (football jig or 10" worm).. 894 can do everything an 873 can do and some... 

4 minutes ago, MRQturbo said:

I carry 4 to 14 rods on my kayak... 894 N 873 are completely different... 873 is way more parabolic and will not be as good in heavy cover... I use my 873 for any baits that I'll be dragging along the bottom (football jig or 10" worm).. 894 can do everything an 873 can do and some... 

thanks this is good info. So if I pick up an 894 I could some days decide to leave the 873 at home and the 894 could pull all the 873 duties + some? Also ever tried using it for like kaera frogs?

 

also how are you fitting 14 rods in the yak?! I have the blackpack pro and 8 tubes on it. Do you also put tubes on the sides that open the hatch?

I don't fish hollow body frogs.. But I fish Keitech noisy flapper frogs all the time.. I'm will be upgrading my orocchi braillist to an 894 for frogging duties this season.... 

18 minutes ago, MRQturbo said:

I don't fish hollow body frogs.. But I fish Keitech noisy flapper frogs all the time.. I'm will be upgrading my orocchi braillist to an 894 for frogging duties this season.... 

thanks brother. You’ve been super helpful on all my posts 

1 hour ago, GardenStateFishin said:

thanks this is good info. So if I pick up an 894 I could some days decide to leave the 873 at home and the 894 could pull all the 873 duties + some? Also ever tried using it for like kaera frogs?

 

also how are you fitting 14 rods in the yak?! I have the blackpack pro and 8 tubes on it. Do you also put tubes on the sides that open the hatch?

16x16 blackpack pro has 10 rod holders.. And 30 qt engel cooler has 4..and if you count the 4 factory holders.. I could have 4 more... I have an autopilot 120 and the rear tank well is pretty spacious.. 

44 minutes ago, MRQturbo said:

16x16 blackpack pro has 10 rod holders.. And 30 qt engel cooler has 4..and if you count the 4 factory holders.. I could have 4 more... I have an autopilot 120 and the rear tank well is pretty spacious.. 

I have the 16x13, figured trying to put 2 rod holders on the back latch side would cause issues but yours looks like it works just fine. You just installed same as the others? 
 

I have a pdl 120 so tankwell is pretty similar 

16x13 might not be wide enough to fit 4 holders on the hinge side?... My holders are spaced just far enough so that my reels do not touch... 

55 minutes ago, MRQturbo said:

16x13 might not be wide enough to fit 4 holders on the hinge side?... My holders are spaced just far enough so that my reels do not touch... 

I have 4 on the 16” side and nothing on the 13” sides. Could prob at very least fit 1 more if not two. That’s something!

 

so for the 894c, that’s a good pick for fishing moderate cover? Most likely using a 1/2 oz jig. Could the 854 handle that you think? I just personally prefer shorter rods to fit in my car

13 minutes ago, GardenStateFishin said:

I have 4 on the 16” side and nothing on the 13” sides. Could prob at very least fit 1 more if not two. That’s something!

 

so for the 894c, that’s a good pick for fishing moderate cover? Most likely using a 1/2 oz jig

894 is the best 1/2 jig rod in the nrx lineup... Mine always has a jig tied on it... Heavy cover no problem... 

Just now, MRQturbo said:

894 is the best 1/2 jig rod in the nrx lineup... Mine always has a jig tied on it... Heavy cover no problem... 

ever tried the 854? Would it be the same thing just little shorter? Just personally like shorter rods for ease of transportation 

No.. I've never tried the 854 b4.. Probably will have a stiffer tip being much shorter... 852s is the only shorter rod in my nrx lineup.. 

Don't mean any disrespect, but I've always figured that anyone spending that kind of money on rods has already done his research and needs no help from anyone.  By the time you've researched what rods to buy, you already know what techniques they do well.

 

As far as redundancy is concerned...what is wrong with that?  I've got plenty of them.  

7 hours ago, new2BC4bass said:

Don't mean any disrespect, but I've always figured that anyone spending that kind of money on rods has already done his research and needs no help from anyone.  By the time you've researched what rods to buy, you already know what techniques they do well.

 

As far as redundancy is concerned...what is wrong with that?  I've got plenty of them.  

No I get where you’re coming from lol. Most of the upgrades are new and I haven’t gotten to put a lot of them out on the water yet. Got a really good deal on all the rods last month and haven’t paid more than $350-400 for each NRX+ and some of them for even less than that.  Some of them I picked up knowing that I wouldn’t lose on them if I resell since I picked them up cheap. 
 

for the research part, I would consider posting this being just that. I don’t have access near me to hold any of these rods before buying which is why I’m inquiring about whether the 854/894 would be the right last piece to the puzzle or should I be looking for a heavier stick. I’m pretty confident in understanding which techniques my current rods will handle and have done a lot of research on them. But always open to hearing what others think might work better
 

As for redundancy, only reason im trying to avoid is bc I’m limited on # of rods I can take out with me on the yak right now.
 

 

I'm a little surprised that you use your 844 for the baits you listed.  I have an older 844 GLX that has always been my jig and C-rig rod.  How happy are you with using the 844 for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits?  I could get more use out of my 844 if I used it for those applications.  Thanks for the info.  

14 hours ago, MRQturbo said:

16x16 blackpack pro has 10 rod holders.. And 30 qt engel cooler has 4..and if you count the 4 factory holders.. I could have 4 more... I have an autopilot 120 and the rear tank well is pretty spacious.. 

Nice rig. 

On 2/14/2025 at 6:12 PM, GardenStateFishin said:

 

- NRX+ 844c MBR:

do it all 1/2oz+; 1/2oz Chatter baits

 

 

On 2/15/2025 at 10:26 AM, Junk Fisherman said:

I'm a little surprised that you use your 844 for the baits you listed.  I have an older 844 GLX that has always been my jig and C-rig rod.  How happy are you with using the 844 for chatterbaits and spinnerbaits?  I could get more use out of my 844 if I used it for those applications.  Thanks for the info.  

I’m also curious about the 844 for bladed jigs. I’d love to hear more about this 

On 2/14/2025 at 7:35 PM, MRQturbo said:

I carry 4 to 14 rods on my kayak... 894 N 873 are completely different... 873 is way more parabolic and will not be as good in heavy cover... I use my 873 for any baits that I'll be dragging along the bottom (football jig or 10" worm).. 894 can do everything an 873 can do and some... 

Hold on, 14 rods on a kayak??  

3 minutes ago, Gera said:

Hold on, 14 rods on a kayak??  

10 rod holders on my black pack.. 4 holders on my engel cooler... N I still have 4 factory rod holders on my old town autopilot... I rarely carry that many but could if I wanted to.. Easier to pick up another rod than retying if I don't have to.. 

2 minutes ago, MRQturbo said:

10 rod holders on my black pack.. 4 holders on my engel cooler... N I still have 4 factory rod holders on my old town autopilot... I rarely carry that many but could if I wanted to.. Easier to pick up another rod than retying if I don't have to.. 

That's pretty awesome, I have 6 rod holders in my blackpack and never carry more than 5. Actually 4 feels like the sweet spot for me. Rod holders on my OT PDL are only used for the net and the forward facing one for re-tie.

Send a pick next time you're fully loaded.. 

4 hours ago, Gera said:

That's pretty awesome, I have 6 rod holders in my blackpack and never carry more than 5. Actually 4 feels like the sweet spot for me. Rod holders on my OT PDL are only used for the net and the forward facing one for re-tie.

Send a pick next time you're fully loaded.. 

This is how much room the black pack N engel cooler fit in my rear tank... I'll only bring both if I need to carry more than 10 rods... Just depends on the lake I'm fishing.. If I know I'll be cranking alot, that's 5 setups to cover every depth from shallow to deep.. Then I have other techniques to cover so thats the need for many setups.. 

12 hours ago, MRQturbo said:

This is how much room the black pack N engel cooler fit in my rear tank... I'll only bring both if I need to carry more than 10 rods... Just depends on the lake I'm fishing.. If I know I'll be cranking alot, that's 5 setups to cover every depth from shallow to deep.. Then I have other techniques to cover so thats the need for many setups.. 

That's a rig 👍

maybe a dumb question, but what happens if you tip with thousands of dollars worth of rods/reels on there? are they tethered in while they are in the rod holders?

15 minutes ago, Hulkster said:

maybe a dumb question, but what happens if you tip with thousands of dollars worth of rods/reels on there? are they tethered in while they are in the rod holders?

I don't tether them.. I try to be very vigilant on the water... Any boats that come near.. I'll be ready to turn my kayak into the wake if any... Just be as careful as I can to not put myself into situations that could flip me... I'm careful pulling rods out N putting them back in.. I never over head cast to hook any rods behind me.. I've master casting like I'm swinging a bat or hockey stick from my years of being a rear boat angler... 

26 minutes ago, Hulkster said:

maybe a dumb question, but what happens if you tip with thousands of dollars worth of rods/reels on there? are they tethered in while they are in the rod holders?

I was thinking the same.   Is there diving gear stored on that kayak as well??