Hey everyone!

 

After spending Saturday and Sunday fishing with the new combo, here's the review I wish I had been able to read before getting it.

 

1. Why I wanted the 843 MBR:

 

In October of last year a buddy and I went on a trip where we both got our personal best throwing walking baits on a main lake point. I got mine on an Evergreen SB 125 in chart shad, throwing it on an IMX-PRO 844C MBR and a Curado MGL 151 HG running 30lb braid to an 18lb mono leader. Even though I caught my PB on that combo, I lost a handful of good ones when came up and shook off the trebles. I felt that despite the more moderate bend on the 844, not having the drag completely locked down, and the relatively long mono leader I was still ripping the hook right out of their mouths.

 

 

I took two things away from that: 1. I would not be throwing the 125 all the time - that thing is massive and Alqueva isn't exactly Clear Lake - and 2. it left me wishing the rod was just a bit lighter while still having the same bend.

 

And because I have too much free time, a stable internet connection, and zero self-control mechanisms I also watched a ton of YouTube videos, especially Tactical Bassin' ones. Fishing football jigs on the 844 is quite possibly my favourite way to fish, mainly thanks to Matt's thoughts on that rod and how to use it to drag jigs, so it would stand to reason I'd also enjoy the 843.

 

I also found that I really, really enjoy fishing those little Keitech football jigs, and while I can get away with throwing them on the 844 I find I really have to have the drag set relatively loose to keep them pinned with that little hook. I also fish them on the Expride 6'10 Medium - guess why I got that one, too - but sometimes it feels too light. Shimano doesn't sell the 6'10 Medium Heavy in Europe - we only get the JDM and SEA models, the 1+1 and 2 piece models with no hook keeper - and I really like that MBR bend for jigs, so the 843 would fill those two gaps.

 

As for the reel, it was a toss between the "regular" Metanium MGL and the new DC, and since I got it for 355 EUR or about 413 USD on black Friday when they retail locally for between 520 and 580 USD, which was just about 60 EUR or 70 USD more than the 151 MGL. So yeah, DC it is. Also, not gonna lie... That piano black finish on top of the GLX is just it.

 

 

2. How I fish:

 

After looking at every single review out there I found that a lot of folks mention what they think of the rod but don't say how they fish. In my opinion a rod can fish very different if you fish it on straight fluoro as opposed to braid to leader. I fish braid to leader almost every single time, lately even crankbaits, because it allows me to adapt to the conditions or type of bait I'm fishing. Clear open water? Lighter fluoro leader. Fishing around rocks so sharp you could shave with one? Heavier fluoro. Need to turn my 6'10 Medium from a jerkbait rod to a popper rod? Swap the leader from 10 lb fluoro to 15 lb mono. I spooled the reel with 30 lb Power Pro Super Slick V2 and tied a long-ish 12 ft 12lb Sunline Sniper fluorocarbon leader.

 

I fish highland reservoirs almost exclusively with a lot of creek arms, high bluff walls, some vegetation near the bank from sprint to fall but deep rocky bottom for the most part, so football jigs are a must.

 

3. About these new GLXs:

 

I know it's meaningless to a lot of folks how these things look, but ever since the IMX got turned into the IMX-PRO I had said those were the best looking rods Loomis made. I like the NRX+ look better than the old NRX, and although I like the previous gen GLX I don't love the way it looks. The weird blue accents, the checkered black carbon piece on the butt of the rod, the overall tone of the paint... It just didn't appeal to me as much as the generation before that one did. Those green GLXs might not have been around for long, or felt that great, but they were lookers. In my opinion, the new GLX is the best looking rod Loomis makes by far.

 

 

Much more important than the way these rods look is how they feel. I will caveat this with the fact that I have the 854 JWR in the previous version of the GLX and this is the MBR, but it feels closer to the old NRXs than it does to the previous GLXs. It might be due to the finish, or the slight weight reduction, but it really feels that way. It's still a step below the NRX+ with the regular steel Fuji guides instead of the top half sporting the titanium guides, but the blank feels more like that old NRX. 

 

 

The Ci4+ reel seat is the same as the one used on the NRX+ but the overall handle isn't exactly the same. While it also has that carbon-fibre looking thing in the locking nut, it has less cork composite in the top and bottom of the handle, capping the premium cork.

 

4. Fishing with the 843 MBR:

 

Yesterday I went to the creek and a highland reservoir nearby, and because it's December had zero expectations when it came to actually catching fish. Got a small 3500 box together with some baits and only took the new combo. Here's how it went:

 

Finesse jigs? Awesome, as long it has a finesse-y hook. I fished a 1/2oz Keitech football jig and absolutely loved how it feels and handles on this rod. Feel was great, and just below the NRX+. I also threw a 5/16oz Dirty Jigs Finesse jig and a War Eagle Heavy Finesse jig, both with a Smallie Beaver trailer.

 

 

Got bit on all three, but one thing stood out. The heavier hook on the Heavy Finesse jig is better suited for the 844. The other two are a perfect match for the 843.

 

Small swimbaits? It will absolutely work. I fished a 4" Keitech Easy Shiner on a 1st Gen 3/16oz 2/0 Jaw Dropper head and got two wee ones and a pound-and-a-halfer. Now, if that sounds like something you'd throw on a Medium - like the 842C or even the 852S like I did today - you'd be correct in thinking that. But was the 843 able to handle it like a champ? Absolutely!

 

 

Spinnerbaits? Here's the first no from me. I threw a Megabass SV-3 with a 3" Largo Shad trailer and while it can handle it, I didn't like the way it felt. The 844 is still my favourite spinnerbait rod and by a lot. You can obviously feel the blades spinning and the spinnerbait working, but after throwing them on the 844 for a few years now, that's still the ticket for me.

 

Deeper diving jerkbaits? Yeah, kinda. I threw a Megabass Vision OneTen +1 because why not and it wasn't bad. It wasn't terribly good either, but if you're only taking one rod or leave your jerkbait rod at home, it'll do in a pinch.

 

Crankbaits? I was expecting it to be decent with crankbaits, but it was actually good. I threw a Spro RkCrawler 55 for about 30 minutes and even when banging on rocky bottom it would bend and allow the bait to deflect quite well. It's not a crankbait rod, but it handles crankbaits a lot better than it does jerkbaits.

 

Blade baits? Another yes. I threw the Damiki Vault in over 20 feet of water today and it handled it great, even just barely lifting and hopping it on bottom.

 

 

And here it is, my first weekend with the new combo. In short, it's almost exactly what I expected for everything I threw on it so far, and I have no reason to think it won't be the deal with those smaller Shower Blows 105 come topwater season.

I'll keep updating this topic as I keep trying new things with this rod.

 

 

 

 

 

Very nice review. I have not fished the newer style GLX MBRs, only the old models with wiebe seats. I always tell myself if the 843 had the 783 tip, it would have been the perfect bass fishing rod, at least for me.

On 12/7/2025 at 3:12 PM, JohnFromLisbon said:

I know it's meaningless to a lot of folks how these things look, but ever since the IMX got turned into the IMX-PRO I had said those were the best looking rods Loomis made. I like the NRX+ look better than the old NRX, and although I like the previous gen GLX I don't love the way it looks. The weird blue accents, the checkered black carbon piece on the butt of the rod, the overall tone of the paint

agreed. The imx pro rods are sharp. the green glows in the sunlight and looks smart against the black of the blank. 

 

I also don't like the robins egg blue of the NRX. I love the look of both the imx pro rods and the new GLX rods. 

 

Up here in Canada, the imx pro's are $580 now and the GLX are 780 or so. I have two imx pro rods that I love (The SJR 901s and the MBR 903c) but I'd give my pecker away to be able to fish the next level up (the new GLXs lol) 

 

Excellent review!

Nice review.  Beautiful looking combo.  My only Loomis is a 30 plus year old GL3 9' 8 wt. fly rod.  Loomis is out of my price range but that doesn't stop me from reading posts like this.  

 

Actually that GL3 was $250 back then.  Wasn't until 3 years ago that I purchased a more expensive rod and that happened to be another fly rod....a discontinued Sage 4 wt.  I've never spent $200 on my casting or spinning rods although a few were over $300 if purchased new.

Don’t take this negativity but the TB guys are as fallible as the rest of us. Try to read reviews and ask questions across the spectrum from weekend warriors to the guys who only beat the bank one day a month. You’ll find a lot of good information especially for your particular bodies of water. Matt and Tim tend to recommend the same thing every year and I still don’t 100% get their fascination with the 7’4H St. Croix or the Exprides. 
 

I’d like to turn your attention to a different rod which I feel fishes between the 843 and 844 with a slightly more crisp action. I own an NRX+ 843 and fished a 844 for a couple tournaments last year in MD. 
 

The St. Croix Legend Elite Medium Fast casting rod is my absolute go to for wading east Tennessee rivers. Its tip of about 3-4 guides is slightly more stout than an 843 which lets me pop and drag finesse jigs over and around the rock and laydowns in the rivers with a bit more accuracy. The MBRs are so soft in the tip it’s hard to know exactly when I’ve climbed over that limb and can let the jig drop back down. 
 

That tip also lets the rod work single hook baits like a 3/8th spinner with a swim bait trailer more confidently. I feel exactly like you do throwing single hooks on the 843. It can do it, but it sure doesn’t like it. 
 

I know you already own both the 843 and 844, but if you want to split even more hairs on bait selection get a chance to fish an Elite/X MF I would jump on it. 
 

There are only a couple rods which go out with me every trip between April and the end of October. The MF St. Croix, 873, and Elite MLF spinning rod. They beat out a Steez “the one”, a legend Xtreme 7’3mhxf, 852s, and 843. 

@TNBankFishing oh, absolutely! I've tried baits or rods they've recommended and I wasn't happy with them. One example was with the 845C CBR, the crankbait rod. I was able to get an E6X for about 120 EUR (~140 USD) because in all of their reviews they'd always go "Loomis keeps the action across all the rod ranges, they just get lighter and more sensitive" - which is absolutely true - but one thing they didn't mention which ended up being a major disappointment for me was the handle length. I still have that E6X and earlier this year got the IMX-PRO and the extra handle length in the latter makes all the difference in the world. The E6X has a shorter handle which made it a lot harder to fish with.

 

For me, picking the Loomis over other brands is based on a few factors, like enjoying the consistent feel across models and actions and powers (and looks, I'm not going to pretend that's not a thing 😅), the fact that Loomis rods are slightly cheaper here in Europe (because they don't offer the same lifetime warranty they do in the US) while St. Croix rods are more expensive (just looked up the 7'3 Heavy Victory, a local store has it in stock for 294.40 EUR or just over 342 USD, while on TW I see it for 230 USD), and not every store carries them. Megabass for example doesn't even sell the same series of rods and the ones we get from the Japanese domestic market are prohibitively expensive.

 

There's a lot of stuff they mention that doesn't make sense for my fishing, be it because of different species of baitfish or environment or even geography. After watching an unhealthy amount of youtube videos, reading forum posts, etc., I can tell you that the most useful info to apply to my fishing is usually from California, as we also have mostly highland clear water reservoirs. In northern and central CA even the climate is the same as mine here, either Köppen climate type Csa or Csb (Hot-summer and Warm-summer Mediterranean), and the spots I usually fish even have the same latitude as the bay area, meaning same length of day.

 

But I totally get what you're saying, and it's healthy to listen to their stuff with some skepticism and, as with everything, account for at best personal preferences and at worst financial bias. The starting point was their recommendation for sure, but I want to use the rod how I like.

Excellent review👍

Tom

PS, if you want an article on casting jig fishing, PM your email and will send you a copy that is perfect for your highland lake jig fishing.

 

8 minutes ago, WRB-2.0 said:

PS, if you want an article on casting jig fishing, PM your email and will send you a copy that is perfect for your highland lake jig fishing.

 

 

Thank you, Tom! Will do

23 hours ago, Hulkster said:

agreed. The imx pro rods are sharp. the green glows in the sunlight and looks smart against the black of the blank. 

 

@Hulkster I know exactly what you mean

 

 

I got the 852S in the short time between the IMX line refresh and the logo revamp

This is a really accurate and thoughtful assessment of this rod. I use it for topwater mainly, and as a random stand-in when I'm dialing in other stuff.

Matt Allen from TB says the GLX 843c is his favorite top water rod. A couple on this thread have mentioned it for top water.  Is this a great top water rod (mainly throw Shower Blows 105). Of course I would use it for other applications as well.

@Rodney Smith I already have a couple of SB 105s waiting for that topwater bite next year 👀

 

In the meantime I'm checking what else I like throwing on it. The little Keitech jigs are a definite yes

Enjoyed the review. I also recently picked up a GLX (844c MBR). It's my first Loomis rod and although I haven't taken it out much I managed to get one on a spinnerbait with it and I'm already a bit worried that it may have ruined me on other rods.

In my case I ended up pairing it with an old Lew's tourney pro that I had. Mostly because the rod was so much I didn't have a new reel in the budget but as it turns out the colors match up perfectly and the balance with that reel on it is spot on. Plan on using it for spinnerbaits, big worms and heavier jigs for the most part but just wanted to say I also really like this line of rods. Not sure I'll be able to afford another one any time soon but have been very impressed with the GLX MBR series so far...

I’m torn between an 834 and the 844…I want the most versatility as I don’t like to take more than three rods on my kayak, and one is reserved for a 1/16 ned jig. 
 

@JohnFromLisbon what didn’t you like about throwing the spinnerbait on it, just not enough power?  I’ve never fished an MBR rod, I’d be looking to do mostly 3/8 oz skirted baits….light wire swim jigs/spinnerbaits/chatterbaits/buzzbaits/finesse jigs.  Occasionally go up to 1/2 oz, but also occasionally throw light Texas rigs, 4” stick baits, etc.  No treble baits.  
 

maybe the 844 is the one, the power designations are just throwing me off, haha.

@Jweller the 843 is the most versatile of the two for sure. If I'm fishing the creek or just bank fishing and only take one or two rods with me, the 843 is definitely the one, especially for everything you described.

 

I have a couple of 844s and there's something about how it bends when just retrieving a spinnerbait that is the deal for me. The 843 seemed to bend a little too much, especially considering I tend to add a couple of quick turns of the handle to give it a little action.

 

To be fair, I was fishing a 1/2oz SV-3 with a little Largo Shad trailer. I've been thinking about that and next time I'm out I'll try it without the trailer to see if that's the limit for me. I think I also have a 3/8 Screamin' Eagle somewhere, if I can find it I'll take that one with me, too. I don't have any spinnerbaits with smaller blades than those, but I'm looking around for some proper finesse spinnerbaits.

 

I haven't thrown any chatterbaits on it yet, I'll give it a go, but I tend to throw them more on moderate actions like the 845 crankbait rod. I've thrown them on the 844 but the vibration is just overwhelming, especially on the NRX+ and fishing braid to leader.