NRX+ 883c BJR owners, how versatile is this rod?

[oops]

Love my 842c but it just isn't enough rod for a lot of things I have used it for and have wanted to replace it with a 3 power forever. 843c and 883c BJR are the 2 things I'm looking at and I have a good idea of what I'd be getting with the 843, so I'm curious about the 883 BJR. Essentially looking for something that fishes 3/8-1/2oz chatterbaits and spinnerbaits as well as 3/16-3/8oz jigheads with 3-4inch paddletails like a dream, and something that can use a 5 incho senko/fluke weightless and a 3/16oz trig in a pinch.

If anyone with an 883 BJR, especially ones that have used it for multiple applications could share their knowledge with me, it would be much appreciated

[Thunderblack1984]

I have not fished the 883 but the 843C MBR I have and its one awesome rod. I use to have the NRX in 842C and 843C and if you want to bump up the bait weight run with the 843.

[KP Duty]

My inner 16yr old smirks when I hear 'BJ' rod. "They make a rod for that?!"

[Heddonfrog]

I have not fished the 883 but the 843C MBR I have and its one awesome rod. I use to have the NRX in 842C and 843C and if you want to bump up the bait weight run with the 843.

I agree with you 100%. The NRX+843 makes an absolutely fantastic bladed jig rod along with so many other techniques. It’s power to pull out big fish from heavy brush and moderate weeds have blown my mind. Months back I posted a photo of an 8-10 I hooked in flooded brush with my 843 and my immediate thought was “she’s gone” but was able to haul her up and over and then get her through a bunch of brush to land her. I was as amazed at the power of rod as I was the bass. Since then, I’ve landed two 7+, two 6+ and nine 5+ fish on that rod. Not all on Bladed jigs but most. Since I always have 2 bladed jigs rigged up on every outing I was planning on trying out the BJR but the max lure weights are stupid low. Btw the 844 & 904 in both conquest & NRX+ have cost me huge fish on bladed jigs, they’re just not parabolic enough, which is why I started looking for another. I want a longer rod but at a max length of 7-3, the 903 NRX+ is just too long for what I need. So the quest continues

[A42pb2]

The IMX pro 883 is rated for 3/8-3/4. I target cast a little better with my glx 843 old mag bass. I switched over my bladed jig to the IMX pro 883bjr to let the bass inhale the bait a little better. A lot of times I have a bladed jig tied so versatility is not a problem. Maybe you could free up your 843 for something else?

[oops]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Was kinda leaning 903/904 instead of the 883 now but heddonfrog has convinced me against the 904. I've been forcing my 893/894 to work for me for chatterbaits lately over the 842, but they just make you lose fish with the faster tip so the last thing I want to do is pick up another rod where that is a real issue.

I'm sure I'd love the 843 but since so much of my fishing is from shore and blindly casting into nothingness, I do like the advantage of a longer rod. When I travel, I'm often in places where a short rod is a significant advantage (and chatterbaits are an excellent choice) so the 843 or even 783 have some merit there, but I think I'm buying a couple nice multipiece rods for traveling going forward since the TSA regularly manhandles my rods and it feels like a miracle they haven't broken one yet.

The 903c was always a rod I'd hoped would enter the NRX lineup and I may just be outthinking myself with the 883 and all the others I'm considering when the answer was right under my nose all along.

Been on my yearly shopping spree refilling terminal tackle and lures that I'm close to running out of, finding new things I don't need that are totally going to be the best thing ever, and just got one new Metanium. This rod and likely one more Metanium will be up next. Then I'll obsess over what 2 travel rods to get and what spinning reel I want to get to replace my Stradic FL since my Vanquish has completely spoiled me. Fishing is the cheapest hobby in the world for me right until mid summer every year

[Heddonfrog]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Was kinda leaning 903/904 instead of the 883 now but heddonfrog has convinced me against the 904. I've been forcing my 893/894 to work for me for chatterbaits lately over the 842, but they just make you lose fish with the faster tip so the last thing I want to do is pick up another rod where that is a real issue.

I'm sure I'd love the 843 but since so much of my fishing is from shore and blindly casting into nothingness, I do like the advantage of a longer rod. When I travel, I'm often in places where a short rod is a significant advantage (and chatterbaits are an excellent choice) so the 843 or even 783 have some merit there, but I think I'm buying a couple nice multipiece rods for traveling going forward since the TSA regularly manhandles my rods and it feels like a miracle they haven't broken one yet.

The 903c was always a rod I'd hoped would enter the NRX lineup and I may just be outthinking myself with the 883 and all the others I'm considering when the answer was right under my nose all along.

Been on my yearly shopping spree refilling terminal tackle and lures that I'm close to running out of, finding new things I don't need that are totally going to be the best thing ever, and just got one new Metanium. This rod and likely one more Metanium will be up next. Then I'll obsess over what 2 travel rods to get and what spinning reel I want to get to replace my Stradic FL since my Vanquish has completely spoiled me. Fishing is the cheapest hobby in the world for me right until mid summer every year

I think you’ll love the 903. I picked up a 7-4H Glass Rebellion to use as my 2nd chatter rod. Thinking I’ll use it for the massive weed flats we have down here in central Florida. I’ve also never owned a glass/graphite composite rod and wanted to see what the die hard glass & composite chatter crowd was so enthused about. Was pleasantly surprised I could feel the blade at a crawl pace but as one would expect nothing like the NRX+. I only caught 1 3lbdr the day I tried it and it does bow up nicely but damn is it heavy and especially tip heavy. I think I’ll need a Penn 8000 reel to balance it out. A 903 is looking better and better and way more versatile but I’ll keep playing with this rod and see if I can hook and land a giant on it before writing it off. Keep us posted after you pick out a rod

[oops]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Was kinda leaning 903/904 instead of the 883 now but heddonfrog has convinced me against the 904. I've been forcing my 893/894 to work for me for chatterbaits lately over the 842, but they just make you lose fish with the faster tip so the last thing I want to do is pick up another rod where that is a real issue.

I'm sure I'd love the 843 but since so much of my fishing is from shore and blindly casting into nothingness, I do like the advantage of a longer rod. When I travel, I'm often in places where a short rod is a significant advantage (and chatterbaits are an excellent choice) so the 843 or even 783 have some merit there, but I think I'm buying a couple nice multipiece rods for traveling going forward since the TSA regularly manhandles my rods and it feels like a miracle they haven't broken one yet.

The 903c was always a rod I'd hoped would enter the NRX lineup and I may just be outthinking myself with the 883 and all the others I'm considering when the answer was right under my nose all along.

Been on my yearly shopping spree refilling terminal tackle and lures that I'm close to running out of, finding new things I don't need that are totally going to be the best thing ever, and just got one new Metanium. This rod and likely one more Metanium will be up next. Then I'll obsess over what 2 travel rods to get and what spinning reel I want to get to replace my Stradic FL since my Vanquish has completely spoiled me. Fishing is the cheapest hobby in the world for me right until mid summer every year

I think you’ll love the 903. I picked up a 7-4H Glass Rebellion to use as my 2nd chatter rod. Thinking I’ll use it for the massive weed flats we have down here in central Florida. I’ve also never owned a glass/graphite composite rod and wanted to see what the die hard glass & composite chatter crowd was so enthused about. Was pleasantly surprised I could feel the blade at a crawl pace but as one would expect nothing like the NRX+. I only caught 1 3lbdr the day I tried it and it does bow up nicely but damn is it heavy and especially tip heavy. I think I’ll need a Penn 8000 reel to balance it out. A 903 is looking better and better and way more versatile but I’ll keep playing with this rod and see if I can hook and land a giant on it before writing it off. Keep us posted after you pick out a rod

The glass rod sounds interesting for sure. I haven't owned one in forever and always tell myself I need one for cranks...except I haven't been on a single good crankbait bite in about 15 years

Already bought the 903 and got it overnight shipped lol. Got it today and am gonna take it out on its maiden voyage tomorrow. Was initially worried it might be too soft, but my impression after the initial bend test is that it very well may be exactly what I was looking for. I'll definitely be trying to force this rod through the paces with a variety of stuff. Hoping to get a couple decent fish on bottom contact and straight retrieve stuff (and especially chatterbait) just to get a real feel of how the rod loads up. The bite has been quite good lately but the only thing I've found a lot of success on is a 1/8oz flashy swimmer with a 3.3 keitech on my spinning rod so not so sure about how this rod will do for me, but I'll try!

I'm sure it comes to nobody's surprise to know that the 903 is quite tip heavy. The most tip heavy of any NRX I own, in fact. My 893/894 took a chair cap with 3 quarters and my 821 NRR/822 SYR took 2 quarters to get the right feel for me. The 903 took 4 quarters and is still a hair tip heavy but feels great in the hand. I don't mind doing this one bit, but I know it's a big negative for some so thought I'd mention it.

[oops]

Had almost a month with the rod and have used it as much as I could, even when the bite wasn't at all in favor of it. Paired with ChronarchG HG in salt and 20 Metanium HG in fresh.

Short version, if you want a longer all around rod, this is an absolutely fantastic one that should be on your radar. If you want a Dark Sleeper rod and are an NRX enthusiast, then in my opinion, this is the rod you want. The 903c easily joins my 893c and 821s NRR as a must have, never selling rod.

Lots of words version:

Fished 3/16 and 3/8oz trigged 3-4" soft plastics as well as 3/8oz soft plastics on jigheads for bay bass in saltwater. 3/8oz fishes like a dream. 3/16 is a hair too light but still casts respectably well. Tip is exactly what you want from a spotted bay bass rod and rod loads exactly how you'd want. Definitely my new go to rod when I know I'll be fishing the heavier weights and in thicker grass.

For freshwater, I've thrown a ton of things on it.

3/8oz trig and freerig, the sensitivity is quite impressive for any rod let alone a MBR. The 893c will always be my go to for this application, but the 903c did it quite well.

It performed well with a 5" senko as well, but of course I'd still favor the 893c.

1/2oz spinnerbait, the rod loaded under the weight of the bait and on hooksets absolutely beautifully. This rod is definitely what I'll be using for them going forward.

3/8 and 1/2oz Dark Sleepers is where I felt this rod shined most. Truly feels like the rod was made for this bait. Only started using them last year and have been using the 893c and 894c. Those rods worked well, but they both fell a bit short out of what I'd want from a Dark Sleeper rod. My preference is to slow crawl it on the bottom like a swimbait, but I do fish it like a jig sometimes as well. The 903c absolutely killed it both ways, easily detecting bites when fished like a jig and with the softer tip never leading to me accidentally pulling a bait from a fish's mouth when fishing it like a swimbait. During a tough bite in the past couple weeks, the Sleeper accounted for at least a third of the fish I've caught, and my 2 biggest at 4.8 and 4.95lbs. I'd have gotten all the same bites on another rod, but I'm certain that this rod caught me fish that another rod wouldn't have.

Flukes...sure, it's fine just like the 893c. I'm finally accepting that I can't fish flukes the way I want on a longer rod. As soon as I'm done with this post, I'm making a "what rods should I be looking at for flukes" post

Chatterbaits, the bait I most wanted this rod for...0 bites/fish caught on chatterbait lol. My friend got a decent chatterbait bite dialed in when we were out recently but I was sticking just as many with larger fish on average using the Dark Sleeper so I kept throwing that. The rod is coming with me to Louisiana for redfishing next month, hopefully a chatterbait fish or two will come home on it and really put the rod to the test.

[clemsondds]

What is the advantage to having an NRX over day an Imx for bladed jigs? Obviously it’s more sensitive and lighter…is that worth the almost double price? I mean this seriously…I have no issue buying an nrx (Lord knows I have several) but tacticalbassin uses imx pro for bladed jigs so I was just curious. I’m always looking for an excuse to buy an nrx ha, but just didn’t know in this situation how it would benefit that much. Thanks

[oops]

What is the advantage to having an NRX over day an Imx for bladed jigs? Obviously it’s more sensitive and lighter…is that worth the almost double price? I mean this seriously…I have no issue buying an nrx (Lord knows I have several) but tacticalbassin uses imx pro for bladed jigs so I was just curious. I’m always looking for an excuse to buy an nrx ha, but just didn’t know in this situation how it would benefit that much. Thanks

For chatterbaits, no advantage at all. But when I'm shore fishing for bass, I never have more than 1 spinning and 1 casting rod with me so I need my rods to be able to do as much as possible. In this case I was just looking for a rod that fishes chatterbaits great, but can also do a lot of other stuff well, including techniques where NRX sensitivity shines. If I owned a boat, my rod lineup would definitely be different than it is now

[Oregon]

I don't want to open another thread, so just a quick question. Can someone tell me if the 883c bjr is more powerful than the 843c mbr?