Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

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Hobie-Wan Kenobi
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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Hobie-Wan Kenobi » Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:44 pm

PBP wrote:Thank you for the review and video!
Thanks
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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by 18RangerZ520L » Mon Dec 11, 2017 2:40 pm

Here's my .02 on the new Conquests:

Finally got out on the water with the Conquests this week.... I got 14 of them in the following models: 905C, 904C, 903C, 842C and 842S. On the casting rods I have Aldebaran 50's on them all and the spinning models I have Exsence 3000's on them. Got to fish with all models except the 905C, which arrived at my house while I was at the lake... :doh: I will say with the 905C just feeling it in my hand it balances WAY better than my NRX 895C did, the 905C is not tip heavy at all...

I owned all NRX's prior to upgrading and the Conquests have a more "solid" feel, hard to explain but the NRX's felt "hollow"/brittle in comparison. I noticed the casting was more "fluid" with the Conquests and the guides were quiet, sometimes on my NRX's I could hear the line go through the recoil guides during a cast or when fighting a fish. I do like the full cork grip on the Conquests and its a very smooth cork feel in hand, no pits/rough spots like a couple of my NRX's had.

I can't "with the naked eye" tell a weight difference between the Conquest and NRX, but they do feel stronger/more "solid" than the NRX. I caught several 3lb-4lb class fish on them including a 6lb and they all handled the fight of the fish great, I even caught a 5lb on the 842S Conquest paired with an Exsence 3000 with 8lb line. And I don't know if it's the reel or the rod or a combination of both, but the 842S Conquest with the Exsence 3000 casted like a dream! Farther and with less effort than with my NRX 852S w/Sustain 2500.

I was a little worried at first with the "fast" action of the Conquests vs the "extra fast" of the NRX's but it wasn't an issue. I fished the same baits on the Conquests that I did with the NRX's and the rods handled the baits fine. I met the lure weight limits on each model I fished with, zero issues.

Sensitivity is slightly better vs NRX, not as noticeable as say from a E6X to a GLX. Now, is "slightly better" worth the roughly 20% higher cost of the Conquest vs NRX? That's up to you...

I'm a gear junkie so it was worth it to me...

Fishing is my "beer", so having top of the line equipment makes fishing that much more enjoyable for me. In my line of work I need lots of "beer".... :lol:

If you can swing the coin, I highly recommend them!

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Jeffbro999 » Mon Dec 11, 2017 4:39 pm

Been fishing my 842c Conquest side by side with my NRX 842c, and can really feel the difference when comparing directly, but it's hard to describe. Action is very similar, super light tip tapering to a solid backbone. Agree with others here that sensitivity is dead on with NRX, to close to call. The power is where I really feel a difference, and again it's hard to explain, but just feels stronger and more control than the NRX. Casting is very accurate and controlled as well, though I've never had a problem with any rod being accurate. Id say these are no doubt a step up from NRX, and I love the MBR tapers!

If you remember a few posts I made in the past, I fished my NRX 842c out at the 3 mile bridge here, and caught some big redfish to test out the power of the rod. Basically some power BFS :shock: Caught several 20lb+ redfish in my kayak the other night on both rods, but mainly the Conquest 842c and it handled them beautifully. Put some serious pressure on them and it didn't break a sweat. A couple fish were barely able to pull drag as I thumbed the spool and turned them away from the pilings. Was throwing a 3/8oz Cadman ballhead jig with a 3" swimbait, and could easily feel the difference between white trout tapping on the bait and a solid redfish THUMP! Nice to not have to worry about setting the hook on the little fish and wasting time with them. Basically had the same experience with the NRX version, but controlling the fish seemed easier on the Conquest. Bass should definitely not be a problem with these rods, put some heat on those fish! Very versatile and light as a feather, but pack a punch! Wish I could figure out how to post a couple fish pics on here now to show what these rods can do. I'll have to work on that, or if someone could help that would be appreciated.

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by fffishing » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:23 pm

Thanks guys! Great reviews! 8-)

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Jeffbro999 » Wed Dec 13, 2017 9:40 am

Here's one of those fish in the 15-20lb range.
Image

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Giqqo » Wed Dec 13, 2017 10:09 am

This thread is awesome!

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Fishinfanatic115 » Wed Dec 13, 2017 10:49 am

Has anyone gotten their hands on a 902S yet?

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Gloomis34 » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:01 pm

I just got mine in today I got the 782S in and so far I love it everyone complains about the wraps but on mine they are great. It balances really well with my stella C3000XG it feels a lot softer then expected it feels like my St. Croix legends elite med lite but still works jerk baits no problem. I’ll be using it on the Susquehanna river for smallmouth and there is a local river with big brown trout that hit my small mouth lures can’t wait to use it

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by bronzefly » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:42 pm

Fishinfanatic115 wrote:Has anyone gotten their hands on a 902S yet?
I'll have mine on the water soon. It's finally getting cold enough for a 1/4 oz hair jig bite to start up, and I'm really curious how it's going to handle those duties, but it's going to be a fantastically versatile spinning rod in general. Mine will be paired with a Stella C30000XGFI and 7# Sunline Super FC Sniper.
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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Tigerbass » Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:03 pm

JBcrankaddict wrote:Here's one of those fish in the 15-20lb range.
Image

Nice redfish!!!

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Fishinfanatic115 » Wed Dec 13, 2017 5:08 pm

bronzefly wrote:
Fishinfanatic115 wrote:Has anyone gotten their hands on a 902S yet?
I'll have mine on the water soon. It's finally getting cold enough for a 1/4 oz hair jig bite to start up, and I'm really curious how it's going to handle those duties, but it's going to be a fantastically versatile spinning rod in general. Mine will be paired with a Stella C30000XGFI and 7# Sunline Super FC Sniper.
Is the balance decent with that reel? That's the speculative combo.

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Gloomis34 » Thu Dec 14, 2017 5:15 pm

I’m just curious on what techniques you guys use the 902s for?

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by BRONZEBACK32 » Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:33 pm

I see a 902s in the future also..

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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by bronzefly » Sun Dec 17, 2017 5:18 am

Fishinfanatic115 wrote:
bronzefly wrote:
Fishinfanatic115 wrote:Has anyone gotten their hands on a 902S yet?
I'll have mine on the water soon. It's finally getting cold enough for a 1/4 oz hair jig bite to start up, and I'm really curious how it's going to handle those duties, but it's going to be a fantastically versatile spinning rod in general. Mine will be paired with a Stella C30000XGFI and 7# Sunline Super FC Sniper.
Is the balance decent with that reel? That's the speculative combo.
Yes it's fine in my hands.
Gloomis34 wrote:I’m just curious on what techniques you guys use the 902s for?
I'm going to throw everything I can on it within it's range to get an idea of how it will perform various duties. I'm planning to throw a range of treble hook moving baits on it too as I can see this one being an awesome small crank rod. My primary focus and hope is that it will be a great 1/4 oz hair jig rod. I fish tubes in the winter for small mouth too and suspect it will be great there. Deep neko rigging, drop shot fishing, etc. It feels like an ultimate utility spinning rod at 7'6". The 842 spinning is going to be a very popular rod too when guys get to fish this one...
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Re: Shimano Loomis Conquest rods

Post by Rodster14 » Sun Dec 17, 2017 6:29 am

Would the 842s (or maybe the 843s) be a good Shaky head/mojo rig rod compared to the Jig and Worm Rods from the GLX and NRX lineup?

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