Got a Cara Amistad and love that dang thing. Gettin the itch to try another Cara for bottom contact baits. Have seen recommendations for the head turner and eye crosser, but I usually like a longer than 7' rod.

Noticed lots of you all like Falcon so was looking for some feedback!

Thanks !

I love my Cara Head Turner and Eye Crosser rods but if you feel the need for a longer rod the Cara Heavy Cover Jig rod is a good choice... Dan

I dont use Falcon that much anymore but they make great rods. You already have the Amistad which was one of my favorite. But the 7'2" MH Swimjig rod would be my next. Very versatile.

6'10" finesse jig rod is a great senko, shaky head, wacky worm and finesse jig rod.

what rods do you use now?

I have been using Falcon rods for a long time but mostly used the Lowrider Series. I did get a couple of the Expert Series 6'10" Head Turners and really like them but have been trying them with different baits to decide what to use them for. I have in the Lowrider series an All Around which is pretty much a good rod for a lot of things, A Finesse Jig rod that I currently have my Swim Jig on, a 6'10" HT in the Lowrider series I am currently using for my Frog and Topwater rod and I have quite a few Carolina Lizard Draggers that I have used for pretty much everything from Flippiing to Chatterbait and Spinnerbaits to Swimbaits and of course for Carolina rigging.

Get a 7'3" heavy or a 7'4" carolina rig rod, both are great

Heavy cover jig. It’s a beast.

I have a Cara Amistad that I really like but I have 2 Low Rider All Arounds and it is the most versatile rod I use. Flip with it, Lipless, Topwater, Cranks, it is by far my favorite rod.

I assume the Cara version is similar to the Lowrider model I have. While it has plenty of backbone, it’s also extremely sensitive and I’m able to flip 3/16” baby brush hogs but then have plenty of rod to get them out of the cat tails.

Gloomis Conquest, NRX and Reneau Tackle

i was given some Cara rods right after they came out for some help at some Boat and Tackle shows back in the day. I already had all Lowrider series rods and had been using them for quite a while. I used the Cara's for a couple of weeks and one of the differences I noticed was the Cara series to me felt a whole lot lighter than the Lowriders. I almost felt like there wasn't hardly anything in my hand. It might sound backwards but I preferred the feel of the Lowriders better just because I could feel them in my hands better and liked the little bit of weight they had. I gave back the Cara's in exchange for some Lowriders.
The other difference since I didn't get a lot of free rods and had to pay for them was the cost of the Lowriders. In my eyes they are the best rod for the price.

I have a bunch of falcons but I honestly don't care for them for bottom contact baits. Shimano or Loomis for football jigs/worms/c-rigs.

I too like a little bit longer rod. The Amistad is hard to beat. Love to flip with it and use it for carolina rigs.

Give the CC-6-174 a shot. Action H / Flex F. This is the old Mike McClelland football jig rod. What is crazy about this rod is I used it for senko, shakey head, light carolina rig, drop-shot, medium swim baits, underspins and traps in grass. It's hard to find a rod versatile enough to go from a 3/4 jig to a 3/16 drop shot.

What do you use the Amistad for? I have Bucoos and am wanting to give a Cara a go. I thought the Amistad might be a good rod for deep cranks

I only have a few Bucoos but those are very nice rods as well, so I’m enticed to move up the Falcon chain some more

I use the amistad for t rigs 1/4 and heavier, jigs of any kind, C-rigs. anything bottom contact, really. im sure others use it for different things, but it is not a cranking rod. Falcon does make a few cranking rods, but I cant speak to those

Lowrider XD cranker is good for big cranks. Cast a long ways with a 300 series Lews super duty reel.

Thanks for that! Not opposed to the Lowrider either. There aren’t any stores around me that carry Lowriders or Cara so I can’t really just go down the street and give one a feel. I’ll check out that one you mentioned

Actually found mine last year at Fishing Tackle Unlimited off 45 and Fuqua near Pearland.

The head turner is my favorite rod..have 8 or 9 of them...mostly caras but a couple of lowriders also..use them for everything...jigs worms craws and even small swim baits...I have Curado E7s on most of them...works great for pitching and flipping...

I've heard Hallman talk about the head turner. I have a couple of all arounds I use for a lot of things. Maybe I will try one of those.

Thanks

I have a couple of Lizzard Dragger II 's that I really like. Looked on their website and they don't build the ones I have anymore.