Anyone have the falcon expert head turner.

[Derek1]

Mine came in on Sunday. I have 5 or 6 hours time in with it now. I’m finding it to be a interesting rod. It’s a heavy power, but only labeled up to 3/4’s. I think it can go a bit more depending on what bait your throwing. I’m finding it pretty versatile. It’s great with 1/2 ounce spinner baits. Absolutely chucks a 5/16 swimjig with 3.8 rage swimmer. Just for fun I tied on a 3/8’s jig yesterday. Handled it perfectly in light cover. It’s quite sensitive dragging bottom for a mod/fast rod. It feels pretty fast right up until under load, then it bends a bit  deeper. I’m really enjoying so far. By far the most sensitive rod I own ( not that I have to many). I called falcon to ask a few ?’s when I was looking into the rod and they great to talk to over the phone. Overall great experience with falcon so far. Definitely try them again on my next rod purchase. This is my inexperienced first impression so far. Looking forward to hearing what others think of this rod. 

First fish with it. 

[BrianMDTX]

Never touched one. But I have a Lowrider. Falcon makes some nice rods. Yours looks great! 

[MidwestBassAttack]

I’ll second that. I’ve got the SoCal and Amistad in the Expert line.  Also have the new Cara’s (Amistads and Deep Runner). I find myself grabbing the Experts more. Good action and really superb sensitivity.

 

My only gripe........the little nub for the lower handle. It’s awkward.

[new2BC4bass]

Nice fish!  Weight and length?

 

All I know is the Head Turner is considered by many to be the most versatile model.  The Expert to be very sensitive.  The Expert Head Turner will be my next purchase with a Lowrider Amistad following that so I can try out both lines....which many seem to feel fish above their price point.  Hoping if I wait long enough I won't have to pay full retail. 

[GReb]

I have 2 Expert Head Turners. Love them for pretty much any single hook moving bait. I personally prefer them over my Cara T7 Head Turner. Lately I’ve been smashing on a Thunder Cricket in emerging pads

7 minutes ago, new2BC4bass said:

Nice fish!  Weight and length?

 

All I know is the Head Turner is considered by many to be the most versatile model.  The Expert to be very sensitive.  The Expert Head Turner will be my next purchase with a Lowrider Amistad following that so I can try out both lines....which many seem to feel fish above their price point.  Hoping if I wait long enough I won't have to pay full retail. 

There are several legit retailers on eBay that allow you to make offers on Falcon rods. You can always get 10-20% off. Make a 25% off offer and see what happens. Usually they will counter with 10% off and sometimes will go a littler further if you counter again. I got my last Expert Head Turner for $150 and free shipping this way. 

[Derek1]

1 hour ago, MidwestBassAttack said:

I’ll second that. I’ve got the SoCal and Amistad in the Expert line.  Also have the new Cara’s (Amistads and Deep Runner). I find myself grabbing the Experts more. Good action and really superb sensitivity.

 

My only gripe........the little nub for the lower handle. It’s awkward.

The handle does feel a little small. 

 

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Nice fish!  Weight and length?

 

All I know is the Head Turner is considered by many to be the most versatile model.  The Expert to be very sensitive.  The Expert Head Turner will be my next purchase with a Lowrider Amistad following that so I can try out both lines....which many seem to feel fish above their price point.  Hoping if I wait long enough I won't have to pay full retail. 

The sensitivity is taking a little getting used to. 
didn’t get weight or length, I would guess 4-4-1/2. 

 

1 hour ago, new2BC4bass said:

Nice fish!  Weight and length?

 

All I know is the Head Turner is considered by many to be the most versatile model.  The Expert to be very sensitive.  The Expert Head Turner will be my next purchase with a Lowrider Amistad following that so I can try out both lines....which many seem to feel fish above their price point.  Hoping if I wait long enough I won't have to pay full retail. 

Pretty sure I’m gonna go with the eye crosser next time.Supposed to be the same as the Amistad only shorter.  I wish it came in the expert line up. 
 

 

that’s good to know thanks. 
seems to have plenty of power also. 

1 hour ago, GReb said:

I have 2 Expert Head Turners. Love them for pretty much any single hook moving bait. I personally prefer them over my Cara T7 Head Turner. Lately I’ve been smashing on a Thunder Cricket in emerging pads

There are several legit retailers on eBay that allow you to make offers on Falcon rods. You can always get 10-20% off. Make a 25% off offer and see what happens. Usually they will counter with 10% off and sometimes will go a littler further if you counter again. I got my last Expert Head Turner for $150 and free shipping this way. 

Thanks for all the replies. 

[LogFinder]

On 5/12/2021 at 10:47 PM, Derek1 said:

The handle does feel a little small. 

 

The sensitivity is taking a little getting used to. 
didn’t get weight or length, I would guess 4-4-1/2. 

 

Pretty sure I’m gonna go with the eye crosser next time.Supposed to be the same as the Amistad only shorter.  I wish it came in the expert line up. 
 

 

that’s good to know thanks. 
seems to have plenty of power also. 

Thanks for all the replies. 

I love the HeadTurner for chatterbaits. I find that rod is in my hand a lot. If you are looking at the eye crosser, take a look at the Expert Bayou and I think you’ll find what you are looking for. To me it feels almost identical to the Amistad in power and action just a tad shorter. I use the Amistad to flip/pitch, the bayou to frog, and the head turner for any “moving skirted bait”. I have tied a leader on the Bayou and used it to pitch as well and it definitely does the job. 

[GReb]

The Expert Bayou and Cara Eye Crosser are essentially the same rods built on different blanks. Same action however the the blank the new Cara is built on is a tad stiffer. I have confirmed this with a tech at Falcon. If you are solely fishing a frog I’m not sure there’s any real advantage in spending an extra $ on the Cara. If you planned on doubling it as a jig/plastics rod then maybe? The Expert is pretty dang sensitive to me. 

[the reel ess]

You can't go wrong with Falcon. I have the "big cranker" Lowrider from about 15-20  years ago and it's still my best quality rod. I bought it from a coworker for $50. I also have a newer Bucoo pitching rod I use for my jigs. It's also great quality for the price point.

[Derek1]

12 hours ago, LogFinder said:

I love the HeadTurner for chatterbaits. I find that rod is in my hand a lot. If you are looking at the eye crosser, take a look at the Expert Bayou and I think you’ll find what you are looking for. To me it feels almost identical to the Amistad in power and action just a tad shorter. I use the Amistad to flip/pitch, the bayou to frog, and the head turner for any “moving skirted bait”. I have tied a leader on the Bayou and used it to pitch as well and it definitely does the job. 

Glad you mentioned the bayou. I talked to someone at falcon also. I was under the impression that it was a much stiffer rod then the eye crosser. I’m gonna use it as a jig rod, I don’t really frog at all. I’ll have to give them a call back sometime. Thanks for the info. 

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I’m really enjoying this rod. Definitely gonna try some more. 

[MontclairDave]

On 5/12/2021 at 5:35 PM, Derek1 said:

Mine came in on Sunday. I have 5 or 6 hours time in with it now. I’m finding it to be a interesting rod. It’s a heavy power, but only labeled up to 3/4’s. I think it can go a bit more depending on what bait your throwing. I’m finding it pretty versatile. It’s great with 1/2 ounce spinner baits. Absolutely chucks a 5/16 swimjig with 3.8 rage swimmer. Just for fun I tied on a 3/8’s jig yesterday. Handled it perfectly in light cover. It’s quite sensitive dragging bottom for a mod/fast rod. It feels pretty fast right up until under load, then it bends a bit  deeper. I’m really enjoying so far. By far the most sensitive rod I own ( not that I have to many). I called falcon to ask a few ?’s when I was looking into the rod and they great to talk to over the phone. Overall great experience with falcon so far. Definitely try them again on my next rod purchase. This is my inexperienced first impression so far. Looking forward to hearing what others think of this rod. 

First fish with it. 

Nice fish! Does the rod have micro guides? I may use this with a leader occasionally and microguides and leaders do not play well together, at least in my experience (no, I don’t have the patience to learn FG knot, use uni to uni, which isn’t the smallest knot out there, I know.)
 

 

 

 

[Derek1]

Their not micro guides, but their not quite full size either. There the in between size. 

[MontclairDave]

1 hour ago, Derek1 said:

Their not micro guides, but their not quite full size either. There the in between size. 

Thanks! Sounds like it can work with a leader then. I’ve been practicing the Alberto knot and it’s a bit smaller than uni. Blood knot next on my list (TW guys swear by it).

[GReb]

On 11/9/2021 at 12:51 PM, MontclairDave said:

Thanks! Sounds like it can work with a leader then. I’ve been practicing the Alberto knot and it’s a bit smaller than uni. Blood knot next on my list (TW guys swear by it).

I don’t fish a leader but have tested it before out of curiosity. I used a blood knot with 30lb braid and 12lb mono and it passed through the guides however it wasn’t the smoothest. You could hear it passing through the eyelets and every once in a while would get hung up on the cast. While not microguides they are pretty small. Nice quality though with strong frames. 

[Cbump]

On 5/18/2021 at 8:37 AM, Derek1 said:

Glad you mentioned the bayou. I talked to someone at falcon also. I was under the impression that it was a much stiffer rod then the eye crosser. I’m gonna use it as a jig rod, I don’t really frog at all. I’ll have to give them a call back sometime. Thanks for the info. 

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I’m really enjoying this rod. Definitely gonna try some more. 

Old thread I know. Did you end up getting the bayou? Does It double as a good pitching rod as well as a frog rod? 

[Derek1]

10 hours ago, Cbump said:

Old thread I know. Did you end up getting the bayou? Does It double as a good pitching rod as well as a frog rod? 

No I went with the eye crosser. I’m pretty sure I made a thread about it. It’s great for just about anything in its weight range. From a 3/8’s jig to the 6” magdraft freestyle. 

With braid it talks to you. 

[casts_by_fly]

22 hours ago, Cbump said:

Old thread I know. Did you end up getting the bayou? Does It double as a good pitching rod as well as a frog rod? 

 

12 hours ago, Derek1 said:

No I went with the eye crosser. I’m pretty sure I made a thread about it. It’s great for just about anything in its weight range. From a 3/8’s jig to the 6” magdraft freestyle. 

With braid it talks to you. 

just saw your other thread before this one and I just recommended the eye crosser for toads. I think Derek and I could just swap rod collections for a day and feel right at home.