Falcon cara vs G. Loomis gcx

[Natepezold]

I am going to get a new rod and I can't decide which one to get. They are the same price at 250 dollars. Which do you think is the better rod?

[padon]

just my opinion but im not impressed with any loomis rod under the 350 price point compared to others at the same price.

[jblocker42]

I like the Cara better. I agree with Padon about lower priced Loomis rods. Which is crazy to say calling a rod that price as lower priced but for Loomis that’s what it is. GLX and up is much much better but much more expensive too. I’ve fished both and I just like the feel and action of the Falcons much better. They do seem to consistently fish above their price point.

[Natepezold]

Thanks for the replies... I think I am going to go with the falcon

[Derek1]

1 hour ago, Natepezold said:

Thanks for the replies... I think I am going to go with the falcon

What model you thinking. 

[Natepezold]

3 hours ago, Derek1 said:

What model you thinking. 

I was thinking the medium cranker falcon cara 

[Blaine Donders]

I have a Cara Headturner and have used an E6X a bit.

 

The Falcon, for me, is built waaay nicer and more sensitive.

[Derek1]

4 hours ago, Natepezold said:

I was thinking the medium cranker falcon cara 

Cool, I bought my first falcon the spring before last. I’m days from getting my third. Pretty sure I’m gonna get the finesse jig. 

[jbrew73]

Falcon, hands down.

I would rank my older falcon Cara rods only slightly less sensitive than my loomis glx rods.   The new Cara line is right in line with the sensitivity of the glx rods and  feel lighter, more responsive in my hands.  I would only assume the falcon is a much better rod than the gcx based on my experience.
 

[Natepezold]

10 hours ago, Derek1 said:

Cool, I bought my first falcon the spring before last. I’m days from getting my third. Pretty sure I’m gonna get the finesse jig. 

What are the other falcon rods you have

10 hours ago, jbrew73 said:

Falcon, hands down.

I would rank my older falcon Cara rods only slightly less sensitive than my loomis glx rods.   The new Cara line is right in line with the sensitivity of the glx rods and  feel lighter, more responsive in my hands.  I would only assume the falcon is a much better rod than the gcx based on my experience.
 

I was wondering how sensitive they were... thats good to know they compare with the glx rods in term of sensitiveity

12 hours ago, Blaine Donders said:

I have a Cara Headturner and have used an E6X a bit.

 

The Falcon, for me, is built waaay nicer and more sensitive.

I think i am going to get a falcon. thanks for the reply

[Derek1]

1 hour ago, Natepezold said:

What are the other falcon rods you have

I have the expert head turner, and the Cara eye crosser. I like them both a lot. They just feel good in my hand. Dragging a jig with the eye crosser (6’11” heavy,but not to heavy) you can practically count grains of sand. Also throws good size paddle tails, magdraft free style and things of that nature really well. 

[Natepezold]

4 hours ago, Derek1 said:

I have the expert head turner, and the Cara eye crosser. I like them both a lot. They just feel good in my hand. Dragging a jig with the eye crosser (6’11” heavy,but not to heavy) you can practically count grains of sand. Also throws good size paddle tails, magdraft free style and things of that nature really well. 

Can you tell a difference in terms of like sensitivy between the expert and the cara? 

[Derek1]

One is a mh mod fast and the other is a heavy fast. So it’s not really a apples to apples comparison. 

[Natepezold]

7 hours ago, Derek1 said:

One is a mh mod fast and the other is a heavy fast. So it’s not really a apples to apples comparison. 

I know what you mean... I was just wondering if its worth it to get the cara or if I should get the expert

[Derek1]

1 hour ago, Natepezold said:

I know what you mean... I was just wondering if its worth it to get the cara or if I should get the expert

I’m going Cara again because it’s a bottom contact rod I’m looking for. If I was looking for moving baits I might go expert. 

[Natepezold]

3 hours ago, Derek1 said:

I’m going Cara again because it’s a bottom contact rod I’m looking for. If I was looking for moving baits I might go expert. 

I might go with the expert just because it is a little cheaper...Have you tried the bucoos or the lowrider? I have heard they are great rods for the money. 

[Blaine Donders]

11 minutes ago, Natepezold said:

I might go with the expert just because it is a little cheaper...Have you tried the bucoos or the lowrider? I have heard they are great rods for the money. 

I have both and have no complaints. Really like the MHF Lowrider a lot. Bucoo is my light cranker

[Derek1]

18 hours ago, Natepezold said:

I might go with the expert just because it is a little cheaper...Have you tried the bucoos or the lowrider? I have heard they are great rods for the money. 

No I haven’t. You should check out falcons you tube channel. They have allot of videos on different techniques and the rods their pro staff uses for them. Also you can give them a call. Their techs are great to talk to. They are fishermen also. Their advice has been spot on for me the two times I’ve talked to them, and they don’t mind chatting. 

[Natepezold]

1 hour ago, Derek1 said:

No I haven’t. You should check out falcons you tube channel. They have allot of videos on different techniques and the rods their pro staff uses for them. Also you can give them a call. Their techs are great to talk to. They are fishermen also. Their advice has been spot on for me the two times I’ve talked to them, and they don’t mind chatting. 

I never thought about calling them up... I think I will do that. thanks man

[casts_by_fly]

20 hours ago, Natepezold said:

I might go with the expert just because it is a little cheaper...Have you tried the bucoos or the lowrider? I have heard they are great rods for the money. 

 Can’t help with loomis or caras, but now you’re talking experts and bucoo I’m in. That’s about all I carry in the boat now (I have one shimano specialist). I fished the trapcaster, lizard dragger, and pitchin stick in the bucoo lineup all last year. At the end of last year I started bringing in experts and have the amistad, head turner, finesse jig/topwater, hudson special, and table rock. 
 

you said you’re looking at the medium cracker (aka Mansfield) but didn’t specify quite what for unless I missed it. I’ve not fished that rod, but I’ve held and flexed the bucoo version. It is lighter than I want to fish. If your plan is 10-12 lb line and crankbaits up to a 1.5 kvd or Spro little John around open water than you’d be good. It doesn’t have the backbone for any type of cover to me, and I wouldn’t want to try and throw a half ounce with it.  Maybe the expert or cara versions are better and more powerful, but the bucoo wouldn’t be enough.

 

If you want a lighter power treble hook rod, the 7’ all-round is a great rod. I have the bucoo version.  I fish it with 30 lb braid for some added sensitivity on the bucoo blank. Occasionally I’ll throw a fluoro leader on it but mostly it’s straight braid with lipless and small cranks (up to a dt-10).  I fished it all of last year with 10-14 mono and even 17 fluoro for various things. Biggest fish caught on it was a 7 lb hybrid and it did just fine. I don’t think the Mansfield would have done so well with that fish. The 7’ cara all round is Jason Christie’s small crankbait rod. 
 

a bit bigger is the Hudson special. It’s physically more imposing than the all round but has a nice moderate fast action and bends deep on a fish. I fish it with ploppers and buzzbaits primarily.  I’ll take either this rod or the trapcaster depending on the lake. If the plan is cranks, I grab the trapcaster first. If it’s topwater I’ll grab the Hudson. Both will backup the other and kinda duplicate each other. 
 

rick

[Derek1]

10 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

 Can’t help with loomis or caras, but now you’re talking experts and bucoo I’m in. That’s about all I carry in the boat now (I have one shimano specialist). I fished the trapcaster, lizard dragger, and pitchin stick in the bucoo lineup all last year. At the end of last year I started bringing in experts and have the amistad, head turner, finesse jig/topwater, hudson special, and table rock. 
 

you said you’re looking at the medium cracker (aka Mansfield) but didn’t specify quite what for unless I missed it. I’ve not fished that rod, but I’ve held and flexed the bucoo version. It is lighter than I want to fish. If your plan is 10-12 lb line and crankbaits up to a 1.5 kvd or Spro little John around open water than you’d be good. It doesn’t have the backbone for any type of cover to me, and I wouldn’t want to try and throw a half ounce with it.  Maybe the expert or cara versions are better and more powerful, but the bucoo wouldn’t be enough.

 

If you want a lighter power treble hook rod, the 7’ all-round is a great rod. I have the bucoo version.  I fish it with 30 lb braid for some added sensitivity on the bucoo blank. Occasionally I’ll throw a fluoro leader on it but mostly it’s straight braid with lipless and small cranks (up to a dt-10).  I fished it all of last year with 10-14 mono and even 17 fluoro for various things. Biggest fish caught on it was a 7 lb hybrid and it did just fine. I don’t think the Mansfield would have done so well with that fish. The 7’ cara all round is Jason Christie’s small crankbait rod. 
 

a bit bigger is the Hudson special. It’s physically more imposing than the all round but has a nice moderate fast action and bends deep on a fish. I fish it with ploppers and buzzbaits primarily.  I’ll take either this rod or the trapcaster depending on the lake. If the plan is cranks, I grab the trapcaster first. If it’s topwater I’ll grab the Hudson. Both will backup the other and kinda duplicate each other. 
 

rick

Great info man. 

How do you like the finesse jig rod. 

[Natepezold]

On 7/17/2022 at 8:34 AM, Derek1 said:

Great info man. 

How do you like the finesse jig rod. 

I ended up ordering the cara head turner... I know it isn't the finnesse jig rod but could tell you how good it is when I get it tomorrow... fedex like normal is never on time

[Derek1]

22 minutes ago, Natepezold said:

I ended up ordering the cara head turner... I know it isn't the finnesse jig rod but could tell you how good it is when I get it tomorrow... fedex like normal is never on time

I have the expert head turner. Awesome rod. I just got the Cara finesse jig in yesterday. Took it out for a couple hours today no bites. Feels good though. Lol. 

[Blaine Donders]

2 hours ago, Natepezold said:

I ended up ordering the cara head turner... I know it isn't the finnesse jig rod but could tell you how good it is when I get it tomorrow... fedex like normal is never on time

I have this rod. It’s awesome. I have used it for everything but really lean on it for spinnerbaits.

[casts_by_fly]

On 7/17/2022 at 9:34 AM, Derek1 said:

Great info man. 

How do you like the finesse jig rod. 

sorry, I missed the question about the finesse jig rod when I first read this.

 

i love the finesse jig rod. It’s a lighter version of the head turner to me. Both have pretty quick tips for casting purposes but then they get into the top meat of the rod quite quickly.  With a fish, you’re into the middle of the rod fairly quickly but it always seems that there is more power to give in the butt. I’ve not fought a 10# plus fish (of any species) on either yet so maybe it will give up eventually but I haven’t gotten there yet. The power transition from tip, top mid, bottom mid, and butt is not noticeable in any way. I have overloaded the finesse jig with a 1/2 ounce chatterbait and zako (total weight almost an ounce) and it just flings it.  Anything over 5/16 or so and just let it rip for a 35 yard cast. Super lightweight overall. If I were to duplicate rods in my arsenal, that would be one (the head turner the other).