I currently have a St. Croix avid 7' med-heavy moderate action rod i have been using for crankbaits. i think this feels too stiff for my shallow running cranks. I get a good discount through work on kistler rods and g loomis rods so i would like to get one they make. i have been looking at the  7' medium composite glass/graphite kistler rod and the 7' medium moderate g-loomis crankbait series rod. I will typically throw baby1- or wiggle warts and a few rapala shallow runners.

If you know of another rod made by kistler or g-loomis that you like please let me know!

I'm surprised you haven't received a response today. I have not fished the G. Loomis Crankbait series, but I bet a few guys have, so maybe bringing this back up to the top of the page will help. I am currently fishing shallow crankbaits on a St. Croix Avid AC66MF which has a soft tip. This is what I consider my "all-around" baitcasting rod. I fish all medium weight crankbaits, jerkbaits, topwater and spinnerbaits on this equipment, but not soft plastics or jigs.

Another rod I would suggest taking a look at for these classes of lures and shallow cranks in particular, is the G.Loomis PR844C. I have its twin in a spinning rod (PR844S). This is my favorite rod. The PR844C will probably

be my next rod and will replace the St. Croix.

RW's suggestion of the AC66MF is a good one as well as the AC70MF if you like a longer crankbait rod.  (I prefer the shorter rod myself.)  I have two Powell rods that do exactly what they are supposed to do at a price that belies their quality.  I think their quality would justify a higher price, myself.  Though I haven't used the Powell crankbait rods I'd suggest giving their 684 CB a look-see as well if you have a Powell dealer nearby.  

Check out the Loomis CBR783 for wiggle wart size cranks. This rod also excels with topwaters and jerkbaits.

If you dont want to go all glass, at least go composite.

Sorry for being late on the chime in, but I own the cbr843 and cbr845.  I throw shallow cranks every outing (my favorite bait), and find myself grabbing the 845 90% of the time.  It is very versatile, being soft enough up top to sling 1/4oz cranks, but is also powerful enough to throw Bagley B2's.  I can't speak enough about the 845...it's one of my favorite rods.

I also use G Loomis' CBR845C for cranking. I have 3 of them, in fact. One of the most versatile rods I own. I also use them for lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits and topwaters, such as the Zara Super Spook, Sammy, popper/chugger, prop bait, basically most lures with treble hooks. It's my bread and butter setup for throwing shallow crankbaits, like the 1/4 oz. Speed Trap. It also works well for ripping lipless crankbaits from weeds. You just have to rip a little harder since the 845C has a mod-fast action. During the post spawn, when vegetation has nearly matted on the surface, I will cast over it with topwaters, and I was surprised how powerful the backbone was when fighting 5-7 lb fish that hit my lure and buried me in the weeds. You may not be able to horse fish out of thick vegetation, but you will be thankful of the rod's more forgiving action once a big fish is in open water. The only situation I would want to upgrade to a stiffer rod would be if I were shallow cranking in heavy wood cover. And that's only if I fished that type of cover extensively. I would still use the 845C for limited fishing in heavier wood cover. Good Luck.  

the kistler mag ts composte cb rod is great for shallow cranks.