So the time has come to spoil myself, and buy myself a top of the line rod for Carolina rigging and jigging. Looking for feedback on falcon and kistler rods to help with the decision making process...

i use both have lot of confidence in both,,,for a caroline rig rod id get kislter magnesium they have a mag worm and carolina rig model they sell,,,if you check ebay a 100 bucks should get you one

For those techniques I'd go with the Kistler. I think Falcon actually makes a better rod but even their fast action rods are more on the moderate fast side and you're going to want a rod with more backbone.

Interesting comments, I have been considering the Falcon Reaction, 7'4" Heavy for throwing Football Jigs, has anyone used this rod that would comment, also curious to which Kistler would compare. I would be throwing the 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce football jigs.

1. I have a helium and argon flipping stick and really they bend well for throwing big crankks and football jis,,,i dont like a super stiff rod for my jigs though kislers flipping sticks are very all around rods,,,,,,,
   

I had some issues with Kistler's breaking, I owned 4, broke 2, and out of nervousness and stupidity sold the other 2 before I could break them. But I think I made a mistake. The two that didn't break were the 7' H/F "Jig, Toad, and C-rig" rod, and the 6'9" MH/F all purpose special, both Magnisum TS's. The two I broke were an older Grpahite Plus, and an Argon....both discontinued rods....maybe for good reason. I really wish I had those 2 back, and probably will buy them again. I replaced the Argon 7'9" telescopic crankbait rod that I broke, with a 7'10" St Croix Legend Tournament cranking rod. Love the St Croix.....BUT....my rod locker can only accomadate 7' rods, and now I see Kistler is offering a telescopic 7'9" cranking rod again in both the Helium and MIcro Mag line.................ughhh....................................I love that Croix, but I am sick of having it on the deck all the time cause it won't fit in the locker. I just might have to go back to Kistler.

I've heard concerns from several places abou breakage with the older Kistler models. I only started using them heavily a couple years ago, but I've never had problems with the Magnesium or Helium lines and I'm very hard on rods. This year, they had the lowest reported breakage rate at 1% (or maybe just under). That number may not be completely accurate because I believe it's based on customers reporting it. Still, they've really made good strides with durability form what I've heard.

I can't really compare to Falcons, as I've never used those rods. I have a good friend who uses Falcons almost exclusively and really likes them. You'll be getting a pretty good rod either way.

Interesting comments, I have been considering the Falcon Reaction, 7'4" Heavy for throwing Football Jigs, has anyone used this rod that would comment, also curious to which Kistler would compare. I would be throwing the 1/2 ounce to 1 ounce football jigs.

When you see the word "reaction" to describe a rod series you don't want to use it for jigs, at least I don't. The reason is most reaction baits are going to be fished on a rod with some flex, a little more than a standard jig and worm rod. In open water I guess it would be fine but imagine fishing a jig in cover and getting a strike and when you set the hook the rod flexs pretty steep before you get to the backbone of the rod, treble hooks using lighter wire with short shanks will set easily, but a 4/0 flipping hook will require a lot of backbone to drive the heavy wired hook all the way through the jaw of the fish. Plus you are making it harder on yourself when it comes time to try and turn the fish away from cover, if the fish surges that rod is going to give a little more and possibly allow the fish to get into the cover, the normal jig and worm rod will be flexed to a point but then you'll be fighting the fish with mostly the backbone of the rod and the fish isn't going to get any give out of it, instead it will get turned away from the direction is was going and moving to the area of least resistance.

I like my Kistler's. I'd also get the one with micros.

When you see the word "reaction" to describe a rod series you don't want to use it for jigs, at least I don't.

The rod he's talking about is actually a jig rod. It's a Mike McClelland sig. rod. The reason why it's under the "reaction" series is they made it before his new sig. micro guide series.