The New Falcon Expert Series Rundown
The New Falcon Expert Series
Rebuilt From Butt to Tip
Falcon just released the redesigned Expert series — a full rebuild from the butt section to the tip, with new graphite and a refreshed baitcast and spinning lineup. Here's what changed, which models to start with, and where the series earns its name.
The Expert has been a Falcon staple for years — the rod Jason Christie still reaches for on his topwater deck, the series Mike McClelland calls on for early-summer trout trips on the White River. Falcon hasn't replaced the Expert; they've rebuilt it. New graphite from end to end, refined tapers, and a broader baitcast and spinning spread that covers more techniques than the last generation.
What's New in the Redesign
This isn't a cosmetic refresh. The blank itself is new, which changes how the rod loads, how it transmits, and how it fights fish. Here's the short list of what's different.
New Graphite
The entire blank has been redesigned with updated graphite construction from the handle through the tip. Lighter in the hand, more responsive in the tip, and tuned to hold up to heavy daily use.
Refined Tapers
Each model's action was rebalanced for the specific technique it was designed for — jerkbait rods with more tip for walking a bait, flipping sticks with longer backbone for pitching.
Broader Lineup
The new generation adds spinning coverage that the previous lineup underserved — including light-line setups McClelland built specifically for ultralight work on rivers and clearwater lakes.
Why the Expert Series Matters
Falcon builds multiple series because different anglers fish at different price points. The Expert sits near the top — below the Cara, above the mid-tier options — and it's the series that has earned a place on Jason Christie's boat deck for years. What makes the Expert worth its spot, and what's new about the rebuilt version, comes down to four things.
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1Light in the Hand All Day
The redesign prioritized weight reduction. An angler fishing ten-hour tournament days needs a rod that doesn't accumulate fatigue in their casting arm — and the updated Expert blank is noticeably lighter than its predecessor without giving up backbone.
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2Component Quality That Holds Up
Guides, cork, reel seat, finishes. The Expert's components are the same reason Christie still has a years-old Expert rod in his boat as a dedicated topwater stick. The redesign keeps those component standards and builds the new blank around them.
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3Technique-Specific Actions
Each Expert model is tuned for a specific presentation — Amistad for flipping, Head Turner for spinnerbaits, Hudson Special for topwater, Drop Shot for finesse. Pros use them the way they're labeled, but also find secondary uses that the actions happen to fit.
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4Full Bass-Fishing Coverage
The redesigned lineup spans ultralight spinning all the way to heavy flipping and big-crank rods. You can build an entire tournament-ready rod lineup in the Expert series without reaching into another catalog.
Models to Start With
If you're building an Expert lineup from scratch — or replacing worn-out rods one at a time — these are the models that come up most often in pro interviews and that cover the widest range of fishing situations. Both baitcast and spinning setups below.
Baitcast — Jerkbait & Mansfield
Two of the baitcast standouts in the new Expert lineup are the Jerkbait and the Mansfield 4-17. The Jerkbait is a 4-power action — soft enough to let you walk the bait side-to-side on a slack-line retrieve, stiff enough to set hard when a fish smashes the pause. The Mansfield 4-17 is the medium-all-purpose rod that handles everything from soft plastics to smaller cranks to moving baits. Both are rods you can fish on the river or on the lake and not feel limited.
Spinning — Ultralight & Finesse
McClelland's go-to for light-line work is the Expert ES-3-172 Drop Shot/Rig — built for 2-to-10-pound test, rigged often with braid-to-fluoro leader, and designed to handle the tiniest presentations. This is the rod that opens up clearwater reservoirs, pressured fish, and river trout. It fills a gap the previous Expert lineup didn't address as well.
Pair it with the value-tier LowRider LFS-69ML Drop Shot for a second setup, or keep it in the Expert family at a different length for a dedicated shaky head or finesse jig presentation.
Spinning — Medium Finesse Jig
The Expert ES-4-176 Finesse Jig (long) is McClelland's choice when he needs to step up from ultralight to something that can throw a jerkbait or a heavier jig on 6-to-12-pound test. It's the spinning rod that bridges finesse and power — longer than a typical finesse rod, more capable of moving a bigger bait, and rated for lines that don't limit you to small plastics.
This is the rod to pair with the ES-3-172 if you want a two-rod spinning lineup that covers almost everything from drop-shotting to small swimbaits to jerkbait spinning setups.
Buy the Technique, Not the Label
The redesigned Expert lineup is wider than ever — which means it's easy to walk into the series and pick a rod by name rather than by what you're actually going to fish. Don't. Pick the Expert model whose action matches the bait you use most, not the name that sounds coolest. The Head Turner is marketed as a spinnerbait rod, but Christie fishes it for bladed jigs and little jigs too. The Jerkbait is a trout rod in McClelland's hands half the year.
Start with the technique that dominates your day on the water. Pick the Expert matched to it. Then add secondary rods as you build out the lineup.
The Bottom Line
The new Expert series isn't a cosmetic refresh — it's a full rebuild of a rod platform that has earned its place on pro boat decks for years. Lighter blanks, refined tapers, broader spinning coverage, and the same component quality the series was known for. It's the best version of the Expert Falcon has shipped.
If you're shopping a new rod and the Expert is in your budget, start with a Mansfield, a Jerkbait, and one of the new spinning models. That three-rod kit will cover most of what you'll fish in a year, on most of the water you'll fish it on.
Meet the New Expert Series
Browse the redesigned Expert lineup and build the baitcast and spinning setup that fits the way you fish.
