Moonshine Rod CompanyCo. The Vesper Series Fly Fishing gray

easy to cast in tight areas even as long as 10' rod

Never heard of it, but glad I got hands on it!The weight and balance is everything:As soon as I got it removed from its carrying bag/tube, I’ve noticed right away how light the Vesper fly rod is. Moonshine mentions in the listing as the rod’s official weight is 2.8 ounces, which is accurate when I weighed it and feels lighter than a feather. Usually, boutique manufacturers like Moonshine does have hard time sourcing blanks that are both functional and light enough to make it easy to fish with them all day. The Vesper completes off both requirements and does very well. 2.8 ounces for the 9′ 5wt version is just as perfect, if not better, than the weight for some flagship rods of highly known big-name companies. Moonshine attributes the light weight of the Vesper to the new “nano matrix performance graphite” blanks. Very well managed weight, and balance at its finest!Very good build and great design:Flashy builds are one of Moonshine’s claims to make their way to fame, the Vesper does not disappoint aesthetically. Vesper is built on a matte black blank with black thread wraps and orange highlights, creating a rod which, at first glance, looks reminiscent of Scott’s famed Radian. The cork grip has two burled accents, and the cork itself is extremely good and surprisingly satisfying. What really catches the eye and takes the attention here, is the “Tobacco Tiger” reel seat to mount your reel on. This is what catches the eye and demands attention on the freshwater models. This is more than a marketing pitch; this is a well thought design.Each Vesper and many other moonshine rods as can be seen in the listings and their website, ships with an extra tip section. Knowing that as tips are the section of rods most often gets broken, this is a good plus/bonus by Moonshine to allow anglers to keep fishing their rods if any accident happens during the fishing.Made in Korea, where most quality rod's and rod material made.Surprisingly very smooth and accurate action:Surprisingly very smooth and able to give you that quick action recovers adequately but dampens better than expected. Vesper’s fast action will lend itself well to beginning anglers and old-timers like many out there looking to give this a try. It is well built and designed to suit perfectly as a drift boat rod, especially when you’re throwing big flies, or fighting strong winds for the days lasts longer than others to catch a fish.The Vesper lays line down very gently and accurately. Within the traditional trout distances of 20-50 feet, Vesper didn’t make me work too much to put my flies where I wanted them to land, it felt much easier and accurate, somewhat medium windy Oklahoma day wasn’t the best help, but Vesper was the biggest help.The power on reverse gear when you pull, drag, reel or yank:With many fast-action rods as it is very common, Vesper got a lot of reserve power and handling. Doesn’t matter if you are trying to turn big fish from one end to other, turn over long leaders with big flies that takes some power, or need to punch line through a stiff headwind like nature against you, this fly rod got the power to get the job done right.The price point:The rod market is crazily mixed and diluted nowadays due to many products and options out there, especially since the pandemic and demand on outdoor products, which means manufacturers required to push some creativity in product quality, design on how it looks and the engineering end.Most anglers tend to put their rods in that $250 to $600 price window as the fair price range within the current market, and the Vesper retails right on $449.00. What makes Vesper unique and keeps it separate from the other similar priced models from big-name brands is the Vesper’s custom build with high quality design and material. Specifically, I want to point out that the cork burls, and the remarkable reel seat, defines and out loudly tells with high pitch yelling “unique,” to get anglers in style’s attention. Highly noticeable performance for this rod is on the other hand with what I expected from a $450 feather light rod, is the the build quality takes your eye and attention, you will stare at it every time you are using this rod.Moonshine has done a very well job with their rods and especially on this Vesper, that being said, in my opinion Vesper is a bit faster than most other rods priced at $450 and some even little expensive, and it’s most definitely lighter than others. Around the price target of $450 fly rods, the Vesper is worth extremely serious consideration and attention if you’re in the market for a new fly rod.

This is my first fly rod so Im no expert in this but I will talk about the quality and feel of the rod itself.The season here has not started yet but I have high hopes for some good fishing within the next few weeks. Update to follow when it happens.The rod is excellent. I reached out to some fly fishers about this before getting it and they add advised that it was a solid choice. Its not a well-known brand but I went for it anyway.The weight choice was in the middle as I wanted it to be an overall good rod for all kinds of fishing.It comes in a great package but I might consider buying another case if I want to keep my reel attached to the rod.Overall the rod is super light, very long and built with quality parts.Im really excited to get my rig set up and do some fishing!