Moonshine Rod Co. The Drifter Series Fly Fishing Rod

Received my 6wt rod several days ago, with the intention of setting it up for bass fishing. I paired the rod with Orvis' Bankshot HD line in WF6F. I tied on a bulky deer hair frog and stepped out to the the backyard to try it out. I am by no means an expert castmaster, but I was really impressed with the ease and distance I was able to cast this setup, I was easily shooting out 85-90' of the 100' line. For some reason, I was able to feel the rod load better than with just about any other rod I have. While it isn't on par with my Helios 3D or Sage One, it was pretty darn close, and at its price point, this rod is an amazing value!

I have to tell you, Moonshine Rods not only makes a unbelievable product, but their customer service is second to none. I have been in communication with Tate, and not only am I completely satisfied with the product, they went above and beyond answering my questions and some concerns I had. Unbelievable company, and I fully encourage you to purchase from them. Definitely check out their Midnight Special rods as well. WOW. I'll be doing business with these guys and singing their praises for years to come. You want to learn how to handle customer service? Look no further than the fellas at Moonshine.

I've been fly fishing for over 40 years and have Scott, Sage, Orris, and in the end, this is a really nice performing, nice looking rod that will keep up with my other rods that cost 3-4X as much. I ordered a 3 wt and liked it so much, I ordered an 8 wt from Moonshine. Haven't fished the 8 yet but the 3 caught 17 panfish in about an hour, tosses nice, loads nice and has a great balance to it. I fished it with an old Orvis CFO reel that I've had for close to 40 years and the combination was perfectly balanced. I will pair it to a Piscifun Platte large arbor reel that I just purchased as soon as I get some line on it. This reel is a mid priced reel that got some great reviews so I'll be looking for a nice performing rig when all is said and done.

One of the best rods for the money. I got the 10 foot 7 weight for fishing steelhead and heavy streamers for trout. The two tip sections are slightly different one is stiffer than the other ones more of a fast-action the other a medium fast action. I'm not sure if this is accidental or intentional but it works out wonderfully because I can swap the tips depending on the type of fishing or weight of the fly. The rod casts beautifully and can shoot line with some of the more expensive rods. the cork is very high-quality, The reel seat looks great, and the rod balances nicely with a 7/8 large arbor reel. Infighting larger fish there is plenty of backbone sudden onset sensitivity at the tip section to detect light strikes. All in all I would highly recommend this rod for the beginner or the season to angler like myself.

Just received this rod yesterday and took it out for the first time today. The craftsmanship and quality is fantastic and it casts like a dream. I was able to present my fly as I wanted and casting accurately is a breeze. I caught 6 brown trout within 30 minutes that I think I would have scared away without delicate presentation. I havent tried hauling out line with it but its rare I fish more than 30 feet away from me anyway. The matte finish, copper hardware, and wood burl look great together and the cork handle is high quality. Looking forward to spending more time with this rod and it has definitely replaced my orvis Clearwater as my first grab.

Raised the rating to 5 stars . After a summer of fishing in West Yellowstone and using the rod from rivers to lakes for the money you won't find a better rod . very happy and expect years of use . having 2 tips is also nice to change up the action from drys to streamers this rod works . Just got the new moonshine 5wt 10' rod . Fit and finish looks very good .assembled and did some false casts the rod seem closer to med action then med to fast . there are to tips included one seems a bit stiff then the other . which is good to change up the action . have not fished with it yet and won't have a chance to until may 2019 at which time i will up date review as to the casting feel of the rod and it's performance . once the new reel comes i will load with a 5wf orvis line and do some testing before i get on the water to get a good idea of the action . so far very pleased only 4 stars because i have not casted or caught any fish yet to see how well it really performs .

I didn't have a chance to use it yet, but at first glance after unboxing, the first words that came out of my mouth were "Wow", and "Woooow". What a simply nice looking, light, well balanced rod.I've owned a couple of department store beginner rods, and they absolutely pale in comparison to this thing. It reeks of tradition in the best way possible, from the beautiful wood reel seat to the soft-as-a-babys-bottom cork to the anodized copper guides, I feel like this is what a fly rod SHOULD look and feel like. I can't wait to fit a Hardy UL on it and get it out onto some NY creeks and streams next week. Oh yea speaking of which... because it didn't break the bank, I was able to fit a higher end reel into the budget, too... the biggest perk of that fact is that you get a lot more rod than you pay for, that's for damn sure.It has slightly less backbone (medium or medium-fast maybe) than I had imagined, but that's actually better than what I was expecting and wanted. I will be using it for shorter throws in smaller streams, so that tad-slower-than-fast action will come in a lot of handy.Moonshine, you guys obviously know what you're doing, and take a lot of pride in the craft. If the Drifter alone is a solid indication of what you put out in general, then dear lord keep up the great work. Come out to the Catskills sometime, maybe I'll see y'all in the water :). Thanks, fellas and ladies.

What a nice rod!! I am relatively new to fly fishing and after buying few rods I decided to buy Moonshine's. Beautiful rod, from tip top to bottom. I have the 7' 6'' 3-wt and it casts fantastic with a relatively cheap line and reel.I am extremely happy with the product.