robow7 wrote:
Will be working on a couple Moonlit blanks here in the next couple weeks, the 8'2" 6wt and the 8' 5wt. I don't have any idea what to expect with these blanks as I've never handled one but they were recommended by a friend who knows that I prefer a slightly faster glass.
OK, I finished building up these two Moonlit Lunar S-glass blanks and though I have not fished them yet, I have been able to sneak out and do a little casting. I was not able to find a lot of information on these blanks so I thought I would give you my thoughts, realizing that much of this is subjective so take it for what it's worth. Both blanks measured out at their described length and both had nice coloration with little or no "splotches" These are 4 piece designs with butt over tip ferrules. The joints were clean and the fit on each was quite good. The plugs in all the segments were clean and attractive as well. The weight of the 8' 5wt blank came in as advertised at 2.2 ounces on the money. I found no advertised weight for the 6 weight blank but it must be extremely close to the 5wt blank as surprisingly both finished rods came in exactly the same at 4.2 ounces each. Both rods btw, received the same reel seat, cork, and guides. Each blank came with an attractive rod sock in some synthetic poly material. Btw, for a short time, I had a
pair of the 8'2" 6wt blanks in my possession and they were absolutely identical in weight, length, and flex so from that smallest of sample sizes, I will say the manufacturing quality seemed to be consistent.
The only difficulty in building up these rods came in the fact that they both had significantly wide lower butt section diameters which meant I couldn't use my standard reel seats, inserts and cork grips, the butts were just too wide and I was forced into all aluminum reel seats with large inside diameters that are quite functional but cosmetically not as attractive as many other reel seats IMO. Also, because that final section has such a larger taper, I was forced into a very wide half wells cork lest the the rod taper about 11" up is wider than most half wells cork ends at the top. A full wells cork would not be an issue but the tapered half wells is where the problem lies. Again, not a huge problem but removes a lot of choices when it comes to pre-made cork grips and reel seats that were available from my main 2 suppliers.
As to describing the action of the rods and what they cast like, well here comes the very subjective part.
Both rods are fairly light in hand and balance is good, not tip heavy at all.
The 6 weight rod will cast a 6 weight line quite well, even a line that is rated a half size heavy and here's the important part.....when you have aerialized a great deal of line as when you're bombing a longer cast. It didn't buckle at all as some rods will. This rod's action is slightly faster than many glass rods (don't compare to fast graphite) and personally I like it and think it will make a fine streamer rod for chasing Smallmouth.
The 5 weight rod is a slightly different animal. It definitely has a softer tip section, more than you might think for being only one rod weight down. I found that if I were making shorter casts, then a std. 5 weight line would load it up with more full flexing comparatively than its larger brother. A 5 weight line sized a half size heavier started pushing the blank more than I like on longer casts. I threw on a standard 4 weight line for longer casting and the blank handled it much better. Sooo, fishing in close, yea, a std. 5 weight line would work, but if you're aerializing a lot of line for longer casts, I think I would rely on a 4 weight line. For those that prefer a rod that flexes way down into the butt upon casting, throw my recommendations out the window.
Anyway, I hope some might find this information helpful if looking at the Moonlit Lunar S-glass series of blanks.
Rob