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Dear Dave!
It was nice talking with you and your wife. I'm thrilled that you have
relatives in Söderhamn. A very nice area in Sweden, and close to my
favorite trout waters. I'm looking forward guiding you around in Sweden
if you decide to come over for vacation. Finally I got the possibility
to go out to the water and try out the rod you made for me. First of
all, being the first Swede having a Norling made rod is really
something, and it became an experience using it, far away from what I´m
used to. I usually use the CTS mad i New Zealand. Light weight and top
action speed. Using your rod was going from fishing with "intensity" to
fish with "intimacy". The weight and the deeper action was giving me a
feeling of being much more precise in casting and fishing. I used a
Scientific angler ED weight 5 and the rod responded beautifully. It
doesn't require much power with your arm, just using the underarm and
let the rod work. Wow..... I really looking forward to meet you either
in Minneapolis or in Sweden.
Calle Fjellman |
Dave,
Your
rod exceeded every bit of (the high) expectation I had towards it. It's
beautifully made, absolute classic appearance, perfectly aesthetic.
The
5 wt. 8´7" fits my fishing needs just like a glove - so glad I followed
your knowledgeable recommendations. And the rod is light as a feather.
Unbelievable how light a rod that long can get.
It is also a pure pleasure to cast. Smooth, powerful and precise. Always a straight line, no shock-waves whatsoever.
And
you built one hell of a fish catching tool here. The 4 1/2 lbs. Rainbow
trout I recently caught in the rapid waters of the Goiserer Traun in
Austria did not have a bit of a chance, no matter how the fish and the
current bent your rod. What about "confidence" as the ultimate benefit
a hand-built rod can possibly deliver?
Thanks so much for this rod Dave. It will stay with me as long as I will be able to fish.
Andy Schumacher
Berlin, Germany
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Yesterday
with the heat and wind was a perfect day and with the general lack of
hatches to focus the fish, I knew that they would be susceptible to the
beetle. I fished the rod you built me yesterday with the 4wt. tip and
it is REALLY a fine spring creek rod. I struggled a little with the
wind but under normal conditions it will be an exquisite fishing tool.
Jay Johnson
Hunter Recruitment and Retention Coordinator for MN DNR |
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All
the rods I fish with have been made by men I respect. When I take one
to a stream or river, I take the maker along. It keeps me from getting
lonely, teaches me respect for craftsmanship and leads me to be joyful
and to honor the depth of each person's love of fly fishing, including
my own. Dave Norling has been making bamboo fly rods for less than a
decade, but in important ways he has been preparing for the building of
each one of them for his entire lifetime. I own three Norling rods, a
four-, five- and six-weight. I have another on order and will probably
own as many of them as Dave will build for me. They have grace, subtle
power and a wonderful sense of humor, just like their builder.
Tom Helgeson
Editor/Publisher
Midwest Fly Fishing magazine
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YES!
I got the rod. I really love it. The taper is heaven. That is the kind
of action I love. It is a very light weight rod, with a soft touch. But
I think has still some authority left. The look of the rod is
beautiful. The components work great together. I'm sure, that this rod
will be one of my favorite 4 wt. rods. And I think one off the reason
is that it has a lot of soul.
Thanks Dave.
Dennis Werner
Berlin, Germany |
When I first got one of Dave's bamboo rods, I was afraid to use it.
Just kept it on my office wall as a special piece of art. But when Dave
promised me that if I broke it (while fishing, of course) he would make
another for me. And so when I tried it on the stream, it was so lovely
to handle it's my regular now. It's light, snappy, feels good
(especially when there's a trout on), and it's beautiful. Throws a line
out with precision. I regret I lost two years without it. And now when
I'm not fishing, it's hanging in its special place on my office wall.
But only when I'm not fishing.
Tom Waters
Dr.
Tom Waters is professor emeritus of the department of fisheries and
entomology at the University Of Minnesota. In addition to a number of
books for the layman about rivers and streams he is perhaps best known
for the discovery of "behavioral drift".
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Dave,
Your
rods are among the best I have ever used. Not only are they great to
look at and great to cast. they are among the best I've ever fished
with. Thanks for making them.
Wayne Bartz
Field Editor for Midwest Fly Fishing magazine |
Re: what is it about 7' 9"?
Far
be it from me to even think I know THE answer to your question but if
you're looking for a lightweight 7'9" HOLLOW-BUILT 4wt that's not
noodly and has a very nice, smooth (smoooth) action you may wish to
consider giving Dave Norling of Mpls a ring.
He's
made a bunch of rods in that length and mine is very nice indeed. And
his workmanship/cosmetics/wraps (especially those wraps) and finish is
wonderful.I like a 7'9" more than a 7'6" for some things. Then I like
an 8 footer for some other occassions too. Depends, doesn't it. I could
go on but I wont! It's like many of our rods, you can't appreciate them
until you play with them. Translates into angst.
And that into the wants..... Jeremy.....lovin' it!
Jeremy Gubins |
I
believe that any bamboo rod maker who is careful in his selection of
cane, understands tapers, and is meticulous in his attention to the
details of construction, will produce a serviceable fly rod. But, this
is mere craftsmanship.
The
true value of any piece of artwork is found in the heart and soul of
the artist that creates it, and I can think of no other medium, where
this is more true, than bamboo. I've fished a few bamboo rods... and in
the hands of a competent angler... they all get the job done.
Precious few have spoken to me in the process.
Dave
Norling is an artist who breaths life into each of his creations. Each
rod that he offers, comes to us from not only his hands and
experience... but from his heart and soul. When I pull one of Dave's
rods from it's tube, and string it up... it whispers a promise. When I
roll out the first buttery loop... it speaks to me. When I fish... it
sings.
Perhaps, Saint Francis of Assisi
said it best... "He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works
with his hands and head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands,
and his head, and his heart is an artist.
My days on the water are too few to fish with any thing less.
~ Bob White |
Hello Dave, we are 2 weeks back from our fishing trip in SLOVENIA.
I
have fishing 7 days with the rod that you have made for me, Dave and I
can talk 2 days about that rod because she is BETTER THAN I EVER
COULD HAVE DREAMED because I have fished on several rivers from
large to small rivers, I have fished with several
flies;dryflies,nymphs,spiders,streamers and what is the result
SHE CAST EVERYTHING AND THIS WAY SMOOTH
Dave, absolutely no fish were too large and absolutely no fish were too fast for that beautiful made rod, I can know it.
When someone has fished with a rod made by you Dave, there is now way back and it is a special feeling .
Dave,
I going to tell you something that you must tell against nobody,
because they will think that I am crazy; there were moments that I was
fishing and that I had the feeling that you stood beside me
Best Graets from your friend in Belgium,
Janot Castermans
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"Your rods are among the best I have felt and seen in the realm of the individual rodmaker around the country. Keep it going!"
Jerry Kustich
Former bamboo rodmaker for H.L. Winston Rod Company
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"When
you talk about quality, you talk about those products that are made not
only from the best materials, but also from the hearth. Dave Norling
was teaching me how to make my own rod and I saw first hand the passion
that he puts into making them. He takes care of every single detail
with such devotion that the result cannot be anything else but
perfection. Lack of time did not let me finish my rod. But I bought a
5wt rod from Dave that looks like a piece of art with my name on it.
Where else do you get that treat? I told Dave that the rod was such a
beauty I was afraid to use it, and he said, do not buy it then, the rod
needs to be used!
The rod is here
with me in Chile, where I plan to use it as soon as the season starts.
Regardless of the cold July Winter here, I have taken the rod out to
the park for practice. The powerful yet smooth action of this rod blows
me away. I own several graphite rods, of which some I made my self
trying to find that special taper and balance that eliminates some of
the vibration on the forward cast. I did not succeed. But this rod
eliminates the vibration and adds precision to the cast. So now I have
beauty, quality, and precision. Fishing has another meaning"
Juan Carlos Castro Rehbein
Bechtel Chile Ltda.
Xstrata Project
Santiago - CHILE
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Dave-
This weekend was Troutfest in Townsend, TN. Townsend is the small
town on the northwestern edge of the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. I fished your rod in the Park both Friday
and Saturday. Troutfest is a three-day festival about trout
and trout fishing. Lefty Kreh, Joe Humphries, and Bob
Clouser were here tying flies, giving presentations, and signing
books. There were artists, netmakers, charity groups, and
rodmakers. Friday and Saturday a small group of people get
together in the classroom above the town's fly shop for the "Boo
Bash". There were a number of guys there from Clark's
Classic Fly Rod Forum. One of the guys remembered my username
and asked me if I wasn't the guy who just got a Norling. I
said I was and I was sent out to get it. When I took it out
of the case, a couple of guys took it over to the light and went
crazy. One of them started passing the butt section around
the room. He was telling folks "If you want to see REAL rod
wrapping, look at this!"
Dave, I looked at a bunch of very nice rods there, and I am still so
honored that you agreed to build me one. Both days after
leaving the festival, I headed into the park to try to fool some
fish. Saturday was my best day on a stretch of water that
is typically fishless for me. Four trout came to one of
those Pheasant Tails like I gave you. The trout in the park
are tough - they probably see as many flies in a year as the trout on
the Henry's Fork out west. But there's something about a
wild trout for sure. Even if they're smaller they sure are
pretty.
Hope everything is going well for you and your family.
Abe Mathews |
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