Now I’m convinced I’m getting the right bamboo rod

[Abe Mathews]

This is a remote report from Duluth, MN.  I’m up in Da Nort visiting family for Christmas.  It’s been a fly fishing Christmas so far, my folks gave me a nice wading jacket, and I’m showing my brother how to tie some of my favorite patterns with a big box of tying material my uncle gave him earlier this year.

But while I was up here, I wanted to meet the guy who will be building me my first bamboo rod, Dave Norling.  Dave lives in Minneapolis, about 45 minutes away from my folks.  The reason I chose Dave due to the humor that came through in his e-mails on the subject, plus I really liked that he was building rods to chase brookies in MN, and I’d be using the rod to chase brookies in mountain streams a thousand miles away.

After a couple of false starts, Dave agreed to allow me to come over yesterday morning.  It was about -5 out, so my wife and I bundled up and headed over.  We were greeted by Dave, his wife (“the brains of the outfit” sez Dave), and Dave’s son (“I’m blessed to have a son who wants to learn to build rods”) and the golden retriever Killer who took a shine to Heather immediately.

Dave was a bit perplexed at why I wanted to come over, but in truth I had a couple motives.  First is I had not yet determined what kind of rod I wanted – whether a lightweight rod for chasing around small streams, or a heavier all-rounder.  We discussed it for a while, and I got a dose of the humor – while Dave will build a lightweight rod if a customer wants it, he says that if he could only have one rod, it would be his 8′ hollowbuilt 2pc 5wt.  He just happened to have one he was building for himself that was in finishing, which he demanded I take outside and cast.  So my first cast with a bamboo rod was in the middle of Cleveland Ave in Minneapolis, in -5 weather.  Hilarious.  But man, what a rod.  Not nearly as heavy or sluggish as I was afraid it might be.  That’s my rod.

I had also brought Dave a piece of wood.  A friend of the family had given me a bunch of figured hardwood years ago, and I brought Dave a chunk of birdseye maple to build reel seats out of, hopefully one for my rod.  Dave seemed appreciative, especially because maple matches his light-toned rods.  That got into a discussion of aesthetics and how he likes his rods to match.  That went to how he finishes his rods, and the things he’s figured out on how to make a well-finished rod that doesn’t suffer some of the problems of spar-varnish finishing.

I’d also brought him my favorite brookie nymph, a Sparkle Pheasant Tail. He immediately brought out a box of flies, and gave me a bunch of his favorite, the Orange Scud.  Here’s what his website says about them:

While duct tape may be the handyman’s secret weapon. The Orange Scud is definitely the trout fisherman’s secret weapon.  While a trout will not walk across the street for an armload of English Setter hair, it is an established fact that a trout will eat every bit of Golden Retriever fur it can get it’s hands on.  With this in mind, in tying this killer pattern our family uses the fur from all the families Golden Retrievers past and present. Fur saved from Chief, Ruff, Red, Buck, Copper and Rip are all blended together to tie this pattern. It is tied on #12 scud hook using a gold bead and .020 thousand thick wire. It is heavy and sinks like a toolbox.

Family and friends refer to this killer pattern as the family scud and after cautioning misuse and over harvesting I do give some away as dubbing.

At least I’m not the only nut tying flies out of dog fur.  🙂

Dave’s the kind of person that only seems to grow in Minnesota.  He was like my dad, grandpa, and Heather’s grandpa rolled into one.  We talked dogs, side-by-side shotguns (what else is a ‘boo builder going to use but a side-by 16 gauge?) and fishing holes.  I’ve got a standing initiation to come up and fish his favorite river this summer.

Anyway, it was a fantastic visit.  As we were pulling away, Heather said “You picked the right guy to build it.”

[Jay Hake]

Abe,

Thanks for sharing a great story.  As a hobby bamboo maker and a native of MN, I love to hear great things about Dave.  Everyone I know who has a rod from him is completely impressed.  Jerry Kustich (a 20+ year bamboo maker at Winston and now Sweetgrass) says that he thinks Dave is one of the finest makers alive today.  No small praise.  You definitely picked a great maker, enjoy it.

Cheers,

Jay

[Cameron Mortenson]

Abe…glad that your mind is at ease on your choice of builder.

[Abe Mathews]

Jay – since I grew up in northern MN, I really shouldn’t have been so surprised.

[Author]

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