A fine Kola Peninsula Salmon

for Dmitiry Kuzmin from Russia.

A fine Brook Trout for

William Diem

caught in the West Branch of the Two-Hearted River. Michigan.

An 11lb fish caught from the lower beat of the Castle fishings on the middle Nith by William Goldie.

Martin Allday.(25lb Tarpon, Espiritu Santo Bay, Isla Punta Pajaros , Yucatan)

Eric McVicar. with a fresh run

Salmon from the North Esk.

EV2 - 3pce 13' 6" # 9'10

Charles Welsh with 15lb Amberjack.
  EV3 -4 pce Saltwater 9’ # 10

Ian Coutts. Edinburgh.

9lb Bahamas bone!

9'6" #8 EV3 Saltwater 4pce

Silje Aasen, Norway with River Gaula salmon

18lbs and 7 lbs. 

EV1 4pce  15’ #10/11

Peter Wilson, Suffolk,  

EV2 12' #8/9 4 pce Custom build

18.5 lb. Hen Sea-Trout,   Rio Grande,

Tierra  del Fuego,

Jonathon Paterson, Kelso, Gaula Silver! EV2 15'4pce 10/11

Peter Higgenbottom and a super

Canadian Pike.

9ft EV2 # 8 saltwater 5pce custom built.

I am always delighted to receive your comments and photographs of any notable catches taken on Norwich rods. The comments on this page are a minor sample of those received, directly copied and pasted from emails, and date back to 1997, the period when I first started making my own blanks. A  big thank's to all my customers who have taken the time to write, phone or e-mail me. It is most encouraging, and is very much appreciated.

April 2013

Hi David,

March 2013

EV5 10 CS #7 Competion

Amazing is the only adjective that came to my mind when I pulled the rod out of it's tube. It's stunning! -

I had a quick cast on the back lawn during a break in the rain. My lawn runs for a good 70ft. First cast with one good haul on the forward stroke I put my new Snowbee EXDF over the fence at the bottom of the garden and on to my neighbours patio! I can't wait till the weather gets better so I can use it in earnest.

John Gilmour. Staffs

March 2013.

9ft 6inch EV5 #7. February 2013.

Hi David,

Just a quick note to let you know I got my EV5. I had high expectations regarding this rod. You read so much about improvements in rod design and wonder just how much you can believe. Well I believe now! This rod is superb and my expectations have been exceeded. The line comes off the tip as if it was a mathematical projection on a drawing board. No dips or wobbles, the fly line just flies out straight and true. I'm so looking forward to using my EV5 this season.

Kindest regards,
John Gibson.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12ft #7/8 EV4 4pce Salmon Rod. August 2012.

David,

I've used the rod for the first time on Annan. It's just so sweet the way it delivers a line. I'm so pleased that I can't wait to use it again. Hopefully I'll get another few days using it before the season ends..

All the best,

Graham Horsemere.

Custom Built 12ft 3pce Grayling Trotting Rod. Feb 2012.

Hi David,

The rod has arrived   Simply Fantastic!   I really can't wait to use it, gosh it's ******* great   (sorry about swear word!)   Will give you a bell tomorrow.

Regards,

Martin

Hardy Smuggler Renovation January 2012.

David,

I received my rod, it was well worth the wait. You did a beautiful job, no one will believe that it's 30 plus yrs old. Can't wait to use it on an up come trip to Alaska. Once again, thank you for all your effort.  

Brendan.

Pennsylvania. U.S.A.

Dear David,

  I bought an 8'2 3/4 wt rod earlier this year, and have used it this past few months in Herefordshire, Wales, Devon and even on the Lima in Tuscany to catch beautiful wild brown trout. Several perfect days, and all the more so for using such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship that I just never tire of admiring and casting with. Off to Florida with the family this Christmas...the 5 piece 6wt is already in the suitcase...  

Best wishes    

David Bolton

EV4 14ft 4pce Salmon Fly Rod. June 2011.

Hi David,

Has caught on your rod of good fishes on Kola Peninsula. The
largest for 24 pounds.

Dmitiry Kuzmin .

Moscow, Russia.

8ft 2inch EV2 4 pce # 3/4 September 2011.

David,
Last winter you made an 8'2" 3/4 weight rod for the silk line I mailed
you. I never had better fishing than this year, on my little rivers in
Northern Michigan. Your web pages are full of big fish. This 15" brook
trout is a big brook trout for my rivers, this one being from the West
Branch of the Two-Hearted River.
Some of my success was due to stealth, something I am trying to make a
habit. But some of it is from the way my Norwich rod perfectly casts a
fly -- in this case a No. 6 black stone fly nymph -- in narrow quarters.
Thanks
Bill Diem. France.

8ft 2inch EV2 4 pce # 3/4 April 2011.

Dear David,

On my return from a business trip to Shanghai I had the great pleasure
of holding in my hands your well-protected cylindrical package, with,
inside, a technical aluminium tube, with, inside, a blue cloth rod sack,
with, inside, the 3/4 weight rod you made for me this winter. I have not
yet had the pleasure of finding water and casting toward a floating leaf
or wind ripple, but I have had the great pleasure of opening a Russian
doll egg and then holding, assembling and disassembling my fly rod.

Thank you.
Regards,
William. France.

15ft & 121/2ft EV4 4 pce Salmon rods. April 2011.

"Hi David,

Has received rods. That I can tell. The First-has amazed
their improbable ease. The Second-their simply very beautiful. The
Third-quality assemblages very good. Very easily cope with various
lines. I tried modified 9\10 65 and 75 Carron. Simply perfectly well.
Their my friends have tried - it they were pleasant.12.6-probably will
be one of the cores.

Many thanks, Dimitry from Moscow."

15ft EV4 6 pce # 10/11. March 2011.

"Hi David,

I had my day of spey casting tuition yesterday with Illtyd Griffiths (Welsh sewin and salmon legend and chairman of the AAPGAI). Hard work but I think I learned a lot and, with some sessions on the Thames, should be better prepared for the Helmsdale and the forthcoming season.

At the outset Illtyd asked me what make of rod I had and his ears pricked up when I told him the rod was one of yours. Throughout the day he made various complimentary remarks! He said he used Burkheimer rods and regarded you as in the same league of rod builder, rolling your own blanks and making everything. The actions, he said were not to everyone’s taste with the fashion for fast tip actions, but were to his. He said that the problems I was encountering were entirely  “operator error” because your rod is very good!

Thought I should let you know. I think this is  high praise, coming from Illtyd.

All the best, Nigel."

Thomas & Thomas saltwater fly rod repair. Feb. 2011

"David,

Thank you very much for the excellent new tip section.

The quality of the finish is actually better than the original, which is no mean feat when one considers that Thomas & Thomas factory finishes are supposed to be the best in the business.

I intend to use the rod on my next bonefish trip in March; however I will keep it in the vehicle itself rather than on the Vac-Rac when driving down overgrown tracks!

Thanks again.

Kind regards, Nick."

10ft EV2 4 pce # 7/8. Jan 2011.

"Hi David,

I never got the time to go fishing today, but managed to get a cast of the rod on grass. It was superb to cast, effortless and very smooth. I used a Snowbee XS WF7 and a Rio Gold WF7 and both were equally as good. Very pleased to own such a lovely rod. This one is for keeps!

Thanks Diarmid."

9ft EV3 4 pce "Flats Hunter" Salwater # 8. October 2010.

"Hi David,

  Just  to  let  you  know  Im  very  pleased  with  the  rod, tried  it  with  the  Barrio  outcast  line which  I'd  just  bought  and  was  throwing  the  whole  thing  which  is  140ft, (46yds) very  nice  lines  they  are.  

 Cheers  Colin."

10ft EV2 4 pce # 6/7. September 2010.

"Hello David,

I used my new rod for the first time yesterday. It was all that i had hoped for You are certainly a master craftsman.

The rod handled beautifully and was all that i had hoped for, and as a bonus i managed to catch a trout. Regards,

Andy."

8ft 6inch EV2 4 pce # 4/5. August 2010.

"Hi David,
The rod arrived about an hour ago. It is absolutely superb! Better than I dreamed it could be.
The looks, the finish and the feel are perfect but above all, it is the action and the way that it casts so effortlessly and accurately over any distance that astonishes me.
Because the weather is awful today I have only managed to practice on the lawn with it but even that was so enjoyable that I had to drag myself away in order to write to you.
I feel very proud and privileged to own something which is the product of so much skill and such a depth of knowledge.
Thank you.
Peter"

9ft EV2 4 pce # 6/7. May 2010.

"Hi David,

Just a note to let you know the fly rod arrived as promised on Thursday and a neighbour had taken it in.
I went out on the grass on Friday in a gale force wind to try it out and was very impressed.

Today I have been fishing with it and landed nine hard fighting trout about 2.5 - 3 lbs on dry flies and it performed superbly and played the fish really well.  You have made the handle exactly as I asked you to and the whole rod didn't take any time to get used to - it casts superbly with my casting style, it is so light and is a delight to use.
I am very pleased with the colours and the overall finish is just as I hoped it would be - even better
there`s no-one else with one exactly the same rod.

Thank you very much for this fantastic rod. (I have a feeling Bob will be ordering himself one in the future).

Tight lines and hope to meet you again in the future.

Vee"

Hardy fly rod renovation. April 2010.

"Dear David   Just to say I received my Hardy Smuggler rod this morning, very pleased indeed with it, the colour and whippings of the new section really blend in excellently and look just like the factory finish.   I now have an excuse for a trip to the water this afternoon.  

Many thanks   S H."

16ft EV4 3 pce # 10/11. April 2010.

"Hi David
The rod arrived safely this afternoon. The look and build quality is 
every bit as good as I know to expect from you and I anticipate much 
improved coverage of these Tay pools for many seasons to come!

Many thanks, A"

11ft 3inch EV2 3 pce # 7/8. September 2009.

Hi David,

I used my new rod 11,3 feet line 7/8 EV2 3 section. During 10-11September in the small Salmon river
Orekilsalven near Gothenburg. The rod performed very well with my Guideline Powertaper
shooting head  float/sink tip 7/8 19gram 10,2m.  25m Scandinavian spey cast was without effort and the rod follow my wishes. I will change to a shooting head 6/7 11,5m and get even longer and better casts.

I am very satisfied with my rod and must put my fishing cap off and say that your EV2 is very good.
Best Regards
Henrik Svensson

9ft EV2 3 pce # 4/5. August 2009.

John Saltworth. Wiltshire.

"Hi David,

"The rod arrived Saturday - it was worth the wait. It is superb.
On Monday I took it out for it's first serious trial on the Avon and christened it with several brown trout on the dry fly to 3lbs. I could not be more pleased."

Best regards,

John.

Garry Johnson, England, EV2 9’6" # 7/8 4pce.(July. 2009)

“ David as you know this was my fourth purchase of a Norwich rod and I have been delighted with all of them.  Undoubtedly your rods are as good as it gets on casting performance. This one though is the best yet”

Regards,

Garry.

12ft 6inch EV1 5pce # 8/9. June 2009.

John McRae. Dubai.

"David

I've recently returned from a fishing trip (last week) to the Tay at Stobhall where I finally had the opportunity to try out the superb looking EV1 12.5 footer five piece salmon rod you built for me.

I only put the rod up half way through the week.  I've got to say that I was taken aback by the performance of the rod. For me, it knocked the stuffing out of the longer and heavier line weight Sage rods I had with me. It's a pure pleasure to use - light, responsive and with a surprising reserve of power in the forward stroke. In no way did I feel undergunned, even on extremely wide pools where long casting was required. The action totally suits my casting style and with a Rio 7/8/9 floater and intermediate polyleader it performed flawlessly, putting out long and accurate casts. 

I've already sold one of the Sage rods to fund my next project. I will give you a call during the day tomorrow to discuss in detail. 

Kind regards,

John Mcrae."

9ft 6inch EV1 3pce # 7/8. June 2009.

Stephen Holden. Preston.

"Hi David,

The rod arrived the other day safely thank you. I could certainly feel a difference in the feel of the rod to my older rod ,and was a little worried about the faster action as I always fish with a dropper for sea trout. My worries were totally unfounded though - the rod is excellent to cast withand not a single dropper tangle all night in very strong winds . I also caught 3 sea trout so all in all it had a good testing for its first outing and I am sure it will give years of pleasure like the old Norwich rod has for the last 20 years or so thanks.

Stephen"  

8ft 6inch EV1 4pce # 4/5. May 2009.

Terry Hindley. Devon.

"David,

Many thanks and best regards,
Terry.

9ft Loomis Cross Current repair.

Martin Allday. London. May 2009.

Dear David,

Last summer you repaired my 9wt Loomis rod. Making a new top for it. A couple of weeks ago it got its first proper outing. It casts perfectly and this was one of the results:

(25lb Tarpon, Espiritu Santo Bay, Isla Punta Pajaros , Yucatan)

Many thanks,

Martin.

8ft 6inch EV2 4pce #4/5. April 2009.

Nigel Hartley. London.

"David

I had my second days fishing with the 8'6" #4/5 rod on Wednesday. It does everything you said it would! The river I fish, although a famous chalk stream, is not manicured and the fishing includes casting around, under and below trees. So conventional casts are probably only made half the time. Your rod roll casts beautifully. It also works for those unconventional "just get the fly out anyway possible" casts. Where conventional casts are made it is lovely to use, letting me fish without having to think about casting.

Thanks.

Nigel H."

9ft 4pce EV2 #6/7. February 2009.

John Bradley. Tyne and Weir.

Hi David,
Rod has just arrived and been unpacked - thank you for your service and efforts.
I had high expectations regarding this "piece of kit" - my expectations have been exceeded!!
Again, thank you for everthing - I shall be very proud to use your rod.
Kindest regards,
John.

7ft 6inch M400 Renovation. October 2008

Adair Robson. Cheshire.

Hello David,
That is something else, it's immaculate, thank you for all the hard work,
Best wishes,
Adair

15ft 4pce #10/11 HMG-G3 West Lothian Scotland. March 2008.

William Goldie. Strathclyde

rod arrived safely today, once again i can only but thank you it is truly an exceptional piece of craftmanship. When I first spoke to you about it , and we agreed on the finish it can be difficult to imagine what will arrive, and what did was beyond expectations an outstanding piece of work.

Thank you again.

"I don't know how you do it, but this rod really fits my style of casting. It took me only one double haul to throw the whole fly line (90 feet), and even with very careful presentation casts it was easy and a delight to reach any length between 10 and 20 meters. Perfect, congratulations."

Best wishes,

Jobst

Thanks

 "David, I just had to let you know the rod is superb and I christened it
on Sunday by catching 4 rainbows at Dever Springs, the best being 8lb
14ozs, two others over 7lb and one at 6lb, all caught on a zonker lures
on a very fast retrieve and all were caught in the afternoon having
lost 4 in the morning. The rod action was great and and is a dream to cast.
Thanks for making a wonderful piece of kit - you have a great skill.
Many thanks and tight lines."
Greg 

"Good afternoon David,
Just a quick note of thanks. I've only managed three trips since I
bought my new rod, but each trip has been an improvement on the previous
one. I've found the new rod to be a dream to use. I've achieved both
greater accuracy, and distance with the new rod. I thought at first, at 10'
6, the rod might take a bit of getting used to, but I couldn't have
been more wrong. So far its accounted for 12 fish (and numerous misses
which I can only put down to operator mishandling!)."

Zoran Marinkovic.9ft 4pce #5/6 Custom Build. South Africa. April 2007

Hi David !

"Sorry I didn't tell you immediately, the EV5 Helium is with me !

Thanks very much, it is an extraordinary piece of human craft !

Thanks, it works !

Rod  is amazing !"

Cheers

Zoran

John Hobson.

W Goldie. West Lothian. HMG2  3pce 10'6" #6/7. rod kit. December 2006.

"David I took delivery of the blank and kit today , i am stuck for words amazing comes to mind espicialy the finish on the blank. the rings and reelseat are fantastic i can only thank you for your time and help on this project.

Many thanks again",

Wullie

D Flannigan. England, EV4 DUO Salmon. November 2006.

Hi David
"Well back to the grind stone, very nice meeting you even if it was so briefly. Well as you suggested the river was very high for the first two days so just going through motions at ladykirk and no fishing on Tillmouth there was about 3ft and rising. But having said that the rod performed effortlessly with a wet cel 2 both at 15' and 12.'9 amazing. Previous rods have required a lot of physical input to get heavy lines out but your rod seem to do what any good tool should that is do the work for you. The rod was christened on day three on the Ettrick, a still silvery 3.5lb grilse , returned safely. The 12.9' with assorted floating-intermediate and sink tips fished fantastically, really delicate when needed and on wider stretches very powerful, great coverage. So day four late morning Ettrick again and both myself and mate Al had a 10-11lb quite coloured, by evening had hooked lost or landed, three more apiece. Will certainly return to the Ettrick, really beautiful river and surroundings and will give the Tweed another go when the river is calmer.

I must commend you again on the qualities of the Duo in both build and performance, in finish and fishibility. It is the perfect rod for salmon fishing on the rivers in the UK,
The 12.9' being suitable for most (small river) occasions and the 15' when the extra muscle is required".

Thanks again David

Ben Broadhead. M.B.E. England. EV2  2pce 8' #4/5. September 2006.

Ben.

Hayden Jones, England. Dec 2005.

Custom built EV2 rods 4pce 9' #3/4 and 9' #5/6.

David,  

"What can I say! The build quality, the quality of components and the finish of these rods are superb. The Struble nickel silver fittings are the business and your interpretation of my requirements for the custom made double slideband reel seat was 'spot on'. Even with the heavier nickel silver fittings they are extremely lightweight. I must say that I have enjoyed the whole process, from the initial discussions of all possible options, to agreeing the specifications, to taking delivery of my new custom built rods - far more satisfying than buying an "off the shelf" rod."
Many thanks,
Hayden.

Eric McVicar. Scotland. Dec 2005

Dear David,

" I finally landed Salmon No 3000 in June this year. You will be pleased to know it was taken using your delightful 13 1/2 ft EV rod that you supplied me in 2003. That rod has now accounted for over 100 fish and due to its lightness - enables me to fish for longer periods despite the problems with my right shoulder. My best day to date using that rod is 10 Salmon, the largest 18lbs. The little 8ft spinning rod you made me has done wonder too taking a 25lb cock fish in October. This rod too has over a hundred fish to it's credit.

For these reasons I would like to place an order for a new Sea trout fly rod........".

Best Wishes,

Eric McVicar.  

Charles Gordon, England. Nov 2005.

EV4 Duo 15/12'9" #9/10

"Dear Mr Norwich, I have had a wonderful season with my Norwich EV4 Duo Salmon Rod. It is just a delight to use. I have for years been toting around a bundle of salmon rods that would hardly fit in the boot of my car. The Duo has made going Salmon fishing a less cumbersome affair. I have used it in Iceland and in Norway as well as some of the bes riverst that Scotland has to offer. I honestly can't fault the performace of either the 15ft or the 12ft 9inch versions, Here is my order for one of your EV2 4 section rods.

With best regards and continued success,

Charles Gordon".

12ft 9inch 5pce EV4 #9/10.

"Dear David, I am absolutely delighted with the rod. It is exactly what I wanted for small rivers like the South Esk and is beautiful to use. I caught a 15lb Salmon on the first morning and 4 more fish during the week. The three other rods in the party had one grilse between them!! Thank you once again,"

With best wishes,

John Dumbrell.