That's right - today I start working on planning the 2006 event. The 2005 taught us a lot of things, the few rough edges that we had will be smoothed out and corrected for next year's event.

I almost forgot - the 2005 event that took place this weekend, was fantastic. I don't have the complete figures yet but it's very likely that we did indeed have 1,000+ rod builders attend over the two day period. The dealers who returned from last year's event set new sales records, and the 4 or 5 new retail vendors that attended this year all did very well (a couple in particular). The seminars were all very well attended, save for maybe one or two that only saw about 25 to 30 people in the room. Still, I'm told that even those were enjoyable and productive. Jim Upton's seminars on basic rod building drew over 100 new and potential rod builders, The Featured Rod Builder booth in the show hall also did extremely well. Small, interactive crowds of anywhere from maybe a dozen up to about 35 people were able to get in close and watch various methods and techniques presented on the hour, nearly every hour. Just a ton of teaching, learning and sharing going on.

The Rod Builders Show was again the highlight of the event. Our longer, larger aisle was the one buzzing with activity both days with such a crowd on Saturday morning making it almost impossible to move down the row to see all the vendor displays. Thousands of rod blanks extended up and out above the show floor. There were boxes and boxes and boxes of guides, grips, cork, rings, seats, finishes, etc., etc., etc. There's just nothing else that's ever been done like this for the rod builders. Much more to report, too little time to go into it now. I'll have some photos up tomorrow just to give you an idea of the size, scope and quality of the show.

In the meantime, if you've placed an order for RodMaker issues, or emailed or called, give me a few days to get back to you. I'm up against a magazine deadline and have a ton of mail and other stuff that came in over the past few days to deal with. I hope to be caught up by mid-week. Thanks.

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Just wanted to say that I enjoyed it very much. It was much more than I was expecting. As a new builder I think the rod guild did an excellent job of setting this show up and providing for all of us new rod builders.

I'm very glad you enjoyed it and hope it will lead to a rewarding lifelong hobby for you. I also hope to see you there again next year, for an even bigger and better event.

No big deal, but just to clear up any possbile confusion (I know the show was huge and there was a lot going on) but aside from having a booth there, the Rod Builders' Guild was not involved in the promotion, planning, operation or any other aspect of the National Rod Builders' Show.


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Thanks for putting me streight Tom. I started to get confused As usual. I see Guild and Well you know

is the 2006 rod builders show still going to be in Ontario California
we need one on this side of the U.S


Sante Morrone
the fisherman

Probably, but there are some issues to be resolved. It's just not possible to have shows like this all over the US. Charlotte is a definite and Ontario is a very strong maybe. I'll let you know more in a few weeks.

By the way, we had plenty of guys from CA out this year. Was happy to see them. They always a lot to the show.

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Tom,
You might consider St. Louis for a future show. A nice central location, a good airport and plenty of hotels well set up for shows like this.

Dave

Great show this year, and I'm looking forward to any improvements for next year!

I was there on Sunday afternoon, and it was very mellow. A great time to talk with dealers and reps. I can't imagine being there on Saturday morning...

One thing that might help is to NOT have the rodbuilding section apart from the rest of the show. In terms of promoting interest in rodbuilding and people's custom rods, I would think that a non-rodbuilder would be more likely to come into a booth, talk to someone, and buy a rod if they were interspersed with normal fly dealers. Also might help spread the crowd out...

I disagree.

Keep the two seperate. In that the building was set aside from the fly, I was able to spend my time were I wanted, not around a bunch of "shelf" equipment, but the raw materials that make yer fishing dream come true....

just my 2c worth.

just curious... why ontario california for the western version of the show in 2006?

personally, i love heading north for anything. the bay area, sacramento area, etc.

in fact, now that i bring it up, fresno itself, located in central california between the sierra nevada and the pacific ocean, would be a GREAT location, helping meet the travel needs for thos in northern and central california, as well as other western states.

only HALF tongue in cheek...


eric
fresno, ca.

Show promoters are not lining up to do rod building shows. It's just not as simple as deciding to do a show somewhere. This one took 11 months of hard work in order to be as successful as it was. The manufacturers and vendors spend thousands and thousands of dollars in expenses to come in, ship product, staff the booths, etc., and need a really good turnout if they're going to be able to attend such shows.

Not trying to be smart, but any of you that would like to see a rod building show (such as what just took place in Charlotte) in your local area , if you can guarantee us that 800 to 1,000 rods builders will show up, we'll be happy to talk to you about it.

In most cases it's a lot less expensive for you to come to us, than for us to come to you. Hope you can understand. Even with a show of this quality and success, rod building shows remain a tough sell and it's hard to pull in enough builders for the vendors to be able to come out ahead. Charlotte is a definite for next year, Ontario is a maybe. We already have a venue in Ontario, Moving to the Bay Area means we have to rent another hall (several tens of thousands of dollars) so we'll need 2,000 or more rod builders to show up. You should be able to see the problem.

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This weekend was great!! I had a short 6 hour drive from Ky through some beautiful country-The Smokey Mountains! I found The Westin and the Convention center very easy, thanks for the excellent directions, Tom. Funny thing happend though. I did not purchase any rod blanks, but my fiance' did! This will be her second rod. She told me over and over how much fun she had and how great everyone was. I wanted to thank all the vendors and all fellow rod builders for the smiles and laughs! It was nice to put a face with the name. This show has rekindeled my excitement for the craft. Thanks again to all. Patrick&Celeste

I though the show was wonderful!! Tom, you are to be commended on this effort-it was fabulous!! I'm already looking forward to 2006 in Charlotte. As a beginner I learned a tremendous amount about rod building-floor demos, seminars, everything and yes I did venture into the fly section for a short visit and got a few more dry flys at bargin prices too I just hope the people that had to leave this morning did not get what we got here in the mountains of NC- six inches of snow! (I knew the weather was stalking Putter and Mike Barkley) It is melting very fast and I did not even use 4WD to go into Hendersonville. The ground was very warm which helped considerably. I just hope everyone got home safely. Looking forward to next year>

Ed Smith
Flat Rock, NC

HATS of f to you Tom , a great show with lot of enjoyable rodbuilders.
Capt. Ray - fishsticks4u

Thank you Tom. Sign me up for 2006.

another great show tom! it was a pleasure to be surrounded by people who understand and devote so much time to this passionate craft. by the way, thank you for picking charlotte as i'm only 15 min away

The Charlotte Convention of 2005 was a wonderful event. The 2004 Big Show was great but this year's show it was heads above it. The highlights for me were Andy Dear's seminar where he turned a reel seat insert as well as giving great instruction at the same time. Joe Kassuba taught me how to apply epoxy to wraps with a spatula. I used to dread dealing with epoxy and now it is a piece of cake. Mark Crouse's seminar on cross wraps was full of tips that are guaranteed to improve my results. I also got some quality fly casting instruction at no charge from a professional guide. These alone were well worth the cost of making the trip from NY; but I was also able to buy some great blanks at incredible prices.Many of the attendees isaw were really loading up on equipment and supplies. The reception on Saturday night was a particularly pleasant part of the show. I can't conceive of not attending the Charlotte show every year. It's the best!

What a great show Tom, all your hard work has really paid off. It would be hard for me not to come back next year.
Thanks again for all your effort.

Tom,

Thanks for all your hard work. The show was great and presentations were well prepared and informative. Other than one schedule conflict by one of the presenters, I found the entire show to go off as promissed. It was very beneficial.

It was great to have the time to meet a few fellow rod builders during the mixer. Wish I would have thought to write down some names and email addresses. Guess I can correct that next year.

It was a pleasure meeting you and good luck on 2006, I will see you there.

Dittos to everything above. I am a brand new rodbuilder that flew in from Houston to attend the show last weekend, and I could not have been more pleased. The seminars were great -- it was such a pleasure to be able to pick the brains of so many master rodbuilders.

I hope to see you all next year again.

Mike Mott, Houston TX