I just got home from the gathering. I forgot to take my camera, so no pictures. It was a nice turnout and there were some nice rods to see. It was good to see a few familiar faces and some new ones. The food was fantastic. Tom had a local guy cook some ribs that were simply out of this world. It was a good warmup for February.

Glad to hear it went well . Maybe we can get the rib guy for High Point!

Freddwhy (Rapt-Ryte)

Very Informative meeting. Chuck and Tom had great presentations and ribs were outstanding !

I was happy to provide the space. Chuck did a good job organizing things and making sure everyone felt welcome. This sort of thing could grow and expand into something very significant, if it isn't already.

................

Really sorry I couldn't plan to be at this one, (prior obligations) Have been crossing paths with Chuck for a while now but still haven't put a face to the name. I won't miss the next one. Glad you guys had a good event.

Walt

Walt Davenport
"Roadhouse Rods"

I had a great time thanks to Chuck and Tom...Also to Steve for the presentations!!
And the ribs were great!!
Thanks,mikeb

Home Town,Gretna VA

Thanks to Chuck & Tom for very informative presentations and the ribs were great.

Roger
Greensboro, NC

I'm really glad to hear this gathering went well. HAts of to Chuck for putting it togther, andthanks to TOm for the space to host. I know Chuck is planning ondoing more of these in that area in the future, it's nice to know The NERBs state of mind was shared with a new group of builders today.

thanks chuck and tom, its great to learn from you guys and I'm slowly getting the tools to start fixing my fishing rods. I'm always breaking a tip or guide off a rod. I hope to learn the art to pass on to my grandkids someday. it was nice to see the other builders again, especially my neighbors . the ribs were very good. looking forward to the next get together.

Yes the Gathering was great food was great!
But for me the best part was meeting a few guys new to this craft, and seeing the excitement in their eyes as they watched some of the presentations, asked questions, while talking with others and things started to click and make sense.
There will most definitely be a few more spider wraps, and NCG guide setups running around in the future.

Those that attended were also treated to a sneak peak at the newly designed Batson (BRACED) micro tips and their new Alps deep recessed micro guides due out in a few months.
So as to not highjack this thread I will start another one with what are some of the advantages of the new designs.

Also on hand were a few of the new Batson RX8 titanium colored blanks and completed rods, with at least two of the builders saying they have gone to almost exclusively using the Batson’s because of the blank's performance.
If you have not had a chance to build an RX8, you might consider burrowing one from a builder/friend for a day. You’ll have a hard time not buying one to build on after that.

A few of the builders brought rods to display/show off, several of which were impressive.
If you have never seen some of Matt Smith’s rods, he IMO does exceptional, impeccable work including one of the sharpest open fade wraps I’ve ever seen. Said he used one the fade color pattern kits Billy V sells. If you like green it’s the ticket.

For those looking to enter the casting contest (if we have it again) at ICRBE in February, watch out for Robert Guist. He brought a 6 foot spinning rod that easily casts into the 135+ft. range. Don’t now if it would do that good in the cross wind we had last year, but definitely a contender.

Also note worthy was Young Mr. Payne’s work, who at age twelve is already doing impressive thread weaves. By the time he’s old enough to drive, he may well be the master teaching others.

And lastly
For you who were not there to see it, JP Timberlake does a mean two step on the dance floor. Or may be it was a high step on the concrete floor, don’t seem to remember which.

PS: after reading what I wrote this began to sound like an infomercial, but they are the facts so I posted then anyway.

I had and absolutely great time. I will try to get off my dead butt and make a schedule so everyone has more notice in the future. As for the infomercial from Steve, he is right the XP line from batson is really a great line of blanks. I personally brought a few of those for people to check out. And Tyler wants me to correct him, he is 10 and was 9 when he wrapped the rod he had there. Thanks to those that attended,and a Big Thanks to Tom for letting us use his place, which is wonderful for a gathering.

Hello All.

Had a great time at the gathering, and would like to thank Chuck for setting it up and his demo, Tom for the use of his space and his demo plus the "Rib Connection".
Steve showed us the micro's and I talked him into casting my casting rod that I did not finnish in time for last years EXPO.
Shame on ME I missed John's dance.(must have been in the bathroom).
Steve is right about Tyler he is going to be (if he keeps going) one of the best.
Got to talk to a lot of folks and "show off" my old beat-up stuff and a couple of nice rods by next time maybe I will have improved some more(I keep trying)
The weather was even great.

So again THANKS to ALL

Have FUN!

Bob,

New Bern, NC.

Thank you Chuck and Tom for the space and the great event. As everybody above said it was really good to be there and I enjoyed every minute. I hate I got sidetracked and missed part of Tom's presentation and I also missed JP's high-step, but even the chat sessions before, during, and after-wards were fun and informative.

Steve thank you again for the compliments. That really meant a lot to me and I appreciate it. For those who haven't tried Billy's shade packs or used his book you really should give them a try. The neon pack I used for that has the brightest neons I have ever seen, and it makes great dec wraps, trim bands, and anything else you want to "jump" off the rod. The fade came straight out of the book at a 3:1 ratio. Not trying to give Billy an infomercial, but his thread packs and the info in the book sure made that wrap easy.

And Mr. Berlin sure made some killer ribs. It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if he had a booth or concession at the show in February if that could be worked out (hint, hint) as I think that would be a worthy addition to the already great atmosphere at the show!

Matt Smith
Greensboro, NC

Chuck-It was a pleasure to meet with you last saturday and the presentations were very informative. You are very talented and do excellent stuff.
My wife and I enjoyed the ribs and the trip up also. I am going to try to make it up for the expo in Feburary. I thought that the rod Tyler did was
fantastic for his age. I have been building for several years but it is time to ratchet up to another level and try some different stuff. I usually used the trial and error method of buiilding so maybe, just maybe I will make less errors and be more productive. I will e-mail you some of the pics that I took.. Thanks again for the great hospitality and if you are ever down in this neck of the woods give me a call.
John and Pat Murray
phone: 1-910-457-4594-home
1-910-448-0501-cell
address-120 Stuart Avenue, Southport,NC 28461