We had our biggest SEARBS meeting today and we had people turn up from almost the entire east coast of Australia plus Mark Fisher who came from almost the middle of the country. Lot of travel for a lot of people but everyone said it was worth it. Mark showed us some of the new techiques he's developed which went down well. Most of the time was spent talking rodmaking @#$%& which we are good at and what we've been up to. In all a very good day but it gets away far too quickly. Might make it happen once a year for a full weekend so we can have a lot more time and make the travel worth it.
Need to thank a few people that sent us stuff, American Tackle, Dbluefishing and Rodmaker magazine. All the mags that Tom provided went as did all the Dblue catalogues and most of the AmTak stuff. It's not cheap to post that stuff to Oz so it's really appreciated.
Although Mark was coming over for his mum's birthday it's appreciated that he found the time to attend, the stuff he brought with him and his willingness to share what he knows.
Especially like to thank Ray Balmforth and his partner for making their residence available and doing a very nice BBQ for lunch. Hopefully the cash that everyone put in for lunch and the DBlue blank he got makes up for some of the effort put in. Ray has been building for about 18 months but he has come a long way in that time. His threadwork and grip making, cork and birch bark are right up there.
Lastly I'd like to thank all those that made the effort to attend especially those that travelled a long way and the new guys that became members as well.
Almost forgot to take photo's again!!! but managed to get a few despite missing a few that had to go early. Will post them shorly to keep Billy V happy.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Thanks for a great day

I tried to get there but found there is an ocean in the way and my Jeep could not handle it.... Glad you had a good turnout!

______________________________________
Super Tight Lines......Don

What a great day it was. Thanks Ray for holding the meeting and cooking a great feed. I have not built many rods but yesterday open up many ideas and techniques that I hope to take on board. Col thanks for organising a great day we'll worth the trip. I think yesterday I picked up ideas from every rod I saw and all of them were unique. Mark fishers rods we're amazing and to see them in person was great, and what's best is he was happy to share information and give me some tips, thanks. Was also great having a chat to mark newcombe and his take on custom rods and even a chat about poker lol, two of my favorite hobbys. Also big thanks to rod maker mag, American tackle, blue (very impressed with my red blank) and visualwrap can't wait to use thanks.
Cheers



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2013 05:18PM by chris short.

Was a great day indeed and we managed to turn on a cracker of a day weatherwise.With a few queenslanders attending if the weather wasnt perfect we were going to know about it.
As Col has already said a big thankyou to all who attended its crazy to think the distances some of them travelled to get here.The least i can do is provide a place to meet at.It was great
to see some new faces and there were a few surprise packets there.When Mark Fisher says he has invited a bloke who has taught him a lot you begin to wonder if hes pulling your leg
but Tony Davis lived up to it bringing some incredible work.And John Baric has some impressive work as well.Chris Short could be the next Billy Vivona the way hes going it certainly
wont be for the lack of trying.Mark Newcombe is charging along and building a stack of rods just to name a few.To be able to rub shoulders with these people is pretty unbelievable
they are so humble and willing to help you and impart there knowledge so freely its such a great atmosphere to be in.And none of this would of been possible without Col who does a
tremendous amount of organizing.Thanks Tom for the mags you left a big impression on Col when he was over.I hope everyone got as much out of the day as i did and had a great time.
I nearly got in trouble for forgetting to put out the rhubarrb cake but the stragglers got to have some luckily the boss took over LOL

cheers

Ray Balmforth
Figtree
NSW
Australia

I would like to add my thanks also to Col,Ray & Mark Fisher .It was great to see so many Rod Builders in one room with every one sharing their techniques & experiences .WHAT A GREAT DAY

Regards Baz

Bundeena
NSW Australia

Big weekend guys went to the SEARBS meeting at woollongong with Soc Demos a mate from bronte and picked up Douglas a great guy i met at the qld meet up the month prior at the airport and we headed down together. What a great informative day with some great quality builders both experienced and starting out. From the quality of the work I saw im sure the Aussie custom market is in good standing for the future. I was wearing my American Tackle Co hat of course and went through all the companies offerings with great success everyone was really keen to see the new Tidal Waves and the matrix and bushido blanks with a few lucky guys taking away some nice give aways supplied by ATC.

Mark Fisher from outback rods was there and as usual he was in form showing some of his urushi abalone work which was great if you are not familiar with his work google him its pretty wild stuff and he is truely a master rod builder. What's more is that he is a humble great bloke more than willing to share his knowledge in a manner that exudes class he really is one of those rare people and its a pleasure to know him.

It was a long day ending with a 6hr drive home but it was great to meet up with everyone again. Big thanks to Ray for opening up his beautiful home to us and to Col Chasling for bolting this all together.

On a personal note these meet ups are the reason I started mcf I remember the first one I went to about 170 rods ago I rocked up with my second build nervous as @#$%& it was the simple words from Mark Fisher saying that it was of a pro standard that gave me the confidence to have ago. I remember that as cleary as yesterday the drive home was great because I was buzzing with confidence from that one comment hopefully some of you guys may get that same experience. Guys like Chris Short and Richard Kourhy have come so far in such a short time and are really producing some great work.

I was a real pleasure to come to this meet up and I'm already.

Cheers

Mark Newcombe
Old Bar NSW
Australia
markscustomfishing.com
American Tackle Pro-Staff

Thanks for the kind words guys atm I am enjoying learning from the best, it's funny I'm on holiday atm and I cant wait to get home to try some new things I picked up from this meeting. any way thanks again

Congratulations Col, Ray et al.
Wish I could have been there!
Cheers
Dave

Thanks for the kind words, it's appreciated
David it was suggested that Mark Newcombe's residence at Old Bar is about half way between us and he's agreeable to have a meet there. Hard to find a time that suits everyone but you never know!.
Don you need to get a long snorkel for your jeep!!!

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Col Chaseling Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the kind words, it's appreciated
> David it was suggested that Mark Newcombe's
> residence at Old Bar is about half way between us
> and he's agreeable to have a meet there. Hard to
> find a time that suits everyone but you never
> know!.
> Don you need to get a long snorkel for your
> jeep!!!

I think the snorkel was long enough....the water kept coming in through the rust holes....HA

______________________________________
Super Tight Lines......Don

Another great day for rodbuilding in Australia. Glad to hear the turnout was good, and that everyone had a great time. What MArk said about someone more experienced giving him the confidance to build more rods is so true. I remember when I started building and Bernie Cohen did it to me. I've tried to pass that on to others. I know Chris drove like 8 hours to get there, but it looks like it was well worth it for him. hopefully others will see this and understand the value in attending events like this, even if they are a long distance.

nice job putting this together Col & Ray.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2013 12:04PM by Billy Vivona.

WOW, I arrived home yesterday, tired and had enough driving to see me through a very long time and then I saw this thread and every bit of travel was well worth it. The words from all of you make me feel so honored to have met you and I consider you all as close friends. If I can do just a little bit to encourage all of you to try and push your personal limits with your rod building then I know the Aussie custom rod building craft is in good hands. When I see young blokes like Chris, Tristan and Richard just to name a few, really improving at a great rate is a real pleasure and a boost for me to try and push my own limits a little further. I finally put a face to the name with John Barrick and he just blew me away with the quality of his workmanship and again his willingness to share with others. Mark Newcombe, mate you are a total inspiration to us all. You have come so far with your rods in such a short time. To turn out 170 quality rods in less than 12 months is just incredible. No wonder they sell as quickly as you build them. I was super happy to see my old mate Tony Davis made it along to the meeting. His works are top notch and truly professional. One day just isn't long enough. The time goes so quickly just getting around and talking to everyone that the day was over before I knew it.

My thanks and appreciation to two blokes in particular - Col Chaseling and Ray Balmforth . Col without your drive and organisational skills, these meeting would either never eventuate or would fold after a while. Mate huge kudos to you and best wishes for future meetings. Ray, your rodbuilding skills have progressed out of all proportion. Your cork, birchbark grips are fantastic as is your very elegant threadwork. If you keep going at this rate I'll be soon out of business. Your hospitality and your wife's Rhubarb cake are just out of this world ( I want the recipe).

Thank you to all of those dedicated rod builders who traveled long distances to attend the meeting. We had people from Queensland, Victoria, ACT and distant places in New South Wales. I really appreciate you all making the effort. Finally thanks to my old Banana Bender mate, Rod Churchward. It is always a great pleasure for me to catch up with you. Thanks again for you present of the Paua shell - I'll put it to good use and maybe build a Queenslander rod with it.

Best regards to all
Mark
Outback Rods

Hi Mark,
Glad you made it home safely and you thought the travel was worth it. I travelled the least distance but I got a lot out of the day and made some more new friends. These meets have enabled me to meet a lot of builders which would never have happened otherwise so what I can do to keep them going is a small thing.
You right in saying that it goes so very quickly. Seeing the large distances travelled haven't stopped people coming, I think if you can come again next year then we will try to make a full weekend and people can come for one or both days. I doubt we'll be short of stuff to talk about.
To get 20 people from all over the country is a testament to the regard in which you are held. Billy that number is like you guys in the States getting more than 200 to a meet, check the population differences and the countries are about the same size!!
Thanks also to rodbuilding.org as it started the meets when a few of us met on here and it's progressed from there.

ESFNEM Col
Port Kembla, NSW
Australia

Hi folks,
Lost for words, thanks for the meet all. Eagerly waiting next year, only 361 days to go.
Kind regards.
Rod Churchward.
Mboro Qld.
Australia

Hi folks,
Sorry bout that, got a bit lost for words there, what I intended to say was, only 361 days and another ORIGIN win to go.
Kind regards,
Rod Churchward.
Mboro Qld.
Australia.

Hi Guys,

It was a great day and lots of new faces to meet and old ones to catch up with.

Many thanks to Mark Fisher and Tony, in helping me out with my Black & White tiger issues - will send pics once I get it done.

Really impressed by the distances people travelled.

Also a big thanks to Col for organising not only this meet but all previous meets, and also a big thanks to Ray for providing is home and great hospitality.

Look forward to catching up again, and maybe we can do a weekend next time, with time set aside for some local fishing too.


Regards,

Richard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/31/2013 05:13AM by Richard Khoury.