[Hooked Up]

just got back from the rod show.........my first i have to say.......i guess the economy has effected it.........its pretty bad when u go to a place to see new products and a company as large as FUJI is handing out 07 catologs....sorry maybe i just exspected alot more

 

[Lynn P.]

I agree...

I only spent two hours there today driving from Raleigh and not only were the exhibitors down (25-30%) but probably only half the attendee's I saw the past three years. Did get to visit with some folks that post and talked some good times on the beach. Just a sign of the times....

 

[basstardo]

Yeah it was a bit of a letdown as far as items for sale and vendors. We left early. One of the vendors had some guides with no tips, some tips, no guides. Very little in the way of surf gear other than CTS and batson stuff. Was nice to meet a few folks though. We ended up looking at furniture for the rest of the day.

 

[Ryan Y]

Ditto here. Not as many vendors/people/deals/products as years past. I expected to see more in the way of guides and thread. But I still made out. Good to meet new people and see people I havn't seen in a while though too.

 

[gilly21]

My first show. Saturday had many more attendees then today. I found it to be a successful experience. Got to put some faces with names, meet some of the "famous" thread guys and hear them talk ALOT, as well as scored some sweet deals. I spent the whole day in the exibits yesterday and found that you had to dig to find the good buys. Another tip is to try and barter. These guys don't want to go home with their wears they want to sell it out. I was hoping to find some Fuji deals or Pack Bay guides on sale but the money I saved on blanks will offset that.

 

[Tacpayne]

This was my first show as well. I can say that I expected it to be larger, but had a good time. I think I will only make it a 1 day trip next year. I did score some good deals on a lot of blanks, and like Gilly wished to have found some better deals on any decent guides,and reels seats but they just wasnt there. I did get a great deal on a pac bay power wrapper, and learned a lot of info. Most of the best info came from the booths and not siminars though. Everyone was extremely friendly and a good time was had by my 8 yr old son as well.

 

[skunk king]

yeah, it wasn't as good as last years. And sorry I didn't meet any of you guys.

I liked the seminars though and learned a lot. The highlight was watching one of the vendor reps trying to critic Terry Hensen's work(yeah, him)! This guy doesn't build rods, but was full of bourbon. So he starts mouthing off saying Terry's rods have too much epoxy on the guides and some other nonsense. Hilarity ensues as Terry didn't take kindly to this guys idiotic comments.


I had a great time and can't wait for next years.


TANGENT: Has anyone here every put a birch bark grip on a surf rod? How about woods in general? I'm getting the bug to start turning some wood as they are some of the most beautiful grips I've ever seen. I have one on a fly rod of mine and it's incredible for that application. Not sure how it'll stand up to saltwater, being wet that much, or the abuse when applying the violence in a cast. The feel is incredible, so much so that cork seems second class to me now. I believe the grip also makes the rod more sensitive. I may try one on a sea trout rod first and see how that stands up. After seeing what the guys at the show were doing for grips on bass and fly rods, I think us surf guys can kick up a notch and develop grips more compelling than the shrink stuff. But then again, I think we're about the roughest on a grip of all fishermen, so can't sacrifice functionality to improve cosmetics. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure some folks are putting some incredible grips on their surf rods. My point is that in general, we as a community don't seem to put as much energy into them as builders for other applications. We seem to focus more on awesome butt wraps.

 

[Hollybrooke]

I arrived Friday evening and left Sunday afternoon. The seminars were great. Learned and saw more than I needed and now have sensory overload and no idea where to start.

I agree the prices and vendors weren't all that. I was wanting thread and guides. No one had any turbo guides and very few had guides at all. I had decided to buy guides from fishsticks and had a bag full but the slap nuts didn't have the tips I needed. WTF??? All I saw was pac bay and fish hawk thread. There was some madeira but little or no gudebrod.

From a saltwater fishing standpoint the show sucked. Very few trolling or surf rods, no big guides or roller guides, and not a lot of eva.

From a knowldege standpoint it was great. Kirkman, Barkley, Stevens, and Knox did outstanding jobs and the other folks where top notch as well.

Got a few blanks but nothing to write home about. If what it was this year is what it will be like next year, I have no interest.

 

[basstardo]

HB you're last night sums up my sentiments as well. Wish I'd have known you were going to be there, I'd have caught up with you. Got a rod with finish going on soon, so I'll get up with you.

 

[junkmansj]

Rod Show

Tom Kirkman posted that Attendance was up this year as was Sales

If there is a Show next year we need to meet up somewhere, I was there saturday and sunday.
tacpayne tom called your name for a prize fri nite

 

[Tacpayne]

Tom Kirkman posted that Attendance was up this year as was Sales

If there is a Show next year we need to meet up somewhere, I was there saturday and sunday.
tacpayne tom called your name for a prize fri nite

He called me and my son, unfortunatly my son got sick about 30min after we arrived and I had to leave, Oh well at least it wasnt the Renzetti.

 

[sinisterfins]

Got a good deal on a 1562 Lami . Ditto on the guides & realseats . Just didn't find what I wanted but had fun & got stuck buying my niece a fox tale . Last year it was a turtle shell !

 

[basstardo]

Who'd you get the Lami from? The Lami booth or somewhere else?

 

[Ed K]

Tom Kirkman posted that Attendance was up this year as was Sales

I sure didn't see it on Saturday when we were there. Last year we didn't get down till later in the PM but still were more people there than this year, two years ago you could hardly walk through the place on Saturday. I think he just pumps up the #'s, he claimed 1800+ on Saturday we were there by 8:15 until 1:30 damn sure didn't see that kind of crowd must have really filled up in the afternoon.

 

[basstardo]

must have really filled up in the afternoon.

Nah, not so much. We left around 3:30-4:00.

 

[Tacpayne]

I was there the whole day, the crowd was the thickest from 8-10 probably, and it was really slow as far as traffic on Sunday all together.

 

[redhorse9902]

1562 lamiquestion

sinisterfins,
Did you get the lami from mudhole? I saw their display with the lami's but did not ask the price of it. Wound up ordering one from them. Saw some fair deals on blanks but no gotta have deals.
redhorse9902

 

[Drumboy]

I was there both days, I agree that the crowd was the thickest from 8-10 Saturday morning. I bought just about all my blanks from fish sticks and also got a free surf blank with a broken tip, but will still be fine. As far as guides I expected mudhole to have a bigger selection. Same with the reel seats, but with the blanks I was fine with the selection. But you could defenitely could have done it in one day, but Sunday I wanted to see the seminar about the abalone. I would do it again for sure...after I run out of blanks

 

[sinisterfins]

Yea got my Lami from mudhole . They only brought 2 & I got the last one for $ 275.00 The blank looks & feels great .

 

[Mark G]

yeah, it wasn't as good as last years. And sorry I didn't meet any of you guys.

I liked the seminars though and learned a lot. The highlight was watching one of the vendor reps trying to critic Terry Hensen's work(yeah, him)! This guy doesn't build rods, but was full of bourbon. So he starts mouthing off saying Terry's rods have too much epoxy on the guides and some other nonsense. Hilarity ensues as Terry didn't take kindly to this guys idiotic comments.


I had a great time and can't wait for next years.


TANGENT: Has anyone here every put a birch bark grip on a surf rod? How about woods in general? I'm getting the bug to start turning some wood as they are some of the most beautiful grips I've ever seen. I have one on a fly rod of mine and it's incredible for that application. Not sure how it'll stand up to saltwater, being wet that much, or the abuse when applying the violence in a cast. The feel is incredible, so much so that cork seems second class to me now. I believe the grip also makes the rod more sensitive. I may try one on a sea trout rod first and see how that stands up. After seeing what the guys at the show were doing for grips on bass and fly rods, I think us surf guys can kick up a notch and develop grips more compelling than the shrink stuff. But then again, I think we're about the roughest on a grip of all fishermen, so can't sacrifice functionality to improve cosmetics. And don't get me wrong, I'm sure some folks are putting some incredible grips on their surf rods. My point is that in general, we as a community don't seem to put as much energy into them as builders for other applications. We seem to focus more on awesome butt wraps.

I have turned a few wood grips, but nothing to write home about. One problem with wood on a large surf rod is it has to be large enough not to inhibit the loading or bending of the rod- meaning it has to be over sized and then built up a tad-- just like areel seat. Wood weighs a lot more than shrink wrap, and would be much harder to remove if it became necesaary. With long surf rods you want to keep the weight down. THe best wood I have seen on surf rods is actually a thin veneer, not turned on a lathe. You can check it out on BIll's custom reels site- their is a link to the custom rod builder that is actually in Virginia, and he does some awesomee work.

Are you turning on a wood lathe now ?


As to those wanting a break on component pricing- if you do much building at all it is probably worth it to pay for a business license- for a few bucks you will get wholesale pricing from many suppliers- and save a bundle.


I missed the show this year, too much going on. Doesn't sound like I missed a whole lot- but will say I had a good time at last years event.