As many of you know, the rod gathering we had last month in Spruce Creek was a great event. It was great to meet some of the forum members and a good time was had by all. Well, we now have the dates set for a summer rod gathering. The next gathering will be on July 25, 26, and 27th. The site will be The Feathered Hook in Coburn PA. Jonas Price, the owner of the Feathered Hook, has gratiously offered the use of his B&B for the event. The Feathered Hook is a really nice place that is located on the famous Penn's Creek here in central PA. Jonas is a great guy and his B&B and fly shop are first class. He also happens to be a rod junkie who specializes in bamboo and generally has 30 plus new and vintage bamboo rods in stock. He is now stocking glass rods as well. In many ways visiting the town of Coburn and The Feathered Hook is like stepping back in time by 50 years. (How many places can you test cast a rod in the middle of Main Street?) The fishing in the area is phenomenal. I can't think of a better place for a rod gathering.
We have a limited number of spots available for those who are interested in staying at the Feathered Hook. Thanks to Jonas's generosity, the cost to stay at the Inn will be $150 for the entire weekend including lodging both nights as well as all programs (tying seminars, casting demo's, etc.), food (steaks, shrimp,brats, etc.), beer, and wine. Jonas will not only provide the lodging, but also the breakfasts. My wife and I will handle lunch and dinner. This is a ridiculously low price and is simply to help Jonas and I cover the cost of food and other supplies. For those who would like to attend but do not want to stay at the Inn, there is no cost to join the daily events. Everyone is welcome to stop by, cast rods, have lunch, and fish. Some of the programs we have planned at this point are:
Making Furled Thread Leaders by Glenn Weisner
Fly Tying Demo(patterns to be announced) with Glenn Weisner and Wayne Samson
(This will most likely be an evening event for those staying at the Inn as I doubt we will be able to drag these two guys of the water during daylight)
Casting Demo by Mike McFarland (Disclaimer: I am not an expert caster or a certified casting instructor. I have never even had a casting lesson. In fact, to some of you I am probably not even any good. However, if you are having trouble with your casting I might be able to help to some extent.)
I may also do a short rod wrapping demo if anyone is interested. I am open to suggestions for other programs as well.

The main purpose of this event is to meet new people, cast new rods, and make some new friends. I hope a lot of you can attend. You can look at www.thefeatheredhook.com for more info. We will be right on Penn's Creek as well as two smaller streams that offer great fishing also. The tricos should be on and Jonas says the 17 year cicadas should be on also. It will be a great time. We have about 10 beds remaining and they are available to the first who respond. Please email me at ***email address removed******email address removed***[/url] if you are interested in attending.

Mike--

Email sent! I went to grad school at PSU, so it will be great to be back in the neighborhood (when there's not snow on the ground ... )

Jon

... Heck, I'd show up even if I never fished in my life ... the meals, home-made pies and great company are enough to get me there! ... Mike's team can whip up some serious stuff! ... I consumed more pie and coffee in one weekend than I'd normally do in 6 months ... ok, so I exaggerated about the coffee ...
Bob

... hey, that's pretty neat! ... did you do that? ...

Bob

Mike, we'll be there in spirit only. Wish I could get back east. My daughter's getting married in July in Albuquerque (or however it's spelled) and we're heading down that a way. One of these days I'll make it. I promise.
Have a great time and down a few for me.
Alan

Well, Bob you may have arrived alittle late, but it was worth the wait to meet you. I had hoped to catch up this morning with Mike, Glenn, and Wayne on Spring Creek, but being on call sometimes changes one's plans. I have a friend flying up from North Carolina, bringing a custom lamiglass 7'6" 4 wght 3 piece to pair it up with Mike's wonderful 8'5 wght Spruce Creek. Mike's rod tempts me to sell some graphite, which now will collect dust. What reel did you match up with your Spruce Creek? Take care, see you soon Jeff

We are down to 2 weeks until the Summer Rod Gathering. It looks like all of the spots at The Feathered Hook are full. There is still the possibility of a cancellation though, so if anyone is still interested in staying with us please send me a PM or email and I can notify you if we do have a spot open up. For anyone who would like to stop in during the day, we will have "Open House" hours from 11:00am until 5:00pm with lunch being served at around noon. We will be having some events in the afternoon. Details are still undecided, but I will try to post a schedule soon. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge. I would like anyone who is planning to attend the Open House to let me know so we can plan how much food we need. I just want to emphasize that this is a great chance to see and in some cases cast a great collection of glass and bamboo rods. In addition to my own rods there will be a wide variety of vintage and modern glass from various makers. There will also be lots of bamboo and some graphite as well. Everyone is encouraged to bring there favorite rods regardless of brand or material. If anyone has any questions (directions, other places to stay, etc.) just let me know. I am really excited about the event and look forward to meeting many new forum members.

Cameron-- What I'm worried about is Mike and Jonas giving some of us the "once-over" as we get out of our cars and deciding that it would be cheaper to build us a #%### rod than to feed us for the weekend. Judging from photos from previous gatherings up there, some of us are "full-growed men," as we say.

Creationbear, Yes you are so correct, as after looking at my fat gut picture, thank you Duff, I got real serious, and now am down 20lbs, hope by Mike's event to be 25, as Amanda is such a great cook. Looking forward to this event, and hope to meet some new faces. Of course the hard part is not to drop too much $$ with Jonas, wow, does he have the best selection of rods. See you soon Bob

Thanks for the updates, gentlemen ... I look forward to meeting all of y'all and being back in that part of the Commonwealth--would you believe I spent three years in Happy Valley and didn't wet a line? Hopefully between the eating and casting sessions, we'll be able to scare up a few fish for ourselves ...

We had a cancellation and have one remaining spot at The Feathered Hook. Send me a PM if interested.

... but Mike, most of the beds are doubles! ... therefore, you could sleep three to four short folks on one double if they sleep across the bed ... and three tall ones if two sleep with their heads towards the headboard and one sleeps with his/her head towards the foot board ... that's a good 6 to seven spaces ... then there are the two dining room tables, a kitchen table and a fly tying table ... heck, there's four more spaces right there! ... gee this reminds me of when I took hotel-motel management back in college ... I failed, but sure learned alot ...
Bob