The Magnum.

I call this one the magnum. A green stoney on a TMC 200R #4.

My Happy Place

Perfect, my tying table and a new book! Some nice tying from a collection of Japanese tying artists.

Went out on the river today saw 10 or so trout, the biggest would have been pushing 7lb. Most feeding well. Less than one month until opening day. Turned over a few rocks and sampled the insects today too. Surprising I found a lot of small, but chunky river fish. Cock-a-bullies!

Check this big mayfly nymph. Very dark, with the pronounced wing-pads. These are a very common nymph thoughout New Zealand and one the trout love.

Leather Artist with a Passion for Quality.

My good friend Jack is highly skilled in the manufacture and design of quality leather goods. All goods are traditionally made, hand stitched and made to order. He prides himself on the quality of his work and has studied the masters to reach an uncommon level of mastery. I believe his goods are second to none. These goods are practical and will last a lifetime. For more information please email me on petersmodernlife@hotmail.com. Jack is currently working on a new line of fly boxes, which I will show on this site. Nothing leaves his studio unless it is perfectly finished. Amazing detail...not a bad job at all!

Wood and Wool Day

A busy Saturday outdoors, collecting more wood for net making and helped shear a couple of sheep. The wood we are cutting is Photina. This is common in Asia including Japan. It's usually an ornamental shrub with evergreen leaves, that change to a red colour. It's a member of the rosewood and apple tree family. This one was about 15m high. A huge specimen. The wood is very hard and heavy. Probably take a year or two to dry these slabs.

Working today with my mate John, a local outdoors man. John's 85hp Stihl cahinsaw worked hard to cut this. His saw has one power, full - throttle.

To follow up the wood cutting we caught his sheep and sheared them using his generator and clippers. The wood was hard to cut and the sheep were hard to catch. They are sure-footed and dodge your attempts to tackle them.

A good result, a huge stack of 3 inch slabs and some clean shawn sheep.

A great day!

Cherry Wood

I've decided to make my own wooden landing net. I found a great japanese site that shows the steps. I have started to collect some materials for the job. A friend offered me this old cherry tree that had blown over in the wind. After chainsawing it into managable pieces, I went to another friends place and milled it with him on his chainsaw mill. The smell was so rich and fruity. I got a few good slabs, including 2 x 2metre pieces.

Just another year to wait for it to dry I guess.