Re-cycled Wooden Cabinet

I had been wanting to make a cabinet to display a few old fishing collectables and finally finished it last week. All of the wood I used was from old building materials with the odd nail hole here and there. I didn't check to see if it was square the first time I glued it, so had to pull it apart and straighten it up a bit. The woods I used are NZ Rimu and Macrocarpa. The lighter "macro" in the back makes a bright background to display the old tackle against.

Season 2010

Some trees have been cleared out, while others have appeared.

Bending the rod.

A 7.5lbs beauty.

Silver with a touch of orange.

Hard to see in amongst the rocks, silver rocket.

It's great to be out on the water again! After about a week of torential rain prior to the start of the season, the smaller creeks have started to clear. With the snow-melt and rain some of the larger rivers are still coloured up. Most of the fish landed have been in pretty good condition and haven't been too fussy.

Dragonfly Nymphs

A Great Wood Working Blog - Manasan

This guy has some great ideas and is very innovative. If you like tinkering with wood, check this guy out. Http://homepage3.nifty.com/manasan/english/index.htm

J Stockard - Internet Fly Tying Supplies - (Click for link)

I got in touch with these guys and ordered some tying goodies. They were very patient and professional. All the materiels arrived as ordered and the exchange was reasonable. Nymph legs are quite hard to get, my brother had trouble tracking them down from the distributor in England. The wing cutters are good, but I recommend sticking with the River Road Creations brand.

This is also a good place to pick up bulk micro-rings at a good price. Check them out for some tying goodies sometime.

Miho Mizuno - Artist

Keeping the sun off my neck. Thanks Miho!

Simply stunning!

Hare comments on Frog's back-cast.

We all know this feeling.

A call went out from the local store Kamiieda in Nagoya when a fresh faced foreigner wandered into the store. I was chatting with a guy who could speak english well and who wanted to rush down to the store to translate, but with time against us we decided to leave it this time. It wasn't until 2 years later I was talking with Daisuke Mizuno, that we figured out he was that guy on the end of the phone. It was amazing with over 2 million people in the city that we had met after speaking with each other 2 years prior.

I fished with Daisuke and his partner Miho a couple of times, but left for NZ shortly after that. They are a great couple to know, always smiling and laughing about something. Like the time they went on a date to the parasite museum in Tokyo. Why wouldn't you!

Recently Miho has started designing and making fly fishing t-shirts and neck scarfs with a touch of traditional Japanese brush work. Her designs include animals respected and loved by nature loving people throughout Japan. All of her work is hand dyed and hand painted making each piece a true artwork.

She spends many hours getting the right colours for her scarfs and like a true artist isn't happy until it is just how she wants it.

Thanks Miho for the lovely things you have made me.

A Return to Japan

A hot spring hotel foot spa.

An actual print of the caught fish with measurement and weight details.

Fish Boy.





Sugar and sour oranges.

At the temple.

Ishii brother's barbecue heaven.

Return to Dusk.

Old friend's.

At the Osu Temple.

I spent almost 3 weeks in Japan revisiting some old haunts and catching up with friends. I met a bunch of my old fly fishing buddies in Nagoya. Two friends have teamed up, (Tomo, previously involved in boat building and Shinichi owner of T-Craft) to continue to make high quality wooden nets and fly boxes for Shinichi's company. Once again I visited Kato's fly store "Dusk" and bought my usual stock of Daichi hooks. It was great to see everyone was in good form and still enjoying their fishing.

The weather was tediously hot and so humid, an extreme change to the 7 degrees and snow topped montains I left at my home. Travelling down to Kyushu brought some welcomed relief as the temperatures we much more comfortable. I couldn't find a fly shop down in these parts, but visited a few big saltwater fishing stores.

Torrential rain signified the end of the rainy season and the end of my trip. I had to rush to the airport as trains, planes and expressways were shut down due to the flooding.