Each time that I go fishing I bring my net. It sits in it's holster on my wading belt heavy and prepared. My net patiently waits for the fish that will never be caught.
I always seem to fish in the spots where the fish aren't. When I got fishing I have high hopes, but my net knows better. The net will stay dry, it won't cradle a beautiful rainbow or cutthroat trout int it's special rubber mesh. A mesh designed to do the least harm to these fragile creatures.
If it's lucky the handle that hangs below my waist may get dampened if happen to wade deep enough in my quest to land a fish. But never the basket. The basket is snug and dry against my back high above the water.
When I get home I hang my net on a hook in the closet. There it will wait in anticipation of the next time I take it out for a walk, but never for a swim.
Note: I wrote the above in my notepad two weeks ago after another fruitless fishing session. But on the Sunday just passed I hooked three rainbow trout and landed two of them. For my net it was a good day, as it was for me as well.
]]>Updated March 23rd, 2026 from Victoria, BC
I took a break from my workbench, the weather turned cold for a few weeks and now that it's warmer again my seasonal allergies have started. Adding wood dust on top of allergies will not make for a good time.
In the mean time I've been out fishing a few times, and I started work on an application to track recipes, materials, tools, and costs for the flys that I have been tying. I've been working with [Claude]:https://claude.ai and it has been really helpful to get things up and running.
Updated March 3rd, 2026 from Victoria, BC
My workbench is progressing, I finished flattening the underside of the bench top and I have rough cut the pieces for the legs and stretchers for the base. I have begun the process of flattening up one face and squaring one edge on each piece. I plan to borrow a thickness planer from the Victoria Tool Libray to finish of those pieces before assembly.
My son and I are nearly done Under Wildwood, but I haven't put as much effort into other reading as I had hoped. It is something I want to focus more on this month.
]]>Updated January 12th 2026 from Victoria, BC
Since the New Year I have made a small amount of progress on my workbench. I need to finish flattening the underside of the bench top before I can start working on the base. My plan is to renew my focus on it next week.
This week my focus is on tying some flys as I plan to go fishing this coming weekend. I went fishing on the third, and accidentally left the fly box with all my Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout flys behind. I need to replace those flys that I lost before I can go fishing again.
Curtis Creek Manifesto by Sheridan Anderson. Short, but good introduction to Fly Fishing techniques.
Fly Fishing for Sea-Run Cutthroat by Chester Allen, was a good read and informative. Some of the information was repeated throughout the book but that helped it stick in my mind.
Wildwood by Colin Meloy. I read this with my son and he seemed to enjoy it. We've started on the sequel.
Principles of Design: Furniture, Pottery & Metalwork by William H. Varnum. I was not enjoying reading it, felt too textbook like which makes sense as it was written as a textbook. The ideas weren’t really sinking in to my brain, but I may make another attempt to read it at some point in the future.
The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide by Tom Rosenbauer is a good introduction to fly tying, I read most of the first half but I didn't want to tie all the example flies in the book so I returned it to the library.
Hatches of British Columbia Trout Streams by Danie Erasmus. Very informative. I want to finish this one and plan some fishing trips for Summer 2026
Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke, [one of my goals in 2026][now2025-12-20] is to learn JavaScript so I also intend to work through this book in the next few months.
]]>Updated December 29th 2025 from Victoria BC
I always seem to spend a lot of time during December thinking about my goals and priorities for the coming year. This past month has been no different.
There always seems to be a natural correlation between the start of a new year and goal setting for me. I could think up and set new goals for myself at any time of year. Though, I find that setting new goals as one year ends and another begins is inevitable.
Looking back at the goals I had set for myself at the end of 2024 I feel fairly disappointed. I didn’t accomplish as much as I had hoped.
This year there is a lot that I want to get done. I may have been too ambitious with my goal setting, but, I am going to try and stay focused this year and do as much as I can.
In no particular order my goals and priorities for 2026 are:
Updated May 12th 2025 from Victoria BC
I joined a fly fishing club, West Coast Flyfishers, and attended a couple of meetings. The second of which was their Fly Tying night. I enjoyed it more than I expected and so I started reading The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide by Tom Rosenbauer. It's a pretty good introduction to the tools, materials, and techniques. I am not sure I am going to tie any of the flys presented in it though. I am finding watching YouTube videos better for learning skills than seeing pictures.
In an effort to know more about the fish that I am wanting to catch I have begun reading Hatches of British Columbia Trout Streams by Danie Erasmus and Fly Fishing for Sea-Run Cutthroat by Chester Allen. Both books have a lot of information that I need to process. Will probably need to read them at least twice each to really internalize it all.
I'm giving another go at learning JavaScript and have started Eloquent JavaScript by Marijn Haverbeke for probably the third time. There is a chance I will be starting a project at work that will benefit from me having more JavaScript experience. So I am planning to finish the book this time.
The workbench project is progressing slowly but surely. I have already glued seven of the flattened boards together to form the first third or so of the top. I am hoping I can have all the rest of the boards flat and glued together by the end of June. Then I can work on the base through July and into August most likely.
]]>Updated February 6th 2025 from Victoria BC
Wanting to improve my design skills in anticipation of being able to make something in my wood shop/shed I've begun reading Principles of Design: Furniture, Pottery & Metalwork which is a reprint of a much older book titled Industrial arts design: A Textbook of Practical Methods for Students, Teachers, and Craftsmen. So far I am enjoying it, but I might need to read it more than once to really absorb the material.
I started flattening boards for my new workbench, but let myself get distracted making some bench hooks to assist with cutting the boards to length. I was nearly done with the bench hooks when a cold spell started, and since the wood shop is unheated it's a bit too cold to be out there regularly. Hoping to get back to it as soon as the weather warms up.
]]>Updated December 29th 2024 from Victoria BC
This year has been a wash as far as books go, I am nearly done A Man and His River by D.C. Reid and it's probably the only book I will have finished this year. This book is an interesting look at a fisherman's relationship with a river he has loved and continued to fish for three decades. The river is relatively local to me here in Victoria so it has a lot of information that could be useful if I make the time to do more fishing in the upcoming year.
I also started Dutch Tool Chests by Megan Fitzpatrick, but I'm not likely to finish it before the end of the year.
I finished building the shed in late September. On Instagram I posted some photos of the build and finished shed. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun to design and build this shed. The next project is to build a workbench and actually start using the shed as a woodworking shop.
]]>Updated June 12th 2024 from Victoria BC
Haven't been reading many books lately, but did pickup The Infernal Machine by Steven Johnson and looking forward to reading it.
Ground has broken on the new shed. The concrete pad was poured today and I will be ordering all the framing materials on Friday. All of my spare time for the next two months at least is going to go into completing it.
]]>Updated October 18th 2023 from Victoria BC
Nearly done The History of Fly-Fishing In Fifty Flies. Just starting Ingenious Mechanicks: Early Workbenches & Workholding. Just finished Simple Fly Fishing: Techniques for Tenkara and Rod & Reel.
I completed drawings for the new shed, but put off the actual build until the spring. Wasn't sure what the weather would be like in Victoria in the fall and winter and didn't want to be potentially working in the cold and wet.
]]>Updated August 2nd 2023 from Victoria BC
About half way through The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin
Haven't put much effort into this website recently. Been focused on the big move, see below. But I do plan to do something more creative with this space.
I am also re-learning Sketchup as I have plans to build a backyard shed at the new house as a space to do woodworking and other making activities.
We arrived on Vancouver Island in early July and have spent the last month unpacking, getting furniture, hanging pictures, all the usual stuff you do in a new house. We've spent a bit of time getting to know the city of Victoria as well. We moved to a great neighbourhood where there is lots going on so it's been a lot of fun so far.
]]>Updated March 15th 2023 from Toronto
Still working my way through Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Second Edition by Charles Petzold.
This website.
We are moving to Vancouver Island this summer. So we've been busy getting our house ready to go on the market.
]]>Updated January 15th 2023 from Toronto
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Second Edition by Charles Petzold.
This website.
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