Nick Taylor is a both a trained design professional (BLArch, Canberra; MDesStud, Harvard) and teacher of design (MEd, USyd). He has combined his expertise with his love of fly fishing to create heirloom quality hand made timber landing nets and fibreglass fly rods. Nick is also available to teach fly-casting to beginner fly fishers.

Nick spent 20 years working in Canberra, Sydney and Boston USA as a Landscape Architect on a variety of projects ranging from small commercial developments to large public infrastructure projects. While in the USA, Nick attained a Master of Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, which advanced his design knowledge and practice across a broad spectrum of disciplines. He developed a deep, practical understanding of how a wide variety of materials can be used in our built environment and in everyday objects.

After graduating with a Master of Education from Sydney University in the mid 2000s, Nick then taught Design and Technology in secondary schools in Sydney, applying his professional design experience and knowledge of materials to enrich the education of students taking classes in wood, metal, textiles and food design.

Nick developed a love of fishing as a young boy, fishing with his grandfather on the south coast of NSW. His passion for fly fishing has developed over the last decade, and more recently developed his niche in hand crafted products.

Each net Nick produces is a one-off creation. The majority are made with Australian timbers such as Huon Pine, Tasmanian Blackwood, Jarrah, Myrtle, Sasafras and Spotted Gum. He also uses other timbers from around the world, including African Wenge and Zebrano, American Walnut, Birdseye Maple, Rock Maple and Teak. The net bags are individually dyed, cut and over-locked to suit the size and shape of each net frame.

As with the nets, each fly rod Nick builds is unique and he uses modern fibreglass materials to construct his rods. His rods are lighter and stronger than fibreglass rods of old, and unlike many carbon rods, they are highly responsive and supple and demand the fly fisher be patient, smooth and relaxed as they cast to a rising fish. He sources his fibreglass from the world’s best manufacturers, some of who produce low volumes of high quality product. Fittings and rod guides are the best the industry has to offer and are chosen to suit the purpose and look of each rod. Silk is used to wrap the rod guides to the blank. The reel seats are hand turned using some of the same timbers used in the nets.