The voucher and the knighthood

[DerekD]

Hi all,

People ask me why I fish when I don’t eat fish. There is a myriad of reasons (the places I get to see, the gear to play with, the lottery aspect – chase a flathead and then hook into a king, life balance – cheaper than a psychiatrist, something I can do by myself or with others, and so on). A really big thing is the people I meet over a simple question or an offer of some help. I’ve made friends through fishing both on Fishraider and out in the wild that I hope will last me to the end of my life (and may that be a long, healthy and happy one too).

There is a bit of history behind this fishing report. Years ago (probably over a decade as time flies when you are having fun) I was boating with some friends on Pittwater and one of the belts on the engine failed. We contacted Marine Rescue for a tow and I hopped on the rescue boat to direct us back to the mooring. Here I met Zubin. He was from India and had migrated to Australia with his wife. He owned a couple of boats and after getting help one day from Marine Rescue he decided to volunteer with them as his way of contributing to the community. It was early days and he was still in training and we started chatting. Coincidently (I promise) the subject of fishing came up and I was my usual over-enthusiastic self in talking about it. He wanted to learn more so I swapped numbers. That was the beginning of a friendship which has bought me much joy. He got introduced to the gear, techniques, a different way of thinking when it comes to fishing. We went out on trips whenever our schedules permitted. He has a musical laugh when he is happy which seemed to happen a lot when we were fishing. He sold the boats and got into kayak fishing. Over time his successes grew and he threw a line in the water whenever he could. My phone would beep and I’d open a text message from him to see his latest catch which might be a flathead, jewfish or Murray cod. At times I refer to him as a blonde Indian as he forgets stuff we’ve discussed previously but the nickname is meant with affection.

Zubin has a wonderful family, a lovely wife, two good sons (and the dog of course). This fishing report is about one of those sons, Gustad. Gustad, also likes fishing but had gone the bait route as all attempts at lures were not the joy they can be – he found it a lot of hard work with minimal returns. Due to geography and conflicting schedules he’d never had the chance to come fishing with me. For Gustad’s birthday this year Zubin wanted to give his son a new fishing rod and called me for advice. After some discussion I pointed out that the potential of the gear wouldn’t be realised without some instruction and offered my time to take him through the DerekD course of lure fishing. I was invited recently to Zubin’s 30 year wedding anniversary celebration (of course I bought along the camera to capture some memories as my gift to the family) where I got to discuss fishing with Gustad. He’d bought along some of his gear and demonstrated his casting. His casting technique was very good but the gear was super clunky. This included a Shimano Aquatip with 2500 sized Sienna reel and 12lb braid. No wonder he wasn’t enjoying the experience. The gear was perfect for bait fishing and a lot of what he did but it would have been tiring when casting all day, he would have struggled to get distance on casts and he would have missed the responsiveness of a suitable graphite rod.

Zubin’s birthday present to Gustad was this voucher and all the time and gear mentioned within it. Seems at some time I’d picked up a knighthood. Maybe Zubin is Indian royalty....

 

Australia day was the first of our learning sessions. While it has some negative connotations Australia day is also an opportunity for people with different backgrounds to come together. We picked the inner west and I asked Gustad to bring along his existing gear for a comparison and to demonstrate why it was handicapping him. I asked him to tie on a 70mm sugapen and then cast and slowly retrieve it a few times while trying to give it some action. Credit where credit is due he got some distance and there was some vague imitation of movement. I then asked Zubin to cast out the same lure on his lure rod and Gustad was taken aback about the substantial increased casting distance. We then put away his clunky gear and used my outfit and the gear I was recommending he choose as his birthday present. Gustad has casting ability but there were some refinements to be made to make it more effective. Over the next hour we adjusted his casting to get more distance and accuracy out of it. He admitted he is an over-thinker (I am too) but in my eyes for what we are doing it is a good thing. During the session he latched on extremely quickly to the thinking behind some of the concepts I was trying to teach him and articulated them when he had an aha moment. It was a real (reel) pleasure watching him grow in a new direction. We switched to a light metal and the distance he was able to cast with that gear was mind blowing for him. The gear was light and easy to use. The tight walk the dog retrieve I use is a bit of a challenge to learn as you use the arm muscles in a way which is not natural but he was gradually getting it – usually it comes together and becomes natural for people by the third fishing session after which you are wondering why you ever had difficulty with it. This is me working a topwater lure:

We stopped for a quick lunch and changed to another sandflat. This time we were concentrating on actually catching fish by long casts and covering ground and really trying to work the lures. I also bought out my latest toy, a Crucius 7’8” rod (I blame @Little_Flatty) and 1000 reel with super thin braid which I bought for sandflats fishing which increases my casting range. Gustad could really feel the difference between the three light lure outfits and had the opportunity to switch between them. I also demonstrated the subsurface walk the dog retrieve I often use which absolutely blew him away as he didn’t know how it was possible to get this sort of action from a simple plastic lure. For those that have not seen it this is what I am talking about:

His understanding of the benefit of the lighter outfits really hit home and it will be hard for him to go back to the other rods he owns. Unfortunately we didn’t catch any fish but I did have 3 really good hits on my topwater lures. The new locations I introduced them too were beautiful to visit. Gustad has now covered casting and topwater and during this Sunday’s part 2 of the course we will cover plastics, slices, vibes, squid jigs, etc. In more detail. It was a pleasure fishing with Gustad and his father, Zubin and I’m looking forward to our session on Sunday and I think that fishing voucher will end up being a bigger gift than you realise. Here is the backside of the fishing voucher.

Regards,

Derek

 

 

Edited January 26, 2023 by DerekD

[Little_Flatty]

Nice report Derek. Hopefully Gustad joins up with FR and updates us on his future exploits!

3 minutes ago, DerekD said:

This time we were concentrating on actually catching fish by long casts and covering ground and really trying to work the lures. I also bought out my latest toy, a Crucius 7’8” rod (I blame @Little_Flatty) and 1000 reel with super thin braid which I bought for sandflats fishing which increases my casting range.

You're welcome Derek 😎 That's me getting you back for all of the tackle purchases you've enticed other Raiders into making! 🤣

Great rod (perhaps slightly niche) for the money though!

[DerekD]

37 minutes ago, Little_Flatty said:

Great rod (perhaps slightly niche) for the money though!

Worth every dollar (especially considering the "what you get" for around $160) and thank you for showing it too me.

Edited January 26, 2023 by DerekD

[Bateau Stu]

Great article Derek

you contribution to the fishing community is huge, Inparting your enthusiasm and vast knowledge is part of the reason I am now fishing. 

[big Neil]

A lengthy report to read at the end of a long day in a very hot studio. But you know what, it's probably one of the best written reports that I have read. Not just written either, as there is the inclusion of pictures and relevant videos to supplement it.

Most of you would know that I know Derek pretty well and have spent many hours and days with him. Fishing, socialising and learning new techniques among some of the things we have shared. The report (above) pretty much sums up Derek to a T. He is always willing to put somebody on the right track and help them gain a better understanding of technique... his enthusiasm becomes their enthusiasm. So what does Derek get from his tutorials? Like any good teacher, the benefit of knowing that somebody he has helped, has moved up the ladder.

Seems that's all he needs.

Good onya Derek.   bn

ps   do we have to call you "Sir Derek" now?

[Pickles]

Champion report Derek - you’re a legend mate and we all have much to thanks you for

[bessell1955]

Once again you have above and beyond.  Well done!