DerekD has been awarded special badges - breaking news......

[mrsswordfisherman]

@DerekD has been giving his time freely for several years to voluntarily coach fishraider members. His input on most threads and exceptional articles he produces for our Article section has not gone unnoticed. 

He spends most of his weekends and rostered days off taking members who pm him for some mentoring sessions out to fishing spots. The newbies clearly get expert tuition and even experienced anglers have found some correctional instruction helps. 

He does not charge any money for his efforts. Some mentees do not even add a report on our site. 

Derek has been nominated by many of our community for a special badge. The mods and myself have decided that he deserves 2 badges 

Derek please accept the "Volunteer Fishing Coach" and "Expert Mentor" platinum badge on behalf of us all. 

I urge anyone who is lucky enough to be taken out fishing by Derek to give him a free lunch at least and produce a report on the session here on fishraider. 

Congratulations Derek from all of us.

mrsswordie

 

[Little_Flatty]

Well deserved @DerekD!

[wazatherfisherman]

Well deserved indeed. Derek is as nice a guy as you could meet, skilful angler, great tutor and eloquent writer.

I am proud to say he's my friend and Raiders of all experience levels benefit from his time, knowledge, input and especially his company.

 

[BaitDropper]

Haven't been here to long, but I enjoy reading Derek's posts.

Seems a very well earned title he has now been presented with.

Congrats.

[whiskey299]

Congrats @DerekD we thank you for your efforts

[Little_Flatty]

8 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

I urge anyone who is lucky enough to be taken out fishing by Derek to give him a free lunch at least and produce a report on the session here on fishraider. 

Those of you who have fished with @DerekD will know how generous he is with his time. To get that amount of time for one day from a professional guide will not leave you with much change from a grand.

Just one note on posting a follow up report after someone has helped you. It’s not just a good way to thank that person and the community; posting reports on your further sessions/learnings adds to our community’s collective knowledge and enriches us as a whole. As any search of this forum will find that over the decades FR has become an extremely useful resource. This all due to the generous sharing of experiences by community members.

Also, don’t let a lack of experience or humble results hold you back from sharing. By doing that you’re encouraging other novices to keep going and sometimes you might notice something a more experienced angler hasn’t noticed. That’s the ‘fresh eyes’ effect!

[big Neil]

Well done Donna and the moderators in recognising Derek's achievements over the years. I know that he will be thrilled to receive such esteemed awards.

No doubt about him deserving such awards, he actually gets sufficient personal reward from seeing others benefit from his input. To have the Fishraider community acknowledge his value is icing on the cake.

I trust he will continue to develop newbies and more experienced anglers in the years to come. Good onya Derek.

bn

[Mike Sydney]

Mate I wouldn’t be a fraction of the fisherman I was without you @DerekD thank you.

[Bennyg78]

Well done @DerekD !!

Well deserved recognition for a guy who puts many people onto the path of fishing with lures.

I wouldn’t have gotten into any kinda lure fishing without him, and from there he has helped me get into kayak tournament fishing.

He’s also good to chew the fat and discuss different fishing viewpoints with and there’s always more to learn from him

[Yowie]

Great work there Derek, deserving awards.

[nutsaboutfishing]

Never was there a man more deserving

Edited November 24, 2023 by nutsaboutfishing

[DerekD]

Hi All,

Not an Oscars speech but like the Oscars, being nominated for these badges, by your peers, is a great honour and means a lot to me and possibly more than you realise. The people I've helped in person over the years know how much effort I put into each session to help them grow in fishing skills they have previously struggled with. That I also get accolades from members here who I have not yet had the pleasure or opportunity to fish with has put a huge smile on my face.

Having people reach out publicly and privately to say the advice I've given has helped them has made the posts and long hours writing in depth articles worth it. I strongly believe everyone should contribute back to the community in ways that play to your strengths and I'm grateful to Fishraider over the years for giving me opportunities to do so.

In giving to others on and beyond this site it has given back in ways I've not expected. I've made some close friendships that I hope will last me for the rest of my life. In teaching others I've refined my skills and explanations. I also have a larger group of people I keep in semi-regular contact with and it allows us to all do better fishing as we let the others know what is biting and where and what technique is working best. I also get to experience the joy of the "first time" on multiple occasions through the people I help. First kingfish. First fish on lures. First topwater bream or whiting. If you get the chance I highly recommend taking a budding or struggling angler under your guidance. You don't have to be an expert because even if you are only a few steps ahead of the person you are helping it will make a difference.

If you are helped by someone on this site please take the time to do a report. You may not see it but you are probably helping someone else who has been experiencing the same struggles as you did. Let people know what was causing problems, what you learned, what you would do differently.

Out of academic curiosity a little while back I went and collated reports on the site of people I assisted (mostly in person but not all) over the years and who actually submitted a report (ok I probably shouldn't mention the stingray incident). A little help, even once or twice a year, adds up and the roll on effect of them then helping others makes the fishing community a more fun place to be. So if you have an opportunity to teach someone then please do.

Once again thank you for the kind words of encouragement and the new badges.

@AlbertW:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96670-finally/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95171-first-fish-on-a-lure

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95350-ladies-and-gentlemen-we-got-‘em/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96739-dereks-fly-fishing-lesson/

 

@anthman:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/81984-soft-plastics-tried-and-failed/

 

Anton:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/87135-pittwater-stingray-ouch/

 

@Bateau Stu:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96084-gday-all-new-to-the-game/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96215-gathering-of-fish-raiders-on-the-central-coast-and-the-croc/

 

@Bennyg78:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94512-lessons-learnt/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94574-the-errant-disciple-and-the-patient-master/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94889-musings-from-a-beginner-fisho/

 

@BIGG DADDA TREVS:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/87456-first-kingy-on-lure/

 

@big Neil:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/87219-the-trip-away-a-summary-part-one/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/87220-the-trip-away-a-summary-part-two/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/87943-thank-you/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96054-learning-to-use-the-bent-minnow/

 

@Chhayzor:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94630-learning-from-the-best/

 

@dajayjay:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95300-my-first/

 

@Dazza72:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96866-sydney-fishing-mentoring-w-derekd/

 

@Denisfisho:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94004-nearly-about-to-give-up-on-lure-fishing/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94173-learning-to-fish-from-a-fellow-fishraider-derekd/

 

@faker:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/97265-topwater-lessons-with-derek/

 

@finfur:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/93112-a-fishing-sesh-with-derek-d/

 

@FishyMcFishFace

https://community.deckee.com/topic/92050-lure-learning-curve-drummoyne/

 

@frankS:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96641-question-to-derekd/

 

@Gengar:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/92627-finally-converted-to-sp/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/93211-beach-rod-advice-for-lure/

 

@Gustadi:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96230-the-voucher-and-the-knighthood/

 

@JahmonW:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/90758-kiwi-fisho-exploring-sydney-land-based-fishing-report/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/90815-topwater-bass-fishing-is-so-much-fun/

 

@Jay88:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/78671-lure-vs-bait/

 

@kilp:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/91613-luderick-assistance-help-please/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/92491-blackfish-tutorial/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96137-balmain-blackfish/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96158-balmain-ludericks-again-with-the-boss/

 

@pscarey:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/93890-learning-to-fish-during-lockdown/

 

@Little_Flatty:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/94378-surface-and-casting-lesson-with-derekd/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95537-lesson-report-fly-casting-with-derekd/

 

@Madkanu:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96268-are-you-doing-ballet/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96292-le-grand-jete-or-the-great-leap-are-you-doing-ballet-part-2/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96336-wax-on-wax-off-or-was-it-paint-fence/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96361-acanthuriforme-avicennia-marina/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/96487-feed-of-flatties-after-remembering-to-paint-the-fence/

 

@Mattymattmatt:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/88549-need-some-help-sick-of-catching-small-fish/

 

@Mike89:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/83539-saturday-plastics-session/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/85299-first-king-on-plastics/

 

@Mike Sydney:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/92241-topwater-whiting/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/92550-article-land-based-lure-fishing-shallow-flats-and-mangroves-sydney/

 

@Miketheangler

https://community.deckee.com/topic/86184-how-to-fish-sydney-harbor-moorings-for-kingfish/

 

Mr.Wang:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95842-me-into-the-lure-fishing/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95950-lure-fishing-102-nov-10th/

 

@nutsaboutfishing:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/93722-thanks-derekd/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95238-thanks-again-mr-d/

 

@Robbo from Sydney

https://community.deckee.com/topic/97456-learning-how-to-cast-efficiently-and-effectively-thanks-to-derekd/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/97459-first-topwater-bream/

 

@robthefisherman:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95743-sydney-based-experienced-beach-fisho-needed-for-youtube-vid/

 

@Ryan.f:

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95583-fishing-session-with-new-fishraider/

https://community.deckee.com/topic/95701-the-holly-grail/

 

 

Edited December 9, 2023 by DerekD

[big Neil]

Fair dinkum Derek, you must have a fantastic memory or keep great records of your mentoring achievements. Looking through the list of people you have mentored I see a rather disappointing detail. Alas, the majority of the people you have mentored are no longer anywhere to be seen on Fishraider. Personally, I find that rather sad. No doubt that each would have gained some benefit from your tuition, but where are they now?

I know it's their right to do as they please but, if I am being blunt about this observation, it is very disappointing that so many have reaped the benefits and bolted. All too often we see this happen...people take what they need but how many "pass it forward?" Maybe some have moved ahead with greater confidence and capability, maybe some have passed on their newly acquired skills/knowledge, but they have deserted this forum. To me, that's not good enough!

I'm not going to leave this post on a negative note. There are others in the list above who are regular contributors to the forum. Buoyed by their positive experiences, they are out there having fun, and learning to be better anglers in the process.

[XD351]

Those that ask of fishing  and never give back to it are robbing themselves ! The feeling you get when you help or teach someone to catch a fish is something they never get - if that fish is their first ever you can multiply that sense of satisfaction by a factor of 10 ! There may be other factors why they are no longer posting on FR - sometimes life gets in the way and their circumstances change but unfortunately some are just here to mine for information and go on their way.

[Madkanu]

@DerekD, you are a gentleman and a scholar. So happy to see the creation of these new badges and formal recognition of everything you do for this fishing community. You certainly reignited an enjoyment of fishing that that been dormant in me for many years and I’m looking forward to catching up with you over the holidays. 

Edited November 25, 2023 by Madkanu

[AlbertW]

Congrats @DerekD, very very well deserved ! Wouldn't be here without you!

[Gengar]

@DerekD absolute champion no doubt about it. I would still be stuck on casting out baits if I hadn't met Derek on that fateful day few years ago. I have had a pretty lean winter and spring so far but hoping it fires up over summer so I can put up a decent report or two! Still a newbie so not much advice i can give but love the advice of fellow raiders whenever I have a question! Cheers.

[finfur]

@DerekD... A true ambassador of our sport. In a world where competition for recreational time is soaring amongst a wide array of outdoor activities, Derek is helping to keep this tradition relevant and necessary in the new world. His contribution and investment will help to position our sport for the future and garner exposure against competing interests.  
So a big THANK YOU for your articles, your replies, and most important of all, you generously giving your time in helping me and others.
These awards are long overdue and well deserved.

[Mike from DECKEE]

Congrats @DerekD – well deserved! I'm going to organise a free year of DECKEE Supporter Club membership for you, so you can access all the extra features the DECKEE app has to offer on and off the water. I'll send you a message now. 🫡

[big Neil]

15 hours ago, Mike from DECKEE said:

Congrats @DerekD – well deserved! I'm going to organise a free year of DECKEE Supporter Club membership for you, so you can access all the extra features the DECKEE app has to offer on and off the water. I'll send you a message now. 🫡

Good onya Mike for your very generous offer.   bn

[DerekD]

16 hours ago, Mike from DECKEE said:

Congrats @DerekD – well deserved! I'm going to organise a free year of DECKEE Supporter Club membership for you, so you can access all the extra features the DECKEE app has to offer on and off the water. I'll send you a message now. 🫡

Thank you for that @Mike from DECKEE. I'm now curious what all the extra Deckee features are.