Flop

I'm welling up - lovely to see.

At least once a week we serve a dish up in one of @big Neil beatifully crafted stenciled bowls - thanks mate, Lise and I love it!

Great report, lovely to read.

Been quiet for a while, Covid creates much work for teachers. We are still conducting interviews and continuing the research just at a slower pace. Thanks @lastworm for the chat, it was great to get your perspective on the state of some of the freshwater fisheries close to home. The online survey capturing knowledge about freshwater fisheries around NSW is still up and running https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d6EUxNxq4j4nDhA Really appreciate all those who have responded so far. If you have not already done so, we really appreciate your taking the online survey. We will run it up until the end of the year and draw the prizes just before Christmas. In the spare minutes I've been heading down to the few stretches of water within 5km and working on my fly casting under the watchful eye of @DerekD, Thanks.

PS, great activity for a rainy day https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d6EUxNxq4j4nDhA help improve our knowledge of river health.

Thanks to all who have filled out the survey so far. Some very valuable data on how and why river health and fish catches are changing. We are getting close to having 100 responses aiming for 150, there are 5 gift vouchers worth $50 to be given away once we reach 150 surveys.

Thanks mate, maybe if you picture me as an ATM, might be easier, type some numbers in and hopefully something useful comes out

Hi Lastworm, Thanks for taking the survey, really appreciated. The location data is stored in an encrypted database and we cannot release any exact location data as per our ethics agreement so any secret fishing sites are safe. You can provide approximate areas or hold back your secret locations and if you have any concerns please send me an email and I can remove any data at your request. I'm pretty incorruptible - no amount of coercion from Derek will work! I do not look at the location data unless there is reason such as fish kills reported. When I provide maps they are at coarse scale and we often jitter the points (move them a distance in a random direction). I'll keep all posted on some of the findings over the next weeks to months. All the best, Floris

Dear All, I am a researcher at the University of Sydney and also enjoy fishing @Flop. In 2020 we started a project which aims to better understand the health of our freshwater fisheries in NSW about how we can better manage our fisheries to ensure they are there for our grandkids and their grandkids. We have been collecting local ecological knowledge from anglers across the NSW using an online survey as well as face to face (zoom) interviews. These surveys and interviews help us identify problems with river and fish health that may otherwise not be picked up by organisations responsible for monitoring water quality and fish populations in our freshwater systems. So far we have received close to 100 responses to the survey and also conducted many face to face interviews. Below is an example of some of the discussions (and pictures of fish caught) we had on a recent fishing trip with @DerekD and @big Neil. @DerekD highlights the importance of @big Neil knowledge in supplementing an electrofishing survey data. As with all research the more data we can collect the better we can understand of our freshwater systems are changing and so further promoting the survey through Fishraider with the approval of Donna @mrsswordfisherman We invite you to undertake the survey. The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and if you provide your details you will go into the draw to win a $50 voucher. The survey can be accessed here https://sydney.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d6EUxNxq4j4nDhA If you have any questions or concerns I can be contacted via. email: floris.vanogtrop@sydney.com.au Telephone: 02 8627 1024 (if I am not in please leave a message and I will call you back) ethics: approval id 2020/514 Human Research Ethics Committee, The University of Sydney

What can I say, a fantastic weekend with two incredibly knowledgeable guys. As @DerekD pointed out, I have known him since the age of 4.5. I think the first fish I can remember Derek catching was a tailor (decent size) on something like a twist lure in middle harbour. While not being as devoted to the art as Derek, I have always enjoyed chucking a line in. Recently the planets aligned, I reached out to Derek to get back into fishing and learn some of the finer arts such as casting a fly, topwater,...the list goes on (Local tackle shop are stoked). At the same time I have been involved in a number of projects at uni looking at water quality and gathering local ecological knowledge of anglers = Serendipity. I met @big Neil l in Sydney going for Ludderick on the fly and a plan was hatched to head down to Murrumbidgee and target Murray Cod and Trout Cod as well as learning more about the river from someone who has lived and breathed it for more than a decade. I was not let down, while Neil was nervous that his 100% success rate might be broken because of the high flow rate in the river, probably coming from Burrinjuck and the copious amount of rain falling driven by a strong La Nina, we all landed something. For me, as well as learning a paternoster and catching cod, I gained some really valuable insight into how the river changes over time as well as discussing some unsolved mysteries. For example, we speculated as to why fish have gone from taking bait all day to taking bait in two windows for about an hour. Great learning, great company, great fishing. Cheers, F