Emeritus Professor Ned Pankhurst is a fish biologist with degrees in zoology from the University of Otago (New Zealand), and Bristol (UK). His profession has taken him around the world and provided the opportunity to study, conduct research and to fly fish in many countries. Early in the journey, he decided to capture his experiences in drawing, paintings and diary entries, a habit that has endured for 45 years.His research background is in the reproductive and sensory physiology of fishes across a range of marine, freshwater, Antarctic and deep ocean and tropical habitats, in the multiple contexts of conservation biology, climate change effects, fisheries management and sustainable aquaculture. He has published ~200 research and popular articles and book chapters, but feels his most important legacy is the training of young scientists through the supervision of 50 masters and PhD students, and post-doctoral fellows. For mostly good scientific reasons, some of that research has involved fishing, and the capacity to combine science with an angling addition has provided unique insights into both the lives of fishes and the process of fishing itself.He has held senior roles across three Australian universities; reviewed for multiple granting agencies and scientific journals, and served on editorial boards; held governance roles in research organisations and partnerships, innovation start-ups, business and government advisory boards, and a National Rugby League team; and chaired a major arts organisation. He is now retired in Launceston, Tasmania, and spends his time fly fishing, writing, painting, and exhibits locally and plays guitar for his own amusement and the embarrassment of others. He is married with two adult sons, one of whom fly fishes and the other a scientist, suggesting that they were listening at the dinner table.