Golden Trout poses

Grip and Grin
But it was my biggest trout of the day

    A couple years ago, I ran into one of America's best fishermen when I went fishing for Kokanee Salmon in Connecticut. We talked a little bit and he was kind enough to take photos for me of my first ever caught Kokanee. While we were fishing whenever he hooked up I noticed he was taking a ton of photos with his phone while he was fighting the fish. I didn't think too much of it.  Later that night I friend requested him and he accepted.

 

 Since becoming Facebook friends, I've asked him a couple of advice questions on species I've never caught. He has graciously answered them all (the number of questions I've sent him is 1/100th the amount I sent my friend Dave in the early days of our friendship). What I have noticed is this guy posts fish almost every day because he is addicted to fishing. His photos are so creative. They are not just the hold up the fish and grin photos we all take. Some of his photos are works of art with perfect colors and light. His photos of fighting fish, fish in the hand, and fish in the water inspired me to take pictures I wouldn't normally take.

   Now, don't get me wrong, I suspect that for every work of art he gets, he takes a dozen trash photos. That is okay, if you get a perfect photo who cares how many you delete? I assumed going in I'd take a ton of out of focus photos, and pics where a fish was there but by the time the camera focused, it was gone. I knew it would be hard.  It is also much harder to get these photos alone. If my son were here and trout fishing with me, I'm sure we could get tons of great photos of fish. He is a decent fishermen and himself a great photographer, but he is twelve time zones away. So it is my game to play. 

 

 Today I had a very good day trout fishing. They were hitting the fly and casting bubble. So I experimented with photos. I used a combination of my small point and shoot and my phone. As expected, I got a bunch of out of focus photos, and plenty that were in focus but were crap. My other issue was I let all of the fish go, so I didn't want to make them model any longer than I had too. After I took some photos of each fish I would revive it if needed before letting it go. they all swam away fine.

   This is not a brag post, these photos are by no means a look at me. I had a great day fishing, but I've been blanked trout fishing SIX times so far this year. And if you think I'm just showing off my photos I promise you, I'd be happy to show you my recycle bin full of bad ones. However, maybe seeing these "okay" photos will give you an idea to try something outside the box. It's fun. I know most of these photos are only average and none are going to make it on my wall, but it is a start.