Fishing "hero shots"

[ColdBore]

Another thread got me thinking, and rather than bury this in that thread, I wanted to start a separate topic.

I guess in this Facebook/Instagram society that we live in now, it's inevitable that more and more guys are taking more and more pictures, and taking longer and longer in staging that "just right" angle.

Years ago, I heard somebody say something, and from that day on, it is very rare for me to take a picture of any fish that is intended to be released. And if I do decide to take a picture (maybe a particularly colorful or pretty fish), it is almost always a shot of it still in the net, with one side of the fish just breaking the water surface for a few seconds.

What was it that I heard?

"As soon as you pull that fish out of the water, hold your breath until you get it back into the water and revived, because that's exactly what you're putting that fish through".

Think about that the next time you're hoisting a fish, and turning for multiple angles and multiple shots.

 

[bigjohn58]

I have a complete system of taking photos with my GoPro Hero Session 5. I have a very small tripod that extends. I can set it up in about 15 seconds and usually just jamb it in the mud. Push the one button and its recording. I usually just keep the fish in my deep net folded over in the water until I'm set up. Then just hold the fish in front of the camera for a few seconds and away it goes. I'll just go through the video and I'm able to pause it and get the photo from that. Some of these poses however with the rod sitting on your back or the perfect head shot angles have to take a lot longer. You can tell the "poser" poses just doing it for the clout.

 

[Bamboozle]

I always get a chuckle out of folks who chastise fish keepers, spin fishers, light tippets, barbed hooks, anything but rubber nets, fishing during the spawn or heat of summer and so on...

...but feel compelled to post a picture of every fish they catch.

As we all know, fish can be VERY uncooperative at times, especially if you horse them in like I do to minimize the amount of time you play them. I also know from past experience, if you REALLY want badly to get a shot of a pig, you might bend the rules for how long you are willing to set-up a shot.

If you take pictures of fish IN THE NET, (which IMHO is the only way to do it and minimize whatever impact there is), it isn't SO bad. But if you are like me and almost never carry a net...

...you are kidding yourself if you think it takes second to play your fish, grab hold of your camera or phone, grab the fish and get the shot.

Often, the desperate fish gets out of your hands and you have to do it all over again or worse yet, you lay it on the ground so it doesn't get away...

To each his or her own, but I got over the picture taking thing a long while back and stopped carrying a camera or using a phone years ago.

 

[blueheron]

I think we should just fish flies with the hook cut off after tying and count it as a catch as soon as a fish takes , there’s no reason to unnecessarily traumatize a fish with a hook.

 

[Swattie87]

Only thing more annoying than guys who take pictures of fish and post them on the internet...Guys complaining about it.

I’m a really good swimmer and can hold my breath a long time. So I’m good to go.

Edit: Oh yeah, spincasters, those guys are really annoying. Thanks for reminding me Bamboozle.

 

[Dave_W]

Swattie87 wrote:
Only thing more annoying than guys who take pictures of fish and post them on the internet...Guys complaining about it.

Agree^

If you don't care for hero shots, don't post 'em.

 

[ColdBore]

Dave_W wrote:

If you don't care for hero shots, don't post 'em.

It's not about posting pictures, it's about the survivability of the fish when guys hold them out of the water way too long.

 

[outsider]

In the early-mid 70's, I took a picture of a brook trout that I caught at Slate Run. It was the last trout picture I took. I value them more than my own ego.

 

[salvelinus]

^
Amen.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

I like pictures of fish. I have a lot of blurry ones of fish with wet hand because I snap them as I am releasing them from the net (or in the net). A lot of hyperbole in these posts. I also wonder who is fighting these fish to exhaustion? I land most fish in under 30 seconds, and I imagine that is true for most?

 

[krayfish2]

90% of the time, I'm fishing with someone. Anyone who fishes with me knows the procedure.....

By the time that the fish gets near the net, the camera has already been turned on

You grab the fish to lift it from the net and release it

I crank off photos in burst mode.

Fish is out of the water for 2-4 seconds. If we miss the perfect photo...oh well.

Fish is held until it's ready to go. No second chance shots. If that makes me an awful / heartless fisherman, so be it. I'm taking care of the fish and snapping a photo is sometimes a fortunate by product.

 

[Acristickid]

Only picture I took of a fish today. Is this ok?

 

[blueheron]

Hero shot is the need for the fisherman to get in the shot. If you fish with me don't expect me to take a picture of anything but the fish,
I know what the hell you and I look like and it's not pretty.

 

[afishinado]

Guys, don't get carried away on either side. :roll:

Just use good judgement and take proper precautions when trying to photograph fish.

My MO is close to what K-fish wrote above....care more about the fish than the pic.

In any case, as with nearly everything, just use common sense and all will be okay.

 

[krayfish2]

Kid,
You gotta get that shot centered. LoL

 

[redietz]

blueheron wrote

I know what the hell you and I look like and it's not pretty.

I also know what a fish looks like.

It reminds me of people who post pictures of what they had for breakfast. I don't get either one.

 

[wbranch]

Well from reading quite a few posts I guess I will be banned from the community if I ever post another photo of a fish not in the net and held above the water. Fishing is a blood sport. Don't anyone of you ever think that every fish you so carefully play and unhook is going to swim away unscathed. I've seen fish I was very careful playing, and releasing, been devoured by pelicans before they could swim 20' away from me. Stripers have attacked fish I have been playing and tried to make off with them. And I had other stripers grab 18" trout after they appeared strong and swam away. I'll continue to have people take my picture holding 21" and bigger trout but I just won't post them here.

BTW I've not knowingly killed a trout in over twenty years and that one swallowed the fly and bled out. Prior to that the last trout I killed was around 1972.

 

[PennKev]

ColdBore wrote:
"As soon as you pull that fish out of the water, hold your breath until you get it back into the water and revived, because that's exactly what you're putting that fish through".

The fish still have a hell of a lot better chance than most of the deer I've taken pictures with.

 

[ryansheehan]

PennKev wrote:

ColdBore wrote:
"As soon as you pull that fish out of the water, hold your breath until you get it back into the water and revived, because that's exactly what you're putting that fish through".

The fish still have a hell of a lot better chance than [d]most[/d] all of the deer I've taken pictures with.

Lol good point, but I fixed it for you.

 

[ColdBore]

PennKev wrote:

The fish still have a hell of a lot better chance than most of the deer I've taken pictures with.

Were you planning to release any of those deer? :roll: