FISHO recently asked its writers to select five of their favourite fishing related photos and tell us the reasons why they rate them and how the the pics came about.
The next photos featured are from regular Canberra-based Fisho contributor, Ben Caddaye, who explains why these are his five favourites.
1 – Kids
Fishing with my kids and their friends provides me with more joy and satisfaction than just about any other aspect of angling. I love this shot because of the colour and the smiles. It reminds me of why I go fishing in the first place. It’s also worth noting that the kids pictured all couldn’t wait to release this St Georges Basin flattie to fight another day. How good is that?
2 – Trout
My first ever published article (for a now defunct mag) was a piece written on fishing for trout in the tiny alpine streams in the Snowy Mountains. Ever since it was published (in the late ’90s) I have made a point to visit this pretty special part of the world every late summer/early autumn to fish the diminutive streams that criss-cross the pristine NSW alpine region. The trout aren’t big, but as you can see from this image, they’re beautifully marked little fish and a joy to catch on small deep divers and surface lures.
3 – Cuda
This is a fairly recent shot, which appeared in the pages of Fisho in 2014. I think it’s a cool pic, with a great little story associated with it. The big ‘cuda pictured was taken by a mate of mine while we were in Fiji celebrating my 40th birthday. Have a look at the lure hanging from the big ‘cuda’s gob! Yep, coincidentally it’s one of those free Fishing World lures (a Rapala X-Rap) many readers would have received with their copy of the 40th anniversary mag back in 2009.
4 – GT
I didn’t take this photo, and it’s not even a brilliant pic, but it’s of my largest fish and most memorable catch to date – a 37kg GT taken on a popper off the coast of Cairns a couple of years back. This trevor dragged me around the boat more than any other fish has ever done during my angling career. After I got the fish on board, posed for a few happy snaps and let it go, I distinctly remember not wanting to cast my lure back into the water in case I hooked another one! It hurt!
5 – Bream
One of the largest bream I’ve seen in the flesh, and a fish that eventually made the cover of Fisho! This ripping black bream measured 44cm and was caught from my boat by good mate Ashley Leggott in Coila Lake on the NSW far south coast in 2012. Sadly, Coila has been ravaged by the pros in recent years and black bream like this are a rarity in the system. Naturally, we released this fish but I suspect it ended up dead in a net.
