Fish-Porn-Friday.

[THE DARKHORSE]

Hey there boys and girls. It feels like ages since I last checked in; Christmas if memory serves. Been spending way too much time in the office. And feeling a bit overdue. The coolest part of having an office on the water, though? The view, of course, so no complaints. Beyond that, an integral part of tracking fish daily for clients is, well, catching them. Duh. So, sometimes you have to actually grind on fish yourself. You know, just so they believe that the fish are really there? In essence, if I see fish on the meter, be damn sure that I'm dropping an iron, too.


Before you go and ponder taking a heavy pay-cut and changing careers, though, just realize the perks pretty much end right about there. Catching fish until your arms can't possibly reel in another -- while that in itself is what we all dream of -- quickly transcends from a short-sided goal, to, well, work. Thus my decision these days to spend less and less time on the fishing rod. And more time behind the camera.

Bringing me to the entire point of this post. A client recently asked: "What in the hell do you do with all the photos?!?! While I sat and pondered that for a moment in silence. I eventually came to the conclusion that I really didn't have a good answer. Quite frankly, if I'm being completely honest, the answer to that question kind of sucked. The truth is that an incredible amount of what may be deemed stoke worthy (for at least someone out there in web-land) images? Never see the light of day.

Thus, fish-porn-Friday, being born. A thread that I plan to update often. In an attempt to share the stoke -- revolving in and around the trophy fish we pursue. Will this be a: "I caught this fish off of live-Squid four hundred yards inside The Half at, grey-light, forty five feet under a balloon? Far from. However, if you're simply looking for some inspiration-in-a-can, so to speak. You know, something to fuel your fire for that next adventure? Or, simply give your morning coffee that extra bit of pep -- then you've certainly come to the right place. Sit back, relax, take your shoes off and enjoy. Because there's more where this came from...

The only thing cooler than pulling on a thirty pound plus, Yellowtail, on a ten foot jig-stick?

Having someone capture an undeniably, epic-photo, of your first giant Yellowtail on said long rod.

Remember, though, for every epic photo you see? I was probably slaving away in the office the day prior.

And I'll be completely honest here. This fish completely kicked my ass -- practically made me his bitch. Seriously.

Thankfully, I didn't catch this fish. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, though. I was happy behind the lens.

I know I know, a fish is a fish. But some are prettier than others; for sure.

Then there's this guy. A highly skilled angler in the making -- with a new sonar every time I see him.

I had his unit perfectly tuned on this day. Our images looked like a carbon copy of one another.

Tony was on fire this day, too. While I gladly watched from a few feet away. Fun day on the pond; for sure.

Same day from a different perspective. Not another angler for miles. Just the way I like it...

One of the best parts of my job is meeting cool people, from all walks of life. Most have a long drive, too.

Which only adds to the tea-kettle of pressure already on my shoulders, of course. The Ocean is, um, BIG.

What's even more kick ass, though, is when I have a pro in their own right along for the day.

Make sure and take note of the trophy resting on it's side already. This gentlemen whacked them all day.

That is until he had a $1 part break -- and now had a million dollar problem. Paddling a Hobie Pro Angler, loaded down with multiple fish, already drained from the beating sun. For the next four hours; ouch.

I'm really going to miss this guy. The military recently sent him back East.

An absolute pleasure to fish with and would of made a great kayak model. Always had a smile on his face.

This next photo is one of my favorites, though. Namely due to the composition of the contrasts depicted.

Let's see: standing shoulder to shoulder with eighty other guys who can't figure out how to control their line, having horrible odds to begin with, then in the unlikely event the unthinkable happens -- you actually hook the right kind? There's incredible odds that you're going to be tangled in one of those eighty lines; if not all of them. Or, Tim, here being pinned to the rail on his first ever surface-iron Yellowtail. Your choice.

Eventually I had the pleasure of fishing with this gentlemen again. His $800 set-ups make me sick. That's just jealousy talking, though.

This day he was the perfect muse for the Bendo shot of Bendo shots. He's, literally, flying past me here. An action shot that I'm proud of, today.

Anyway, I suppose that's enough for now -- some of us have jobs and actually have to go to work in the morning.