Paying Tribute

Sometimes it's hard to take a moment to acknowledge the beauty of the life you're about to end when you see that magnificent creature come to color and your heart is pumping, praying it doesn't come unbuttoned just before you sink the gaff and pull her into the boat.


The other day I was about to head in and decided to collect a few fin clips from other anglers in support of Owyns' biological sample research. When I asked Matt Rabasco for his (sorry to blow up your bite), he took a sample from a spot that wouldn't disfigure the fish because he wanted to use it for Gayotaku with his students. I had heard of this ancient practice before but never thought much of it. After some research it didn't look too hard so I figured, what better way to pay respect to this fish than to capture it with more than just a cell phone photo? Thank you Matt for the inspiration.

This is my first attempt at this, and learned some things I will use for the next time I try. Tradionally it is done on rice paper, but the local arts and crafts store didn't have any so I used some fabric.

Hopefully by the end of 2013 I can trace at least one of every species our local water has to offer.

Oh yeah...and making it into something delicious and sharing it with your close friends is another great way to pay respect