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Sure, being able to catch fish is a good skill to have, but to really be cool and make the big leagues, you’re going to have to learn how to hold fish up for pix.
Here are some styles you should probably commit to memory…but don’t be afraid to create your own unique style too! Because, ya know, the sponsors are always watching!
I have (or my clients have) caught a bunch of fish over the years that had all sorts of issues from genetic defects to near misses with humans and other critters.
Take for example, the Yuba River above that looks like he had a run-in with perhaps an eagle or osprey.
What’s amazing is how resilient fish can be. Even with crazy injuries or debilitating disfigurements, they seem to somehow survive.
I wish I could find all my pix because I have some really interesting ones but here’s a small sample of some of the fish I have caught with issues:
Not an Exit: This striper ate what looks to be a plastic worm hook…and then somehow it worked it’s way out through the fish’s side…
Sliced: This Alaskan king salmon probably tangled with a hungry sea lion that almost opened it completely from stem to stern like a zipper…
Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Here’s a Kodiak Island chum salmon that also appears to have narrowly escaped the deadly jaws of a sea lion or seal…
Wedgie: When spooning for stripers, this happens a couple times of year — the fish grabs the lure in such a way that it gets wedged in its mouth so perfectly that we land him without the hook ever touching flesh…
Snagged: This poor King obviously ran a gauntlet of snaggers and narrowly escaped because the “angler” was using line that was too light (despite the fact that he/she was using what appears to be an expensive Gamakatsu treble)…
Kissy Face: At first I thought this Togiak River coho salmon had been to a tattoo shop, but upon closer inspection, he dodged a bullet when a blood-sucking lamprey tried to attach to his hard gillplate and not his softer underbelly…
Worrying to Much?: I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with this nice bass but she’s got a pretty nasty looking sore on her belly. Do bass get ulcers….? ?
Bustin’ Out: This Chinook salmon spent what appears to be a nearly lethal amount of time in a gill net before busting the mesh and pushing through…
Rectangle Trout: I caught this uber skinny, almost perfectly rectangle-shaped brown trout in the fall, when fish are typically packing on the weight. Though I released him, I’m guessing he didn’t make it through the long winter…
Cheeky: After eating what appears to be a bait hook, this Striper somehow managed to work it nearly all the way out…through his cheek! 
Scarface: You’d have to assume this Sacramento River king salmon had a pretty serious run-in with a hook of some kind. Because the wound doesn’t look super fresh, I’m guessing the encounter occurred at sea but who knows? it didn’t stop her from biting another hook…
The Over-Eater: Small striped bass are notorious for trying to eat stuff that’s larger than they are, but this guy took it to the next level! I suppose as a little fish, everything you can get into your mouth is one less thing that can eat you!
Speed Governor: It looks like a sea lion just about rendered this Klamath River hatchery steelhead dead in the water by eating half of its motor. It’s amazing that this fish was able to get away…and, when hooked, it fought amazingly well…
Mixed-Up Striper: This little Striper apparently couldn’t figure out which way his stripes were supposed to go. Maybe he wanted to be a trout instead…
I got to do some serious carp fishing in England earlier this month and while we didn’t catch any “golden bonefish,” it was very cool to see a totally new way of doing things.
They do a lot of chumming over there (which is known as “feeding the swim”) with corn, maggots and a whole bunch of other “groundbait.” The way they deliver the chum is prety fun. Here’s my Uncle Neil in action…
Speaking of bait, it appears carp have a bit of a sweet tooth…er…lip based on all the stuff that is used for them. Such as Banana flavored boiles (which are basically dough balls)…
Or how about strawberry flavored corn (I know I probably got all you Kokanee addicts thinking with this one!)…
Though they look like mini crawdad traps, these are actually sinkers (yes they are weighted). The idea here is you stuff them with chum the consistency of packed brown sugar (more on that later) and cast out. The chum concoction starts to leech out of the cage and…hopefully…calls some carp in…
So, what do you stuff into these little cages? Well Uncle Neil mixed up a brew of flavored corn, some chocolatey paste and…yum…live maggots….
Then there’s all the crazy rigs! I’m obviously very at home in a tackle shop, but the carp gear in England is so complicated I could hardly tell what anything was…
Even Coop, who’s an accomplished bobber fisherman, was confused by the massive array of floats…
The preferred rods for carp fishing are very long, often 12 to over 15 in length, and come with an assortment of different tip sections for different methods…
Here’s Uncle Neil with a specialized swing tip, which is supposed to transmit the lightest of bites. I asked him if he wasn’t just pulling my leg and that’s how he really “fixed” a broken tip ?, but he assured me this is factory…
Well the carp didn’t want to play, but Coop and I both added a new species to our lists, the good ol’ yellow perch…
So, without catching a carp, we retreated to the house and caught some TV…
In all seriousness, it was a great time. I’m always down for seeing something new and maybe learning a trick or two. Much love to Uncle Neil for taking us out!
The carp better watch out, next time I’ll have my ground baits, feeders, boilies, pop-ups, controller floats, buzzer bars and ledger rigs ready!
You’d be hard-pressed to find a faster response to a lure from a fish than this one!
The view from my office never gets old!