2015 Fly Fishing Photo Contest: The Results

All the official selections from Hatch Magazine 2015 photo contest at this link:
 
http://www.hatchmag.com/…/2015-fly-fishing-photo-contest-re…

Thoughts on Criticizing “Grip and Grin” Photos

Photo, courtesy Orvis

Thoughts on Criticizing “Grip and Grin” Photos

Phil Monahan, Orvis News, Oct 23 2014

Because I run a blog and Facebook page that often post “grip and grin” photos, I see a lot of negative comments about the way the person in a photograph is holding the fish. The two most common criticisms are that the person is squeezing the fish or holding the fish with dry hands. We don’t post any images that show a fish on the ground or an angler with his fingers in the fish’s gills or mouth, so I don’t see those kinds of negative comments, which I generally agree with.

I am always amazed by the certainty with which the critic makes his assertions, and I wonder whence comes this absolute sense of rightness. Let’s look at two examples:

Read more here: http://bit.ly/1FMxQxc

Nobody Wants To See Your Rotting Corpse

Nobody Wants To See Your Rotting Corpse

by Louis Cahill, March 19, 2014

This is why my hero shots will always look better than yours!

I try not to do this. To give up on a well-reasoned argument and turn to an angry rant, but once in a while I can’t help myself. I’m sick and tired of opening Facebook and seeing photos of a dead fish and some grinning asshole. You’re not a hero and that’s not a hero shot.

Fish are beautiful, living creatures and like all living things they are only beautiful when they are alive. Nobody wants to see a photo of your dead girlfriend and I don’t want to see a photo of your dead fish. It’s a corpse, not a trophy.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/1pdm6st

Catch and Release Trout