Installed Ram mount next to console. Angle is not the best, and sometimes I have to wrangle the phone out of my pocket while holding a fish...

 

 

13 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

But way down South on that river is where the brawlers live. When you hook into one of those bass the fight is on. Not only are the fish more aggressive and meaner it seems, but you have a strong current to fight along with the fish.

 

Gosh, you are really selling me on the St. John's River. I'd love to fish it!

 

13 minutes ago, FloridaFishinFool said:

Swamp Girl I think that is what makes the bodies of the bass look so different. Not the genes, but the environment in which they live makes that difference. I could be wrong.

 

Oh, I think you're right. However, how can you explain the bass in my pond outfighting bass in other ponds? The kid hooked one other morning that nearly pulled his entire baitcasting outfit into the water. And it wouldn't quit, but there's no current. Then we went the next morning and caught four 19-inchers at his pond and none of them pulled like the 17.5-incher he hooked.

 

@DaubsNU1: I like your photo.

 

And I like @casts_by_fly's method of using his hand like a Coke can or quarter. It allows for a 30-second or less release, but still gives the BR gang a sense of size.

I think younger bass tend to have more fight than older bigger bass. Age may play a role in that as well.

 

Younger bass may tend to move around more like the wolf packs seen in Glenn Lau's films.

 

Larger older bass may tend to set up in one spot and not get the same amount of exercise the young'uns do.

On 8/14/2025 at 3:34 PM, FloridaFishinFool said:

Best bass fishing on the planet.

Planet Earth is pretty big.

I'll say that there might be one or two places that rival the river.

For numbers, size, and vigor.

I'd submit that certain areas of Mexico would be on that list. 

A-Jay

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

My struggle is finding a way to take a pic that isn't flawed. 

Your pictures are amazing, don’t ever worry about flaws!
 

Embrace the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi….true beauty is in natural authenticity, not perfection. Or, as I learned from a Navajo artist, art without imperfections is dishonest - only God is perfect.

I agree with ya A-Jay. Mexico has some great fishin' too, but that is one place I will never go to find out. So for me, the best I got is the SJR.

 

Beautiful fish you caught there no doubt!

 

I'd like to point something out. When I say best bass fishing on the planet I am not referring to size of fish caught. I am referring to numbers caught and aggressiveness of the fish being caught. And the great amount action to be had.

 

While its nice to catch fish that large on every cast, I doubt that's the case and more like every once in a while fish that large come in, but its not an every day thing for most of us to ever catch 'em like that daily. But out on the St. Johns river to me is some of the best daily bass fishing on the planet because of the amount of action and strength of that action. When its good, its great!

 

Kind of like this young man stumbled onto it out there. Just listen to his excitement over it too! Size is nice, but amount of action is where my comment is coming from. These bass will wear you out just like they did this young man. Watch this young man hook up on just about every single cast he makes and it does not matter what he throws at them. They hit it all and wear him out. This is "best" bass fishin' to me. A fish on just about every cast.

 

 

🎶Cause I'm a picker
I'm a grinner
I'm a lover
And I'm a sinner🎶

 

But I'm a crappy photographer lol. 

3 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

@Scott F: That's a sweet setup, but wouldn't work in the weeds and wood that I fish. 

I fish in wood and weeds all the time. Why don’t you think my setup would work? The leash isn’t so long that the fish will get down in the weeds or get tangled up. But even if it takes you a while to get to a place where you can set up, the fish stays in the water and healthy. 

49 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Your pictures are amazing, don’t ever worry about flaws!

 

Thank you.

 

50 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Embrace the Japanese concept of Wabi Sabi

 

I'm familiar with it and like your suggestion.

 

56 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I'll say that there might be one or two places that rival the river.

For both numbers, size and vigor.

 

F3 was largely talking about the strength of St. Johns bass and used current* to substantiate that claim, noting that where the current waned, the strength of the St. Johns bass waned. Anyone who's caught brown bass in current versus still water knows this. Where in Mexico do green bass achieve world class strength and why?

 

4 minutes ago, Scott F said:

Why don’t you think my setup would work?

 

I just don't think it would work where I fish because there are weeds atop weeds in the water I fish. I wish I could photograph how weedy my water is, but I can't. My camera only captures the weeds above water. However,  the photo below gives you an idea of how weedy it can be. See all those weeds above the surface? Well, they have lots of relatives below the surface.

 

 

*I haven't fished the St. Lawrence, but if strength and current are proportionate, knowing the current of the St. Lawrence, I would think that those bass would be some of the world's strongest, for they're both big and fighting current constantly, as opposed to the smallies of the New River, which are also fighting current constantly, but not as big.

I will add this: great photos are, well, great. But you gotta catch the bass in order to take their portrait lol. On that score, Katie, I think you are in the 95th percentile on BR. And while you may downplay your skills as a photographer, you are pretty much unrivaled in painting pictures with words. 

20 minutes ago, BrianMDTX said:

On that score, Katie, I think you are in the 95th percentile on BR. And while you may downplay your skills as a photographer, you are pretty much unrivaled in painting pictures with words. 

 

This one-eyed old gal thanks you, kind sir.

 

5 hours ago, gim said:

There is no disputing it. 

 

Mouth isn’t closed, that would indeed be disputed in a sanctioned tournament 

 

-Ruler police 

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

that would indeed be disputed in a sanctioned tournament 

 

True.  However, you can still clearly see how big the fish is.

23 minutes ago, gim said:

 

True.  However, you can still clearly see how big the fish is.

 

Exactly.

I like showing the rod and reel.

 

 

Or a lure.

 

 

Greetings @Swamp Girl, and others,

All the photos offered tell a wonderful story, each with a unique perspective on an angling adventure. BRAVO to each of you!

 

Much of the time I'm solo on my angling adventures. I have a phone case with a small kickstand on the back side that folds to prop the phone for use with the self timer feature. It is a handy feature that gets used frequently both when in the yak and also along the shore. 

I tried a small portable tripod before and it was a hassle when in the yak as it wasn't all that stable when placed on the front deck. So the case kickstand was a wonderful feature that works easily and doesn't not add significant bulk or fuss. 

 

When in the yak I also have a landing net which acts as a livewell for me to collect myself in preparing for a photo and the fish is able to simply soak in the water contained by the net. If you watch the YouTube channel NDYAKANGLER, he uses the landing net in much the same way. You can see how he does it to get a better idea. He also catches larger fish too! Yes, I'm envious as I aspire to his level of angling success. I do OK for what I have here in the high desert. 

 

The images from the yak have a typical appearance as there are very limited options for positioning. The phone, the fish, and I are pretty much constrained to be shown in a consistent fashion. The self timer does allow me to fully support the fish with both hands. The key thing is to work with the wind to make sure the yak is positioned not to have the sun shining into the camera. Shining on the fish is better for viewing the grandeur of the catch. 

 

When shore angling I've got more challenges as I don't have as much equipment. So I've typically got a hand devoted to keeping the fish in the water, while the other hand deploys the kickstand on the phone case and sets the phone up for the self timer image. Yeah, there is a lot going on with that single hand. Being comfortable using either hand does help, some... 

 

The primary goal is to care for the fish, so if things aren't going well for me, the fish gets to swim without the photo shoot. So it goes, I've still got the memories. 

 

Here in middle of summer in AZ, the fish can really only be out of the water for a few seconds. In this heat the damage to full exposure is real. Heck, I don't want parts of me exposed to the sun for more than a few seconds with the extreme intensity. Given that understanding we make it as quick and easy while being grateful for the opportunity. 

Let's be careful out there! Be well, Cheers!

I really don't think there is an inexpensive way to take quality photos (or video). Prior to my current setup I tried quite a few different ways to get good photos and in the end, they all look the same. I missed documenting a number of quality and memorable fish leaving me with only memories.  What I'm using now and has worked out quite well is having GoPros on the bow and stern with home brew booms. I was using a remote to start recording but always missed the strike so now I record the entire time on the water which requires external batteries. In post production I can grab stills if I want. I have a third GoPro that was going to be used for underwater video but I paused that and can keep it onhand for capturing anything outside the other GoPros field of view.

 

The down side is twofold. One, it can be very expensive but I did it incrementally over time and bought used cameras. Secondly, it's time consuming to set up even though I made everything as plug n play as possible. 

 

At the end of the day, I'm glad I took the plunge and now have a video archive of all my lost fish and screw ups. Instead of relying on my memory I can now view my trips with only a couple of clicks. 

On 8/14/2025 at 10:01 AM, Swamp Girl said:

My struggle is finding a way to take a pic that isn't flawed. Yeah, I post a lot of lip and grips with pretty backgrounds, but they come with no size-context. I like @GreenPig's trick of keeping the lure in the mouth. And @scaleface can sure compose a sweet shot! 

 

As someone that has taken well over a quarter of a million digital photographs and spent countless hours processing them. . . I feel your pain. And, an eye for composition is not something you can purchase from B&H. Definitely a glaring weak spot in my photo game.

4 hours ago, Big Hands said:

 

As someone that has taken well over a quarter of a million digital photographs and spent countless hours processing them. . . I feel your pain. And, an eye for composition is not something you can purchase from B&H. Definitely a glaring weak spot in my photo game.

 

You get it. I understand that every approach comes with costs. For example, if you rig your boats and body with cameras like YouTubers, beyond the considerable purchasing costs, you pay with your picture processing time, recharging time, and electronics malfunction too.

 

A cell phone takes a fine photo, but my cell phone is in a waterproof pouch on lanyard around my neck. To take a photo, I pay with the time it takes to extract it and the risk I incur when it's no longer waterproofed and attached to me. Plus, the bass pays with more time in the net while I fiddle with it.

 

And so on.

 

There is no cost-less approach. My waterproof camera works well for my 30-seconds or less approach, meaning I keep the bass out of the water for 30 seconds or less. 

Photography is something I truly enjoy. I will simply say, you have to have an “eye” for good photos. As simple as that sounds, it’s just true. Some have it, most don’t. You have to care and enjoy it to really bring out your pics. I don’t do selfies or hero shots, but instead…I focus and highlight the fish. I have my methods for my pics and they’re authentic and real.
 

I do touch them up with the available editor which is used to simply enhance what is already there. We have all taken a pic of a brilliant marked or colored specimen, only to be sorely disappointed when the pic reflects a much duller, less beautiful shot. You can fix that and make it right. Don’t over do it and create an over polished…fake scene though. Angles and lighting are paramount, but so is your vision. I leave my phone set on “live” for my pics which allows a frame by frame choice of what looks best. This has caused many a victory when I initially thought it was a bad shot, but nope…there’s the frame I thought I had! Pics are an absolute part of me and my fishing. Almost have to take some shots, I just love it! This is an Atlantic salmon and steelhead being released last fall in Michigan…these would be run of the mill, average shots for me 

 

 

 

 

In my limited and non-professional experience, when it comes to fish/fishing-related photos (and videos, for that matter), I have come to believe that the following two factors consistently play a significant role. 

1.  Content is KING. 

There's no replacement for it, and all the editing in the world

often does very little to improve a poorly thought-out, ill-conceived photo I might take.

While a big fish and beautiful background scenery can garner bonus points, they might not be mandatory. However, they rarely hurt my photos. What is mandatory for my own success is forethought, having a plan in advance, and being ready when the time comes.  Time is crucial, as this thread has repeatedly highlighted. 

 

2. One's perception of beauty is subjective. Each and every viewer of our photos has his or her idea of what a 'good one' looks like.  And I have zero control over that. 

Therefore, I will only share what I find appealing and leave the rest up to the viewer's interpretation.

You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself. 

On a more personal note, my fishing-related photos mark a moment in time that flood me with precious memories for years to come. 

The little bit of time spent is well worth it for me. 

YMMV.

A-Jay

 

 

 

I basically just try to always take the same picture with every fish within reason (sometimes wifey wants me to pose with a big fish for a nice picture - in those situations we are very careful to keep fish in the water when not being photographed.  My wife is literally a pro so she’s quick when she wants to do her thing.

 

for me it’s a selfie and I don’t hold bass out - plenty of them wouldn’t fit the space my camera allows for in selfie mode and I hate cropped bass pictures more than I hate when people long arm them lol

 

Main thing is - this is for me and for fun and for family memories first and foremost and then sometimes to share with yall secondly.  I’m not worried about perfection or other standards than my own - nor should you be!

Every time I take a picture with a fish, his eyes are closed. That’s the way I like it though. Perfect pictures are boring. 

58 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

I hate cropped bass pictures

 

Guilty. I sometimes don't fit the entire bass into the photo and my bass aren't as long as yours. I do try to lean back when photographing my longer bass, but I rarely check the single photo I take to see if it's a good one because doing so and taking a second photo cuts into my 30 seconds or less goal.

 

2 minutes ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Perfect pictures are boring. 

 

Ah, another Wabi Sabi fan. 

 

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

My wife is literally a pro so she’s quick when she wants to do her thing.

 

Weddings? Journalism? On paper, I'm a pro too since I've sold photos, but I only took them because some magazine editors didn't want to send a real pro along with me when I conducted an interview. However, it was nice to be paid for copy and media (words and photos).

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

Ah, another Wabi Sabi fan

Too spicy. I prefer siracha.