What It Takes
In Montana there are a few crazy people that go out in the middle of winter to try and catch “the big boy.” On a day where the high is 16 degrees most people tend to be inside or at most on the ski hill, not freezing their hands off trying to catch a fish. Well, on the Missouri River certain areas are setup as spawning grounds for Rainbow trout in the fall and in the winter time after the spawn is finished, the fish start to move out but a lot of the healthy population is still there. The water is warmer and the left over roe provides good habitat. This is true for numerous species that hang around in that area including the Browns.
My friend Alex has been chasing the Big Browns for years an he finally managed to get one that truly is worthy of being called a Missouri River Brown Trout. I was fortunate to be there to see it. Of course having a camera didn’t hurt.
Photographically when it comes to this kind of subject there are two main shots to get, the portrait shot and the species shot. Every fish story is just that, a story, unless there is documented proof. And every fisherman likes to tell their stories. Getting the portrait shot with the fish is essential! I keep them simple and quick and for that I use the D5, 24-70 f/2.8, and SB-5000 flash. This is a good general setup that can be very versatile. The flash is key for two reasons, bringing out color and removing shadows. Shadows weren’t a big deal this day but the ugly light meant that the only good light was coming from the flash. The second shot is what I call the species shot. A simple click of just the fish to show the detail in the species and specimen as well as it’s environment. Each shot serves different goals and have different uses but are necessary. Lastly you have to move fast. On days where it’s below freezing you can’t take long with the subject.