Fish of the Month

[rayfound]

One cool think the Kern Board does, and I think we should have here, is a Fish of the month gallery. I mean, on the Kern site, the winner was a beautiful fish with bold colors, but the other 2 looked like your run-of-the mill stockers.

I would love to see it as part of the site, not just a thread in the forum. I say Craig makes the decisions from posts here. I would like to have a little story with each fish technique used to catch it, what region it was caught in, etc...

Also, watershed/stream size should be considered - a 16" fish out of the Angeles NF or San Bernardino NF is probably more exceptional than a 20" fish out of Hot creek. I'd like to see fish size, color, setting, etc... all considered.

I also think we should be able to go and view past winners.

What do you all think?

[darrin terry]

Must say, that was pretty sick!

[Sasha]

Or I could just get off my butt and quit messing around on small creeks and rivers and go steelhead fishing then I could post a pic that would put samson to shame

[rayfound]

Sounds like a fantastic idea, Ray! I just think its a little lopsided though because we all know that SheriffJoe's underwater "Sampson" shot will win out every month !

New Rule: Fish has to be caught in the month it wins.

[Benny]

I had a photo contest on the other forum a while back. 10 flies were the prize. I think it was for the best fish photo. I think the photogarhy section has plenty of beautiful fish photos, but this could be cool.
Maybe a the idea of fish of the Month can include a prize I'm quite sure there are plenty of guys on here who would not mind sending some one flies as a prize

[darrin terry]

Copying is IMO ok. That is how things move forward. Look at PCs and Macs. Both have copied many good ideas from each other over the years. Everyone gets takes ideas from others, then tries to improve on them.

[darrin terry]

Yeah... maybe if Apple would realize that a right click button was cool I'd think of possibly touching a Mac Why can't they copy that?

Dood, wake up. Apple came out with the mighty mouse like two years ago. It looks like a one button mouse, but that just because Apple just made look so much more cool that any other company can. Just kidding. Actually, it is a four button mouse with a scroll/track ball. The ball needs to be a touch larger IMO. I use a G5 at work, and have a G4 Quicksilver and a MacBook Intel at home. My mice at work and home are Kensington multi-button mice. A 4 button/track wheel at work and a 2 button/track wheel at home.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB112 ... MjE0NjYwOA

[rayfound]

As far as the Fish of the Month, that would be copying, wouldn't it? Well... I guess maybe I can consider it given that a few things that started over here managed to end up elsewhere. We are all "Fishin Friends", so maybe we can show off some of our "Photography" skills and big fish, right?

I have a new twist to it though... how about we make it a "challenge" where everyone contributes to the grand prize? We could each throw a fly or two into the "pot" and the winner gets a nice collection of flies. Maybe not a grand prize winner each month, maybe quarterly or something. We could even do it by different geographical locations (best SoCal trout) and/or by species (anyone for a best carp category?).

I think we could all do some work and submit flies for the challenge. Mine will be the ugly, easy to tie ones that fall apart after a few fish. I'll be sending them anonymously in unmarked envelopes. Craig - I promise its not Anthrax, open the mail, its ok buddy.

I would love the idea of every 3 months or something picking one winner who gets a couple dozen flies.

I do think it should be fish caught and in a fishing report the month it wins. Not digging through archives for big fish pics.

I don't know that we need to make one winner from each location at this point (theres just not that many of us!), but I do really believe that location should be a determining factor if a fish is Exceptional. Wild fish should be given more status than planters (though air-dropped fingerlings in backcountry lakes are close enough to count as wild in my books).

As far as copying - who cares. A good idea is a good idea wherever it is. Take little ideas and make them your own. Improve on them. That's what its all about.

[coreyk]

Sounds like a good idea. Count me in! I'd be more than willing to send in a fly or two every couple of months.

[Eric]

Good idea Ray!!! tying up a couple of flys for the winner would be now problem.
Eric

[rayfound]

fine by me. I can send in a few flies most months to accumulate for the best of the month.

As with the best Fish, I think best photograph should be a new creation, not something you took a year ago.

[Sasha]

So would the fish of the month just be graded on size or would color etc. also be graded?

[rayfound]

My vote owuld be not JUST size, but fish that are truly exception from where they come. Beauty is important also, but ultimately, I think Craig should decide on all factors, which fish are the most impressive and exceptional of the month.

[darrin terry]

So a one-eyed brookie would not fare so well?

First fish caught on the first flyrod I built and also the first fish I caught on a fly I tied.

I guess I chose the correct side to cast to, eh?

His good side:

[Benny]

Darrin, that's a perfect example, One-eyed Willie has some nice colors on him, but he's lacking an eye