This photo just connections with me in so many ways. In art school they taught me that the best photos tell a story. This one says a lot about me as an outdoorsman.
I've caught steelhead in nearly every season, but nothing captivates me like Winter steelheading. I love the solitude, the challenge of targeting a lethargic fish with a slowed metabolism, and the absolute feeling of really disconnecting with the day-to-day. Being in a place where cell phones don't work and therefore get left in the truck. Plus snow just completely changes a landscape, especially a special place like the Pere Marquette river.
And I've fished for steelhead with a variety of tools, but what I seem to return to is float fishing. It's the one way I feel completely connected to what's going on under the water's surface. On my last trip we were primarily doing some chuck n' duck, but I ran some drifts on my Indy rig. Ahhhhh ... home. I like nothing better than perfectly roll casting the full rig to just the right slot and setting up that perfect drift.
Finally, I've really enjoyed discovering two-handed rods. This one's my Scott A-3 11' switch 8-weight. Casts a Skagit line wonderfully, but its like butter with an Indy. That little extra "oomph" when you pop it with the lower hand is so cool. Can't wait to swing on my Scott-based 13' spey rod next fall.
For the technician in me, it meets all the art school criteria -- proper exposure (not easy on snow which goofs up 18% grey-based metering), some nice negative space at the top, and a color progression that pulls your eye through the image. Add in a nice juxtaposition of angles with the rod, line, and indicator and you've got yourself a technically well-executed image (he said, modestly...).
I hope you enjoy my image. Every once in a while I get one I'm really proud of.
-Sean-
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