Kudos to Ed

[squish67]

Got my April 2016 issue of the Conservationist today. It was address side up, featuring a beautiful picture of a Brook Trout underwater in front of a Hardy reel. I knew that could have been taken by one person, and my suspicion was confirmed when I looked at the index and the credit for the back cover went to Ed Ostapczuk! Our own Eperous! Beautiful shot Ed, thinking it was taken with a camera I am quickly falling in love with. I give you high marks for the composition too. Thanks for the photo and the tip on the camera!

Rich

PS: What fly?

[ReelCatskillsJeff]

There was a nice bio and photo and photo of Eperous in the Catskill Mountain News for Saturday's Trout Tales event at Spillian too. A friend at work who lives out that way put it in my mailbox so I could see it. Congrats Ed!

Here's a link to the article about the event. I'm not sure if it will work for non-subscribers, but give it a try:

http://www.catskillmountainnews.com/new ... llian.html

[Eperous]

Hi Rich, thanks for your kind words and heads-up… we stopped getting The Conservationist magazine, but I’ll be on the lookout for a copy… Based upon your description, I’m guessing this might be the photo used?

This one....JPG (429.84 KiB) Viewed 1508 times

If so, that was taken on the upper reaches of the Neversink, deep in the heart of the Charmed Circle… it’s about an hour trek in/out, maybe 2 plus miles give or take… and, expect to catch 5 to 6 inch wild brook trout, a few will push 8 to 9 inches, anything longer that that would be a trophy… BUT, it is in the heart of the Charmed Circle, where few others ever wander… mostly I fish historic Catskill dry flies here--- like a Brown Bivisible or Cinberg--- but that trout ate an Elk Hair Stonefly…

FYI: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6631&p=36021&hilit= ... fly#p36021

As for The Conservationist, periodically I get requests from agencies/organizations like: NYS DEC, USGS, Soil & Water, Ashokan Watershed Stream Management Program (AWSMP), Town of Olive, and others for use of my photos… which I grant, and never taken a penny for… In fact the current 2016-17 New York Freshwater Fishing Regulations Guide used one of my photos… I am flattered, and happy to help… I cannot imagine fishing without my camera in my possession… it’s become part of me, whether I fish or hike or just find myself outdoors…

Duly noted, my wife--- who loves to paint as much as I do fish--- often paints landscapes from my outdoor photos… in fact, I challenged her to paint the above photo… and, I invite folks to look at her blog, especially the recent Esopus Creek artwork…

FYI: http://catskillwatersart.blogspot.com/

I hate to self-promote, and it’s not my intention in providing the link to her blog… we are very fortunate and will eat, pay bills, do what we want even if she never sold a single painting…

Her passion is painting, mine is trout fishing… that said, I’d like to add something I read about passion… the author intended these words for his children and grandchildren… I know his wife did not like the connection to sex in this message, but it is what it is…

"Most of us enter into this life with little more than a name if we are lucky. And, we leave it with not much more than what we had when we were born. It’s all those years in between that matter most; what we do with that the Good Lord has given each of us. On our final day, that will be our measure of life’s success. Regrets, along with all worldly possessions, will be left behind at our grave site. Passion is the fuel of a full and rich life. In Darwin’s Bass Paul Quinnett wrote, “First, good sex and good fishing both require passion. The only thing worse than passionless sex is passionless fishing.” Yes, perhaps a bit crude but it’s a point worth making. Whatever we embrace in life, do it passionately – have no regrets. Find your passion and pursue that with all your heart and soul."

I’ll be on the lookout for a copy of The Conservationist, thanks again for the heads-up…

Ed

[squish67]

I will save you ours, if you can't find one!

That was not the photo, this one was totally underwater, the Brookie 3/4 face on, close-up, to the camera. The reel was also underwater, and was reflected in the surface almost fully. The rod had a wood reel seat with blued rings.

Let me know if you need my copy!

[tie2fish]

Based on what I see on and associated with this fine forum, Ed deserves every accolade that comes his way. Props on the cover, Ed.

[stokes]

Congrats on the magazine cover Ed.Great paintings by the wife,really enjoyed the blog,interesting read.

[Eperous]

Folks, thanks for your kind words...

I received an email from NYS DEC informing me that they used one of my brook trout photos "to announce" opening day on their homepage (as of 3/30/15) here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/index.html

So Rich, based upon what DEC posted above, is this the photo in the New York State Conservationist?

FV-EBN-S09-Dark Forest bt.JPG (555.63 KiB) Viewed 1409 times

If so, that was a brook trout I caught/released on the upper Neversink September 3rd, 2015 using a #16 Sofa Pillow dry fly and my A.J. Thramer F.E. Thomas Fairy 3 weight cane rod, a real sweet piece of bamboo for late season brook trout fishing...

Ed

[squish67]

That's the one! Great shot!

[Eperous]

We should re-titled this thread to "Kudos to Lois", my better half by a country mile...

Brook trout and the Sofa Pillow:

Brook trout and the Sofa Pillow.JPG (651.43 KiB) Viewed 1271 times

[Bamboo&Brookies]

You are blessed. That is a wonderful painting.

rjj