Three Trout, Photo by Christopher Morey
The Watershed Center advocates for clean water in Grand Traverse Bay and protects its 1,000-square-mile watershed across Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Antrim and Kalkaska counties. Today’s photo by Christopher Morey was the winning shot from their 2011 photography contest. You can see a few at that link and see all of them and meet the photographers at the Art of the Watershed opening reception next Thursday (Dec 1) from 5-8 PM.
More of Christopher’s work can be seen at MichiganFreediving.com and at Michigan Freediving on zenfolio. About this photo, he writes:
This picture was taken near the end of October off the north breakwall of Clinch Marina. In fall, as water temps drop into the upper forties, the Lake Trout come in to spawn. They are quite challenging subjects for photography, requiring very long, completely motionless breathholds in cold water.
I spent quite a bit of time observing these fish before I finally figured out how to get near them with some consistency. My first attempt at implementing my strategy took place at the cooling intake cribs from the old power plant, about 300 yards off the open space and about 33 feet deep.
With a school barely in sight near one of the cribs I dove directly down. Kicking perhaps 3 times with my monofin, I let myself slowly glide the remaining distance; like a carp settling to the bottom. The sight of me disappearing behind the crib was too much for them and two large Lake Trout appeared overhead, quickly swimming very close. (click this photo by Alicia Higham to see it bigger)
The one I got the best shot of was so close it would not fit in my wide-angle lens.
Since then I’ve noticed, usually about once a year, that they sometimes inexplicably come very close, as if recognizing me. I wonder about this, since these are always older fish and since they live to be nearly 30.
Michigan in Pictures 