something fishy

I wanted a small fish to include in a painting I am planning so yesterday I thought I'd go catch myself a herring or more correctly named a yellow eyed mullet. I raided Dads tackle box for some tiny hooks, rummaged around in Mums freezer for a pilchard bait and climbed the back fence to the river. After only a couple of minutes I brought in a shiny silver fish, the perfect painting subject. I thought "Hell that was easy!" so I decided to keep trying for more. My friend Rosemary runs a bird rescue and is always wanting fish to feed herons, shags, penguins and the numerous seabirds she nurses back to health. So I filled a bucket with river water and popped the herring into it. The fish promptly leapt out again and landed with a splash back into the river!I had a sinking feeling that the next one was going to be more difficult to catch and sure enough 30 mins later I was still waiting for a bite. Finally I caught my second so without wasting time I took it back to the house to photograph. On my way back I passed my Dad who had decided to have a go too and before I had finished taking pictures he came back with a big fat kahawai!