Looking back through some of my old photos I see pics of me standing next to dad as a young nipper. I'm dressed in my best clothes for the pic, ready for Sunday school, Dad's holding up a big snapper we caught the day before (they only ever got photographed if they were over 20lb (9.1kg). Dad has a stern look on his face, not that he's unhappy, it's just that in those days the only time a bloke got his photo taken, was his rugby photo, or when he caught a big fish, and it seemed that smiling wasn't the thing to do in either.
All the photos of fish that my dad had caught back then were all taken at home, all with the same stern expression. Surely the whole reason for taking a photo is to savour a memory, so why not take the photo out on the water as soon as you catch the fish of your dreams - after all that is the moment you want to remember? Well in those days camera's were a luxury item, and film was expensive, so my mother wouldn't have even entertained the idea of letting the family camera go out on the boat, and besides we were too busy trying to fill the fish bin to muck around taking photos. And the stern look was puzzling, I was often there when Dad pulled the big one into the boat and he was anything but stoic, he could hoot, holler and laugh with the best of them, again, like the All Blacks of the time, it just wasn't the thing to do, show happiness that is.
But today things are different, very different; for one we have digital cameras, so we can snap to our hearts content without fear of a bad shot wasting valuable film. These cameras are inexpensive, high quality, easy to use, and some are even waterproof. So if we'd had today's technology, I would have had a very different picture of dad with his big snapper. Instead of a gruff looking man holding up a pale gutted snapper on the lawn, you would have seen a beaming guy, with a beautifully colored big snapper, the sun shining and an idyllic backdrop of calm water framed by the Waitakere ranges.
So you've just taken a snapshot of your awesome catch and you have that moment captured to savour forever, what do you do now? Well in Dads day the main reason for bringing the big one back in was for the photo, they aren't as good to eat, so why not put it back?? You get your trophy (the picture), you can even weigh it in the net if you like, and a big breeding snapper gets to go back and do just that - breed. And if you catch a 19 pounder and release it, I reckon you've got the right to call it a 20 pounder; after all it might be after it's next big feed?
Here's a few pics of some snapper that have been put back recently- compare them to the pics from the early 80's. There's no comparison - take a pic and let 'em rip!!
Keep ‘em tight.
