Two Versions of Reality

I know this guy who has an interesting imagination. Without consciously thinking about it, the visions in his head magically enlarge the fish that he catches.

As long as I have known him I have heard reports of these big fish he catches, all while he tosses jabs my way when I don’t catch any fish or just little fish. Tonight I was able to fish with this legend (in his own mind) to see his work. This is what I documented.

While working shallow water with ample fish cover, his line went tight and he got giddy. I will be honest,.. I never even reached for the net since whatever he had on the end of his gear didn’t even bend the tip of the rod a little. It is quite possible creek chubs could create a more impressive appearance, but I withheld my comments so his excitement could bubble out. Believe it or not, he did bring in the fish and asked me to take a picture.

Per his request to make the fish look big, I found a way on my phone to create an accurate picture of the fish, but the fish appears much larger than it really was. (We won’t tell him, but the size of this is an accurate illusion. Read on to see reality!)

Now let’s discuss reality. My photography guide (the little fish catcher) probably didn’t see me doing this, but I documented the actual size of the fish. This picture was created with no “big fish” filter applied, no nothing - just trying to take a picture of a little fish in its actual size.

I kid you not. This second picture is the same fish. Look how it is only slightly larger than the palm of an adult man. Look at the happy thoughts on his face. I could do nothing but make sure my filter was on in the first picture so somebody could boast of his big fish that he caught. I would guess the same thing happened last week with a catfish I heard about. Anyway, I am glad he was happy.

I did enjoy my time on the water and getting to see a small bass up close. It was fun to watch his pride with his angling skills. And by the way - I was busy documenting his fishing skills and did not drop a line. It was just as fun living through his exaggerated fishing thoughts!

Thanks for the fun time Kurt!!