Strips

I've been fiddling around with a relatively new filter called Photobooth that I thought I'd share with the Way Upstream team. The triptych below is an assemblage of Photobooth strips that contain various altered brook trout detail images. You can use whatever images you like and order them any way you want. I have a few ideas for other strips so maybe the concept will turn into a series. If you experiment with this Big Huge Labs toy let me know what kind of strip creations you come up with.

Imagery and arrangements by Steve Stracqualursi

Turkey

Photo and illustration by Steve Stracqualursi

River Portrait - 3

It's been a little over a year since I added a River Portrait to the stream of content. I got a few shots recently from Henry Barber and found one that seemed to fit the profile for this third edition. This is a cropped and reworked photo of Henry with a grilse he caught on the Tabusintac River in New Brunswick, Canada. The image was run through the FX paint filter at Big Huge Labs.

Photo by Chad Loebs Illustration by Steve Stracqualursi

Michelada

The Michelada is an extremely refreshing drink after a long day of fishing. There are many renditions of the drink but here is a recipe from a Mexican restaurant called Pepito's located in Aransas Pass, TX. You can make the Michelada as spicy or as mild as you like.

Ingredients: One Mexican beer (Dos Equis, Tecate, Modelo Especial or other Mexican lager), 1/2 can of tomato juice cocktail (Clamato, Goya Cocktail mix or Bloody Mary mix are good options), 2 Mexican limes or 4 key limes, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, 1 shot of bitters, 1 shot of beef bouillon, generous amount of your favorite hot sauce, generous amount of chili Trechas (a blended chili powder with no MSG typically served on fruit), dash of sea salt, dash of freshly ground black pepper.

Pour the tomato juice cocktail in a very large frosty glass. Add the hot sauce, chili Trechas, bitters, beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, sea salt, black pepper and stir. Pour in the Mexican beer and stir gently (no vigorous shaking or stiring). Top it off with ice. As with a Margarita, the Michelada can be served with or without salt or salt/chili powder mixture on the rim. When you are finished, sprinkle a little chili powder on top of the drink and garnish with a slice of lime. It is very easy to become a fan of the Michelada. Once you've had one it might just become a regular post-fishing session favorite.

Photos and contribution by Capt. Billy Trimble

Spin

Photo and illustration by Steve Stracqualursi

Fishing For Answers

Fishing For Answers

We argue about the philosophical underpinnings
of catching largemouth bass.

He says you have to know when to change patterns,
by which he means go to a new strategy.

Some fishermen stay with the same tactics too long
before finally realizing they’re not going to be productive.

The skillful angler knows very quickly when
to change to something else. He has vast experience.
He knows barometric pressure, wind conditions,
water temperature, thermocline, time of year,
hour of the day, position of the sun, effects of cloud cover,
structure at the bottom of the lake.

He’s making a good argument for skill over luck
but I’m still not entirely convinced.
He argues good science equals good fishing.

I think he has something there
until I recognize the great mystery
every time I cast a line into the unknown,
the sense of shock and surprise each time
a fish holds on to the hook, leaps out of the water,
suspended for a millisecond,
in a world it can’t possibly understand.

Poem by Alan Harawitz Photo/illustration by El Pescador

Decomposition

Photo and illustration by Steve Stracqualursi

xmas card

I came across another relic to share with the Way Upstreamers. This is a painting I got decades ago. An art major college friend named Wayne Woodworth painted it for me (RIT). I don't think I have heard from him since. I tried some web searches but no luck. Wayne, if you are out there, thank you. I still love it. (5.5"x7.5")

Painting by Wayne Woodworth Photos by El Pescador