That was the end of 2017! We are into 2018 and the season is up and running in full swing. We managed to get our new fleet additions - the 37 ft Reef Raider and the 32 ft Tropical Star - fully operational and registered, to give us a very nice Christmas present. The first week of January saw the new boats out on their first charters, catching some great fish at the same time. What a way to start off the new year!
The new permit systems that were introduced in October last year are working well and till date we have had zero delays in getting our anglers onto the boats on time, so a big thank you to the local Administration for sorting this out for us operators.
With so much happening out on the water each day we are a very busy crew, but we will try our best to keep you updated with the latest news, catch reports and pictures. We know that our customers are our most valuable asset, so we would appreciate your feedback on how we do things so that we can continuously improve and get better. We at team Gamefishing Asia pride ourselves on providing a quality experience that exceeds expectations. In order to deliver this experience, we are totally committed to continuous improvement and training of our crews and staff.

As we have seen, our single angler trips are a big hit with many anglers. We have lots of people coming out to try GT fishing for the first time and our ability to prepare them with tackle, tips and techniques very often turns that one trip angler into a hardcore enthusiast who then invests into the never-ending pit of popping and jigging tackle, along with at least yearly trips. If you are interested to fish alone, don’t have a group or want to try out GT fishing with us, please visit our website and social media pages to see the latest dates available. 
A small update which may be of interest to our customers travelling to Port Blair. We have been seeing some delays with flights coming in in the late afternoons, so it may be an idea to have adequate trip insurance to cover any delays in case you are booked on one of these flights. Also ensure that your insurance covers loss of fishing days due to bad weather, given the unpredictable weather patterns we've been seeing.
Stay tuned for the catch reports, pictures and videos that we put up as the season progresses. Till next time, let’s go fishing...

Tight lines,
Darran

In the good old days of hunting and fishing bringing back trophies was the norm and done thing. That era of hunting and fishing is long gone and people these days are a lot more aware of the often precarious position wildlife is in around the world. Angling has for long led the way of unsustainably managing fish stocks, by becoming a multibillion dollar industry worldwide. Catch and Release fishing is practiced by a vast majority of anglers around the world who go out on fishing trips looking for that trophy fish or catch of a lifetime. In today’s world, where communication has become so easy and everyone has the need to stay in touch, a new breed of anglers is travelling the world. For them, sharing their trophies has become so much easier thanks to the digital camera.
Over a decade ago one had to rely on some ‘skill’ to take good photographs that captured the moment and kept it as realistic as possible to the actual event. The film then had to be kept, often for weeks, before it could be processed and then the final print had to be developed before an angler was able to share his images with friends and family. Now, with the advent of digital cameras, taking a good photograph of one’s catch has never been easier. Most compact point-and-shoot digital cameras will deliver excellent results even with the camera on auto mode. For most people, messing about with manual settings, aperture, shutter speeds, ISO etc. has become a thing of the past. With one’s camera set on ‘auto’, all an angler has to do is concentrate on framing that special picture that may go up as the center piece of his living room wall.
For charter operators like us, catching or knowing where to catch trophy fish is just the beginning in a long list of services we need to provide to the tech-savvy visiting angler. It does help greatly if one can take decent photographs!

Taking Better Pictures

A few pointers to taking good photographs are listed below to help future clients ‘capture’ their fish of a lifetime before they release it to swim back in to the ocean where it belongs

#1 - Fill the Frame
Fill the frame with the angler and fish; avoid standing too far back which loses focus on the main subject.
#2 - Use the Flash
Get in the habit of using a flash while shooting in broad daylight. You may have to manually switch the flash on to activate it. What the flash does is eliminate harsh shadows from the sun that usually is quite high up in the sky. Also, many anglers wear caps in the hot sun so the flash will help light up their faces.
#3 - Be careful with Background Objects
Avoid objects growing out of the subject’s head or body i.e. trees, rods, structure, or railings. Take your time to get a well composed picture, by preparing your surroundings, before you take the picture.
#4 -Holding the Fish
Hold the fish right! Make sure you’re holding the fish upright and well-supported so one can actually see the shape and size of the fish. If you don’t know how to do this our guides and skippers will position the fish for you and take an awesome picture as well.
#5 - Mind the Slant
Do not let the fish slant so one sees mainly the belly of the fish rather than its side. Pictures like this often make the fish look smaller or quite strange and lead to an angler sitting in an awkward position. Worse still, a fish can be dropped, causing it serious injury.
#6 - It's All in the Eye...
Try and keep the eye of the fish in focus. Pictures of fish often take on life if the eye of the fish is in focus.
#7 - ...And in the Fish
Keep the fish in focus! Everyone wants to see the fish. Take a second to see your camera’s auto focus hasn't locked on to the railing of the boat or some distant object.
#8 - Appearance &Colours
Keep an eye on the coloration of the fish. Fish are spectacular creatures and come in varied textures and colors. Make sure your photograph translates that in the truest sense.
#9 - Say Cheese
Make the angler smile. Often, you can get the mood on the boat across to someone sitting miles away from the event, who is looking at the photograph. Try and capture the emotions, joy and sense of fulfilment on the boat through your photographs.
#10 - No beheadings, please!
Boats have limited space. Often there’s a lot of excitement and activity on a boat while a fish is being caught. There also is a sense of urgency as the fish has to be returned to the water as soon as possible. With all these things in mind please don’t cut the poor angler's head in half!
#11 - Don't Chop Up the Fish Just Yet
Similarly with fish. Try and compose your picture with all fins and tail intact. Composing pictures with all fins etc. intact make the fish look a lot more spectacular.

#12 - Get in on the Scenery
Keep the background in mind. Choose a scenic background that conveys the feeling of being out there in the wild. Often anglers travel to far-off destinations that are visually spectacular. Try and capture a feeling of being out there. This however is debatable. Many anglers are careful to choose their backgrounds as they don’t want to give away a productive location to other fishermen who might be scanning their photographs for an indicator of where the fish was caught. It really doesn’t matter; a lot more goes in to catching atrophy fish. We know that!
#13 - Face the Sun
Remember a boat is a variable space and is constantly moving. Once an angler has the fish in his hand ask the Captain to spin the boat around, so the angler is facing the sun. Try and compose pictures with the subject lit up by the sun.
#14 - Watch the Shadows
Avoid shadows from rods in holders, the T top, other anglers, or even oneself while taking pictures of an angler with his prized catch.
#15 - Flat Horizons Work Best
Try and keep the horizon flat. Boats are moving most of the time and life gets a lot harder when there’s wind. Make sure you concentrate on getting the horizon as flat as possible. Also keep in mind that its natural for us to take photographs with the top right hand corner of the frame lower than the top left hand corner, which makes the horizon slant further. This is true for most right handers who take photographs. The opposite is true for left handers.
#16 - Mix it Up
Most pictures are shot horizontally. See when you can shoot a photograph vertically. This often changes the monotony of shooting horizontally all the time. Also with long fish like mackerel, wahoo and barracuda one can get some interesting angles and perspectives.
#17 - Shy away from Gory Photos
Avoid taking pictures of dead fish or fish covered in blood. Apart from portraying this great sport in bad light it also just makes photographs of the angler and fish an ugly sight.
#18 - Don't Match the Catch
Matching the hatch is fine while you’re out fishing, but matching the catch is something else. Try not to wear the same colors as the fish you catch. They tend to look better!
#19 - Keep it Natural
Taking a fish back for dinner is fine, but try and finish off your photography session on the boat or by the water. Pictures in kitchens, in studios and other locations on land just look strange and for all one knows you could have just bought the fish from the market!
#20 - Get in on the Action
While out fishing there’s so much happening on the boat. Take more pictures of the action around you, like an angler fighting a fish with his rod bent over or a multiple hookup with 2 anglers fighting their fish at the same time. Try and get creative and capture all the action up to the point where the crew lands the fish for the angler.
#21 - Don't miss the Cast
Capture photographs of people casting. It’s often a challenge to get an angler’s lure in the air as he casts.
#22 - View it Differently
Look for interesting angles to shoot from. Try shooting from deck level or from an angle that will make a person look twice at your photograph.
#23 - Capture the Skies
Look for interesting skies. Being on a boat gives you a sense of space and wide-open expanses. Often, early mornings or late afternoons have spectacular clouds. Try and frame your photograph capturing an interesting sky as well.
#24 - Catch the Release
It is not all about catching fish, it’s about releasing them as well. Try and lean over the side and photograph the crew or the angler releasing the fish back to the sea.
#25 - Sing the Mood
Angling for us is a lot more than just catching fish. It’s the whole deal of being at an exotic place, often with friends, sharing good times and having a great time. Try and capture all that as well.
#26 - Go easy when going wide
When using a wide angle or fish eye lens use it in a subtle way without overdoing it, oversized knees and fingers are a sure giveaway that the fish is not as big as it looks in the picture.

Use some of the tips we have included in this article, so we can look forward to seeing some great photographs taken on our boats in the Andaman Islands, the next time you are out fishing with us. We’ll get you to catch the fish and you can take the photograph that will be a memory forever.

Tight Lines and Good Luck!

View the full article, along with the photos , here.

A resident of Port Blair and a great source of local contacts, Pradeep is our Operations Manager for GFA. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, he joined our company in December 2013 as a part-time accountant. He was offered a full-time position with GFA two years ago based on his performance capabilities. He accepted that offer whole heartedly and has been instrumental in making sure operations run smoothly, both in the office/ guest house and on the boats. Co-ordination with our backend team based in Bangalore is a big part of his job responsibility. Pradeep is the person who handles all our local documentation, permissions and licenses. A soft spoken person by nature and a quick learner with a cool head, given the number of crisis situations that arise when running a professional fishing charter outfit, Pradeep is our man on the ground in Port Blair to get things done.