{"id":6450,"date":"2025-08-22T20:54:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T01:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=6450"},"modified":"2025-08-23T20:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T01:34:13","slug":"fish-whisperer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=6450","title":{"rendered":"Fish Whisperer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Muskie\"<\/a>

Muskie<\/p><\/div>\n

First snorkel
\nholding onto a rock in the rapids
\nA large muskie swam up and rested beside me
\nEcstatic
\nwondered if I should be panicked.
\nHoped that I was not wearing anything shiny
\nthat looked tasty to a muskie.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Bullhead<\/p><\/div>\n

Welcome to the underwater world.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

a curious male bluegill<\/p><\/div>\n

Be open to the unknown. Beauty and the mystery awaits you.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Bowfin<\/a>

Bowfin or dogfish, a bottom feeder. Primitive, creepy, yet beautiful.<\/p><\/div>\n

Life abounds,\u00a0 a spiritual connection with the water beings.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This painted turtle swam right up to me. I thought it was going to bite my nose.<\/p><\/div>\n

The lake water is part of you now.
\nThe water inside your body
\nmay have once been part of the lake.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

How could anyone name such a magnificent creature “Crappie”?<\/p><\/div>\n

A tip on photographing fish<\/em>
\nDon’t be a predator and chase it<\/em>
\nBecome part of the water and the weeds<\/em>
\nWait for the fish to come to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Walleye swimming in deeper water<\/p><\/div>\n

Light changes constantly
\nDepending upon the clouds and the wind.
\nIt dances on the plants and the fish,
\nCreating a hypnotic connection.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Largemouth\"<\/a>

Largemouth bass<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes you see things that makes you thankful to be alive
\nAnd you stop breathing
\nBecause you are afraid the experience might end.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/a>

Northern Pike<\/p><\/div>\n

My first large northern pike.
\nInching my way slowly towards it.
\nHoping it would stay just one more second.
\nMaking promises that I could never keep.
\nAwed by its tremendous power and elegance.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Water Lily<\/p><\/div>\n

Water lilies
\nmagical living beings
\nConnected to all the elements of life.
\nTheir roots are in the earth
\nGrowing in both water and air.
\nThe sun is needed for life
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Largemouth<\/a>

Largemouth Bass<\/p><\/div>\n

This bass sashayed past me and let me know, it was the king or queen of the neighborhood.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"OLYMPUS<\/a>

Muskie<\/p><\/div>\n

Swimming out into the hinder lands
\nTurned to see a muskie following.
\nIt circled once and then swam off.
\nHumbled to experience the raw wildness of nature
\nAnd how it feels to be something’s prey.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 First snorkel holding onto a rock in the rapids A large muskie swam up and rested beside me Ecstatic wondered if I should be panicked. Hoped that I was not wearing anything shiny that looked tasty to a muskie. … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals","category-connecting-to-nature"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6450"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12564,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6450\/revisions\/12564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}