Fish and the environment they live in have always been a fascinating subject to me.
This is reflected in the amount of time I spend photographing underwater. For thousands of years fish have been a source of food for human kind and a thorough exposure of the fish world wouldn’t be complete without covering the time-honoured lifestyle of the fisherman. In all parts of the world people have devised methods of catching fish that are unique. Dating back to 1000 BC, Cast Net Fishing has been a popular method that has developed around the world. It is still widely used by local fisherman in countries like Nicaragua where we just spent three wonderful weeks.
I had the opportunity to go out with a young man who uses this method to make an income and put food on his table. His father past down the tradition to him and he proudly carries it forward. The hour before sunset seemed to be the best time on the shores of Lake Nicaragua on Ometepe Island. This egg timer shaped island with a volcano at each end is a stunning location and made for a dramatic scene. Wading out in bare feet up to our arm pits we searched among the margins for the elusive Cichlids and introduced Tilapia. It took a while before I got comfortable with the feeling of mud and unknown creatures lurking beneath my feet as we moved through areas of reeds and prickly mimosa plants growing out of the water. With thoughts of hungry freshwater Bull Sharks in the back of my mind I carried my camera above the water and tried to keep up with my new friend as he sought out his quarry.
At one point we walked near one of the ferries that connects Ometepe to the mainland. For a while it felt like we were the star attraction as newcomers to the island pointed their cameras in our direction.
Watching Luis repeatedly casting out the net and retrieving it as the sun went down was one of the most enjoyable experiences I had while on this wonderful island in the middle of one of the largest lakes in the world.
This evening turned out to be a quite unproductive one. We only managed to snag a few small sardine like fish and a couple of cichlids.
But the memories I caught on came ra were worth every minute of the “stroll” along the shores of Ometepe. Nest time we return hopefully we can have fresh Ceviche from fish we caught.
Note. For those interested in Nicaragua as a travel destination we highly recommend it. We spent three weeks on the Island of Ometepe which is in Lake Nicaragua. This very friendly island is accessed by ferry from Rivas, which is about a two hour drive from Managua, the Capital City of Nicaragua. The people here are very friendly and it is considered one of the safest places to travel in Central America.
Where about a on the island was this?
Right by the ferry terminal at Moyogulpa