A multitude of photos cross my desk over the course of a year, most of those from professionals. But to schedule one to fill the magazine's "Last Cast" page at the end of each issue, there has to be something really special about it. Often that's not easily defined beyond a photo making us go "Wow!" upon seeing it. Enjoy these nine from 2016's issues, and I hope you'll think "Wow!" upon seeing each one. — Doug Olander
JANUARY — White-Knuckle Ride
Returning through the Rio Pardo inlet near Carnaveiras, Brazil, in conditions not unusual when stiff northeasterlies blow in the spring months.Capt. Antonio "Tuba" Amaral
FEBRUARY — Brawling Boobies
Tough crowd, as this hapless blue runner discovers, while four brown boobies squabble over their prize off the coast of Panama.Jessica Haydahl Richardson
MARCH — Tarpon Wonderland
A school of the prized game fish, joined by a few gray snapper, swims lazily in a canal near Tavernier, in the Florida Keys.Jason Arnold / jasonarnoldphoto.com
APRIL — Marlin's Last Lunge
A marlin makes a final bid for freedom just off the transom of a Hawaii charter boat, the name reading like a caption revealing location and species.Capt. Kevin Hibbard
MAY — Bottomfisherman's Surprise
Not what you'd expect to see (or hook) on the seafloor of the Atlantic in 60 feet of water off Florida, but that's where this big fellow was looking for his next meal.Lazaro Ruda / thelivingsea.com
JUNE — Sail in White
A rare white sailfish is released off southern Costa Rica. It has some pigment (including its dark — not pink — eyes), suggesting it's leucistic rather than a true albino.Courtesy Zancudo Lodge
JULY/AUGUST — An Ocean Teeming with Tuna
When underwater photographer Adrian Gray slipped into the Pacific off Puerto Carrillo, Costa Rica, he found himself in the middle of this vast school of yellowfin.Adrian E. Gray
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER — Real-Life Nightmare Vision
Neither Photoshopped nor designed by a CG-effects studio, this is an actual close-up of a very rare deepwater telescopefish (Gigantura chuni) from the abyssal blackness of the Gulf of Mexico.Dante Fenolio / Deepend
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER — Paws for Thought
Cache the American bulldog seems to be contemplating her next move while watching Alexy Milian prepare to release a huge Florida Everglades tarpon.Adrian E. Gray
Now catch the spectacular nine "Last Cast" images that SF published in 2015 by clicking the image below!
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