Extraordinary Photos from Sport Fishing’s “Last Cast” pages in 2015

Nine memorable images of fish/fishing/ocean life from the back page of Sport Fishing magazine

By Doug Olander
December 23, 2015

High-impact photography — that's one way of describing what Sport Fishing is after for the last page of each issue. Or, put another way, the editors want a significant "wow factor," so readers flipping through the book stop at the last page and think "Wow!" whether its from the beauty, drama or other elements in a photograph. Finding such images is an ongoing challenge, but we think the shots in this gallery from our 2015 Last Cast pages hit the mark. Enjoy!

JANUARY — Surf's Up for the Mullet Run

Surf's up — and it's chock-full of mullet, as this remarkable over/under image shows. It's an annual phenomenon during the fall mullet run off Florida's Atlantic coast.Michael Patrick O'Neill / MPOStock.com

FEBRUARY — Backing Down

With tournament honors at stake on the final day of last year's Aruba Caribbean Cup, the 57 Paul Mann, Naira, backs hard to capture what will prove to be the event's winning marlin.Richard Gibson

MARCH — Amazing Opah

This unprecedented underwater snapshot of an opah estimated at 120 pounds was taken off Southern California. The opah is one of the rarest, strangest and most striking large fish of the world's deep blue oceans.Ralph Pace / ralphpace.com

APRIL — Monster of the Marsh

After a two-and-a-half-hour battle during which he was nearly struck by lightning, Shawn Thompson released this magnificent northeast Florida tarpon.Capt. Roger Bump

MAY — Any Fisherman's Fantasy

This large school of magnificent yellow-finned Pacific permit seems to be posing just for a portrait over a shallow Seychelles reef.Daniel Goez / danielgoez.com

JUNE — Close Enough!

A kayak angler pauses upon spotting the outline of a gator, warming up on a spring day in the shallows of Florida's Banana River estuary.Mark B. Hatter

JULY/AUGUST — Piñas Bay Power Play

A ginormous black marlin explodes from the Pacific after taking a live bait over Panama's Zane Grey Reef.Jessica Haydahl Richardson / jessicahaydahlphotography.com

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER — It's a Mulletnado

A shower of frantic mullet startles anglers in Palm Beach Inlet during the fall mullet run.Michael Patrick O'Neill / MPOStock.com

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER — Great White's Great Leap

As first light on a winter's day creeps over the mountains above South Africa's False Bay, white sharks in pursuit of seals begin to breach in world-famous fashion.Chris and Monique Fallows / apexpredators.com

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