Amazing Underwater Game-Fish Portraits by Jason Arnold

Jason Arnold gets up close and personal with these game-fish.

By Doug Olander
May 8, 2014
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In a few years, Jason Arnold, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has established himself as one of the premier fish/fishing photographers in the United States. Along with some outstanding jumping-fish and fishing-action photography, Arnold is a master at capturing amazing underwater portraits of game fish, including live-action shots of predators pursuing lures. There is a trick to this, but we are sworn to secrecy upon penalty of death or worse; however, we can say definitively that neither fish nor lure are photoshopped or placed into the photos. Fish and lure are shot as you see 'em. This gallery represents an "editors' favorites" of a sort, since we were given the opportunity to cherry-pick these 27 images as our faves from his current stock. Arnold's work has been widely published; he is a regular contributor to Sport Fishing magazine, including several covers. Shown here: A bull red chases down a Yo-Zuri 3D Minnow near Whipray Key in Florida Bay.
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Dolphin mahi mahi

A big male mahi prowls the blue waters of the Gulf Stream in the spring off Fort Lauderdale.JASON ARNOLD
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A kingfish is hot on the tail of a Daiwa speed jig cranked up off southern Florida.
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While photographing the fall mullet run off Florida’s Atlantic coast, Arnold spotted bluefish following the forage fish and added some blues to his portfolio.JASON ARNOLD
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What lurks in the gathering dark.... Arnold’s flash catches the dorsal surface of a bull shark cruising in water barely deep enough to cover its back off Mississippi’s Cat Island as Okuma’s John Bretza pedals past in his Hobie kayak.JASON ARNOLD
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Rushing up from the bottom, a red grouper would make a meal of a metal jig off Southeast Florida.
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Startled, this flounder dashes out from under the sands of Jupiter Inlet, where it had been buried, waiting to pounce on prey.JASON ARNOLD
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Atlantic Thresher Shark

Although he’d hoped to get some swordfish photos this day, Arnold wasn’t disappointed at the chance to shoot a 12-foot bigeye thresher shark.JASON ARNOLD
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A massive wall of mullet confronts the photographer off Florida’s east coast. “It was weird since they were offshore,” he says — “a five-acre school in 90 feet of water. Also weird: Nothing was chasing them.”JASON ARNOLD
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Philadelphia Phillies v Miami Marlins

Photo looking down a kingfish’s maw reminds us why we need to use wire.Jason Arnold
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Atlantic Sailfish

Just released, this sail shows his colors with a raised dorsal.JASON ARNOLD
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A small, spawning snook tracks a Berkley Powerbait at high tide (providing exceptionally clean water in Jupiter Inlet).
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bonefish

A bonefish in southern Biscayne Bay checks out a Hank Brown jig tipped with shrimp.Jason Arnold
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Hammer Head Shark

This scalloped hammerhead circled Arnold, checking him out, over a deep wreck off Fort Lauderdale.
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Under the lights of a Key Largo dock, these tarpon hover patiently, waiting to pick off something that swims or drifts past.
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AFRICAN POMPANO

Juvie African pompano retains the elegant dorsal- and anal-fin filamentous rays it will lose in adulthood.JASON ARNOLD
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Atlantic Sailfish

Lemon sharks like this one commonly roam grass flats like these on the bay side of Islamorada.JASON ARNOLD
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Dolphin fish (Mahi Mahi/Dorado)

What Arnold calls “a wolf pack” of schoolie mahi join forces in the Gulf Stream.JASONARNOLDCOLLECTION.COM
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Trolling South Florida’s shallow patch reefs in winter was the ticket for this gag grouper that snatched up a Rapala X-Rap.JASON ARNOLD
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Redfish feeds in the sands of Florida Bay.
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White marlin swims the blue depths of the Atlantic off Venezuela.
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KINGFISH

This kingfish is indifferent to Arnold and his camera as it searches for more live pilchards being tossed out of a nearby boat as chum.JASON ARNOLD
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Spotted Sea Trout

Seatrout emerges from hiding in turtle grass in Florida Bay’s Whipray Basin.Jason Arnold / www.JasonArnoldPhoto.com
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FALSE ALBACORE

Little tunny.JASON ARNOLD
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Common Snook swimming

Large snook lurks near pilings of a Florida inlet.JASON ARNOLD

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