Original: acrylic on canvas, 8x10.

While the first thing you notice is the hefty bronzeback, the star of this painting is the fly he’s about to pick up. The Cumberland Crayfish is my pattern for imitating the smallmouth’s favorite snack. This is the image in my head when I fish this fly. Contrary to the popular habit of portraying the stream bed as a lush tropical garden, I wanted to portray what the actual bottom looks like in the majority of Kentucky’s rivers and streams.