Sometimes you get caught up in the numbers game of trying to catch the most fish. Other times your after the big one. You have plenty of grip and grin photos to document your success. The kind where the angler displays their catch and a broad smile or occasionally the confident I'm the man look. I take quite a few photos when I'm fishing, so I have plenty. Eventually I got bored with the grip and grin shots and started experimenting a little.

It wasn't until I started taking close up head shots of fish that I realized I was missing something. Something I missed during the excitement of the catch and photo shoot. Something I missed, because I was in a hurry to get back to the business of catching. Those photos revealed to me that fish have a lot of holes in their heads. The northern pike in the photo has some prominent holes or pores around the eye that are easily seen.

Many of us know of the lateral line system that runs along the length and side of the fish. They use it to sense water displacement or vibrations in the area. Vibrations that come from other fish, predators, fisherman, or potential food. It turns out that the lateral line is much more extensive than I had imagined. It consists of a series of canals in the head and along the sides of the fish that are connected to the outside through pores. In these canals are hairs that move and transmit info to the brain. With further investigation I found that fish have more pores in their heads than they do along the sides of their bodies. They use this vast system to home in on food or the lures we use to catch them.

The next time you catch a fish take a little time to check out the holes in it's head. You'll gain a deeper understanding of how a fish operates, which will be to your advantage. Sometimes you have to take a step back from the heat of battle to move forward.