Critter Shots of the Year
12 of the best wildlife photos from the 2015 season
You see some things when you’re on the water for 10 months covering tournaments from Florida to California. Most of the time our on-the-water team has its cameras trained on the anglers, but every once in a while something from nature intervenes that is just too cool to pass up.
A dozen of the resulting photos made the cut as the best critter shots of 2015:
FLW Managing Editor Curtis Niedermier snagged this classic #merica shot at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship while he was tracking Ray Hanselman on the Tennessee River.
The FLW Tour stop at the Potomac River offered some interesting photo opportunities. FLW Graphic Designer/Illustrator Matt Pace was lucky enough to witness an osprey grab a mature goldfish.
Also at the Potomac, freelance photographer Garrick Dixon caught an eagle that was watching the proceedings with a steely gaze.
FLW VP of Marketing Patterson Leeth had a lot of opportunities at the osprey-rich Lake Eufaula, and he nailed it on this one as the big fish eater moved from perch to perch.
The creepy stare of an alligator can be a bit unnerving, but it’s dang sure fascinating. FLW Senior Editor Kyle Wood photographed this one on the first day of the FLW Tour event on Lake Eufaula.
Also in the gator category, FLW Associate Editor Jody White found one of the biggest of the year at Okeechobee during the kickoff of the Rayovac FLW Series.
Freelance photographer Kory Savage busted a good one of a high-stepping deer on the Ohio River at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship.
The birds seem to enjoy Florida as much as the bass. Dixon took this photo on day one of the FLW Tour opener at Lake Toho.
Niedermier had a pretty hot hand when it came to finding critters that are a little otter the way at the various Rayovac FLW Series locations. He found this sweet otter back in May on the Cal Delta.
A lowly gull might not attract the attention of everyone, but it can still be pretty cool. Savage caught this one in action on the Ohio River at the Rayovac FLW Series Championship.
White saw what we’re fairly sure is a cinnamon bear (a subspecies of the American black bear) out at the Rayovac FLW Series event on Clear Lake. The locals suspect that the bear was displaced by the recent wildfires, because it was an extremely unusual sighting for the Clear Lake area.
This aoudad was observing the Rayovac FLW Series event at Lake Amistad, and Niedermier caught him in the act. Native to North Africa, the aoudad (Barbary sheep) has also been established in parts of Texas.
No highlight reel would be complete without everyone’s favorite critter – Bugsy. The little Boston terrier stole our hearts during Val Osinski’s Rayovac FLW Series win on Okeechobee, and Niedermier captured her in her element while Osinski boated a keeper on the final day.