Underwater Fly Fishing Photography: Pro Tips from Frank Steinmann

With: franksteinmann

If you’ve ever tried snapping an underwater shot of a fish and ended up with a blurry mess of bubbles and fins, you’re not alone. But for Frank Steinmann, that’s just another day at the office. We caught up with Frank—angler, photographer, and all-around fish fanatic—to talk about the art (and struggle) of underwater fly fishing photography. From camera gear that’ll drain your bank account to the patience needed to capture the perfect split shot, Frank doesn’t sugarcoat the reality of the game. But if you’re up for the challenge, he’s got some solid advice to get you started.

Your underwater photography is breathtaking! What are 3 tips you’d give to someone looking to capture stunning shots like yours?

1. don't even start. It will cost you a fortune, you'll end up single sooner or later and most of your Insta followers would rather see a fat fish held up to the camera than an endangered minnow.

2. seriously, professional underwater equipment is great fun, but costs a small fortune. Be aware that the money you invest will probably never be recouped. The times when I earned good money with my photographs are history. Social media with its influencers and the inflationary view of photography under purely economic aspects (fast and cheap, regardless of quality) coupled with a behaviour that I call digital dementia has destabilized photography in my eyes in its intrinsic value. When was the last time you visited a photographer's exhibition and viewed their work in the appropriate size as a print, as a work of art? The wipe-clean consumption of stamp-sized photography has significantly diminished our receptiveness. Swipe and forget - digital dementia.

3. if you want to photograph underwater, you need leisure and time. Fish sometimes have a high flight distance. You require clean, clear water. Especially at the beginning, it is extremely frustrating when particles, sediment, algae etc. distort your shots. Don't copy any photographer's style! Create your image in your head before you press the shutter release. Manifest this image and then look for ways to improve it. When you take split shots, it's all about the fish, but I still try to highlight the habitat, the background, and the angler on the side. For me, this results in a well-rounded concept.

Ultimately, there is only one decisive variable in photography: time. It fills you with experience, allows you to learn and improve.

Frank, how did your journey into fly fishing begin, and what inspired you to pick up a rod in the first place?

Fish and other organisms of aquatic habitats have always been an elementary part of my interest and concept of life. Be it the partial flooding of my grandmother's living room, where I grew up and established a medium-sized zoo in her house( I will never forget her outcry in the middle of the night when one of my newts found its way from the second floor to her bed on the first), or the fact that I decided to become a diver in the Amazon when I was 11. I grew a passion for fish, so much that I covered my desk at school with every freshwater fish I knew in South and Central America and their Latin names, which ended in three afternoons of detention filled with scouring powder and cleaning rags.

Fish fanaticism coupled with hunting instincts led me to discover fishing at the age of 12, equipped with worm and bread, and I only considered fly fishing a challenge post-adolescently and was then in my early 20s when a fellow student equipped me with a Caddis and 4wt and I caught my first grayling. The fire was lit.

Do you have a favorite species to photograph or fish for? What makes that experience stand out for you?

In principle, I value all types of fish. Each one has something endearing about it. Regardless of size or fishing interest. What I would really love to photograph would be one of the huge Dolly Vardens that can be caught in certain regions of Alaska. A splishot with such an explosion of color manifested in a fish body is a dream I have long cherished.

I have severely restricted my travel in view of my personal contribution to climate protection. Let's not kid ourselves, we all love to travel, dream of exotic fish species and fulfilling adventures in faraway countries. I find it extremely difficult to give it up, yet I limit myself and try to justify this attitude to my desire to travel.

I spent a few years around the globe during my studies, from lowland rainforests to the dizzying heights of the Himalayas. Back then, the hole in the ozone layer was a much-cited problem, changing ocean currents and disappearing winds, stationary highs or tsunamis were little known. I had largely used up my travel quota and decided to think carefully before traveling long distances.

I still have one goal in mind: I want to show my children the South American rainforest so that they understand what biodiversity means on a large scale. Environmental education is a key element of education.

I still have one goal in mind: I would like to show my children the South American rainforest so that they understand what biodiversity means on a large scale. Environmental education is a key element within education.

Back to fly-fishing, of course I love catching Salmonids, as most of us probably do. Catching a brown trout of 80 cm or more in our streams is a big challenge, but it is possible and a challenge. I have seen grayling of 60 cm in the landing net, and when it comes to teeth, feathers and overloaded rods, pike fishing is an entertaining and exciting thing for me. The large salmonid endemic to the Alpine region and the Balkans, the Huchen, is also a great fish. Unfortunately, it is highly endangered, and I now find it difficult to go after it with a clear conscience.