In my opinion, to get really good fish photos, you need someone to take them for you. Landing a fish and taking your own photos generally involves too many hands and some risk to the fish. Is it worth killing a fish to get its photo?

I am seldom satisfied with self-taken fish pics. They all end up as fish-beside-rod, and one in a hundred is worth showing someone, it seems.

Get the shot set up and the camera ready BEFORE the fish is landed. If you have a photographer, get the shot framed, the exposure right, and the camera focused, and THEN take the fish out of the water. I always figure it is a good shot if there is still water streaming off the fish *S*.

If you are taking your own shots, make sure you have a safe place to put the fish when you take the pic, somewhere it won't get hurt flopping around. Submerged grass is good, I have found. Fish-in-hand works for small fish, but after all these years, the fish big enough to be photo worthy are too big to be held out and photographed.

As for keeping and storing the camera, I generally have it in its case in the back of my vest, or in the pocket of the toon. I can get it out and set up with one hand if needed.