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Moments before throwing down, two brook trout size each other up. Males will fight for nesting spots and females
 

I am equal parts aquatic biologist and underwater photographer: My work in both realms focuses on the freshwater biodiversity of the Southeastern United States. As a biologist, I work for Conservation Fisheries, Inc. We are the only non-game fish hatchery in the nation, working with over 80 species since incorporation in 1986. Our staff and partners work to prevent the extinction of rare, threatened, and endangered species of freshwater fishes. As an underwater photographer, I aim to shed light on these little-known species and the rivers they rely on. This translates to a lot of time snorkeling in pristine streams, learning details about my subjects that allow me to more intimately capture them in images.
 

A male brook trout keeps a watchful eye over a smaller female, guarding her from rival males (and photographers)
 

A species of special interest to me, and an icon of the Appalachian wilderness, is the southern Appalachian brook trout. This subspecies of brook trout is restricted to high-elevation streams of the southern end of the Appalachian chain and requires spring-fed streams and rivers that are kept cool during the summer months by groundwater and forest cover. This past fall, I set out to photograph the “brookies” in Great Smoky Mountain National Park, where I knew there were pure southern strain fish. They are a rare species due to habitat loss, mixing of genes with stocked northern strain, and competition from stock non-native trout.
 

The Nauticam EMWL 130° objective lens does allow for split level images if water can be trapped between the elements
 

These fish really shine in the fall. As breeding season approaches, the trouts’ colors brighten like the leaves in the surrounding forest, making them a beautiful subject in an equally beautiful environment. For this shoot I packed my Sony a7R Mark IV, Nauticam housing, Small HD 502 Monitor, Inon Z-240s, and Nauticam Extended Macro Wide Lens (EMWL). The EMWL and monitor are game-changers in shallow, freshwater environments. The monitor makes composing images far easier and, of course, the vaunted EMWL allows for extreme close-focus wide-angle perspectives even in incredibly shallow water. Paired with the Sony 90mm macro lens, I can shoot macro or wide angle without ever getting out of the water. The probe-style design of the EMWL with 130° Objective Lens allows me to get close to the trout, which are normally incredibly skittish subjects.
 

A large male brook trout eyes up a smaller rival
 

To get brook trout in front of my camera, I was going to have to work for it. I needed to hike two to three miles (uphill each way) with a backpack bursting with camera gear, underwater housing, strobes, wading boots, drysuit, and warm undergarments to combat hours of laying still in cold mountain water.

The first day, I pulled my vehicle into the trailhead parking area, stuffed my backpack with gear, and huffed up a stream-side trail. Vibrantly colored leaves fluttered down from trees onto the ravine floor. The stream, a series of plunge pools, flows through car-sized boulders and bedrock painted with moss and lichen. After a three-mile hike up the trail, I reached a spot I had visited on previous excursions. After preparing my camera and housing, I donned my heavy undergarments, sealed myself in my drysuit, grabbed my camera, and slipped into the stream. No longer shrouded by the glare on the surface of the water, brook trout of all sizes were revealed. Larger males were highly aggressive, holding tight to females and viciously fending off any other male competition, a sure sign they would be spawning soon.
 

A male brook trout makes a quick turn in a plunge pool of a high elevation Appalachian creek
 

At the end of my third day, as the light was fading and I had already told myself a handful of times “five more minutes,” two large males broke out into a fight over a female. For just a minute or two they battled in front of my lens, too preoccupied with each other to notice me creeping closer. In the low light, I was able to slow down my shutter speed dramatically to maintain a small aperture for a deep depth of field and freeze the foreground action of the trout battle. As quickly as it had begun, the fight ended and I called it a day, and hiked out. I continued to slog up to the creek for four more days and photographed spawning pairs on subsequent days but that two-minute fight clearly stood head and shoulders above any other interactions I had witnessed.
 

A duo of stunning male brook trout engage in a fierce battle for dominance over this little patch of stream
 

After seven days of shooting, spawning activity seemed to dwindle and it was time go through the hundreds (thousands?) of images I’d shot. Brook trout are one of the last fish I photograph each year and putting in the work to find them, being rewarded with fantastic behaviors and spending time in such a beautiful place with one of my favorite species is the perfect cherry on top of my year.
 

A male brook trout keeps an eye on his mate while she prepares to lay eggs on the creek bottom
 

To see more of Andrew’s wonderful freshwater work, please give him a follow on Instagram and visit his website.