Hooks Lines Sinkers Zine

These photographs were made at the Contoocook River Reservoir above the Noone Mills Dam in Peterborough, New Hampshire on Friday, October 8, 2021.

I had been shooting at the reservoir for several days that week, capturing the autumn leaves in their absolute highest color. But, I kept coming back to the dozens of fishing lures caught in the utility lines strung along the entire length of an out-of-use bridge. Too high to be retrieved once snarled, the fishing lines had been snapped and the tackle left behind.

The utility lines serve as an archive of small mistakes. Successful casts and catches are not recorded here. We take those with us, and leave the mess behind for someone else to clean up.

And in these images, I see nature attempting to do that. The sun fades the colors from the bobbers and gradually weakens the monofiliment. Hooks rust. The tiny spiders weave their webs within and around the tangles of fishing line, using our tackle to make catches of their own.

But it’s not a battle it will win until we’re long gone. We’ll be back with our full tackle boxes next year, ready to record more failures along our paths to success.

Bob Holt, October 12, 2021

First Edition of 100
40 pages, 19 Images
Digest-sized (5.5 x 8.5 inches)
300 gsm matte laminated satin cover, 150 gsm satin text pages
Saddle-stitch (stapled)
Signed and numbered