Hilarious moment a sprightly fish makes a once-in-a-lifetime leap from a fisherman’s grasp to avoid being eaten

A photo reveals the hilarious moment a lively fish braved a daring escape and leapt into the air to escape a fisherman’s grasp.

Restaurant owner and fisherman Mike Wickham, 40, and his partner Amanda Tolbert, 48, were boating along the Bighorn River in Montana last month when they spotted a 20-inch brown trout.

Delighted with the big catch, Mike asked Amanda to capture the special moment with a photo – but the crafty trout had plans of his own.

The bold fish leapt from Mike’s hands and flew into the air, creating a ‘once in a lifetime’ scene, as he looked directly into the lens and appeared to pose for the photo.

Although it appeared the sneaky trout was simply trying to avoid being eaten for dinner, many were left stunned by the image, with one person calling it “epic”.

Mike calls it “pure luck.” He explained: “The fish made a funny face and made eye contact with the camera as if saying ‘not today, see you later.’

“When he jumped in the water I asked Amanda if she had gotten the photo and I was disappointed that she didn’t get it, but when she saw it she realized that It was great. It was pure luck.

“I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime photo. We fish all the time and we won’t take a photo like that again for the rest of our lives. It’s unique.

“Even Cody looked shocked and he made the perfect face, so everyone reacted except me. My face is straight because I haven’t had time to react yet.

“People think we edited it, but we can barely turn on a computer. I guess it’s so good it seems fake.

The couple’s one-year-old Labrador, Cody, was also there. The dog was photographed standing on the opposite side of its owner, while appearing disconcerted at the sight of the flying trout.

In the image, the fish can be seen as if posing in the air like a real Big Mouth Billy Bass, while a surprised Mike appears to share his impassive expression.

Big Mouth Billy Bass is a notorious animatronic fish that turns off a wall plate to look directly at the audience and “sing” to tunes.

The restaurant owner and his partner Amanda Tolbert, 48 (pictured right) were boating along the Bighorn River in Montana last month when they spotted a 20-inch brown trout.

Mike is an avid fisherman who retreats to the Bighorn River, known for its great trout fishing experience (Pictured: Mike with another trout he caught that day.

He adds that he and Amanda only take fish from the lake to eat once a year. He also fished the Bighorn River as a child.

Here, Mike is pictured with his trusted canine companion, Cody. The dog was photographed looking very disconcerted by the flying trout.

Amanda, the now-aspiring photographer who took the photo with her cellphone, said the pair couldn’t believe the quality of the image given how quickly the trout jumped into the water .

She added: “I didn’t think I got the photo of the fish, but when I opened the photo I realized it was an epic photo.

“It turned out to be an even better photo than we wanted.”

The couple traveled two and a half hours to fish at Bighorn River, known for its great trout fishing, and Mike fished there as a child.

He admits that they only take fish from the lake to eat once a year, so the creature didn’t need to make a daring escape as it would have been put back anyway.

Mike posted the image to Facebook later that day and it went viral with over 300,000 likes and 50,000 shares.

The couple’s Labrador regularly spends time with them on their fishing boat (Photo: Cody posing on Mike and Amanda’s fishing boat)

He posted the image on Facebook later that day and it went viral with over 300,000 likes and 50,000 shares.

He wrote: “This is hands down the craziest picture I have ever been a part of. I caught this beautiful brown trout and told Amanda to get the camera ready.

“I held it for the photo and it jumped out of my hand and then I turned around and smiled at the camera!

“And of course, it’s the perfect timing on the camera to capture that unique photo.”

Many were impressed by the stunning photo, including one person who described it as “one of the best photos ever.”

Many people were impressed by the stunning photo, including one person who described it as “one of the best photos ever.”

One person said: “I couldn’t have timed this better. Beautiful photo’.

A second added: “This is epic! You all three have the same look!’

Someone else wrote: “OMG this made me laugh. One of the best photos ever! »

Another wrote: “Even the dog looked shocked. A unique moment filmed! Very cool’.

“Photobomb fish,” one joked.

Meanwhile, some people insisted that the image was Photoshop working properly: “Is it real or photoshopped?” I can’t tell if I’m in a simulation anymore,” one said.

‘Fish Photoshop’ added another.