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 from a fisherman’s grasp in mid-air.

Restaurant owner and fisherman Mike Wickham, 40, and his partner Amanda Tolbert, 48, were boating along Montana’s Bighorn River 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 daring fish jumped out of Mike’s hands and flew into the air, creating a ‘once in a lifetime’ scene as he looked directly into the lens and seemingly posed for the photo.

Although it appears the sneaky trout was just 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 it jumped into the water I asked Amanda if she had the photo and I was disappointed she didn’t understand it, but when she saw it she realized it was amazing. It was pure luck.

‘I think it’s a unique 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 makes the perfect face, so everyone reacted to it except me. My face is tight because I didn’t have time to react yet.

‘People think we photoshopped it, but we can barely turn on a computer. I think it’s so good it looks fake.’

The couple’s one-year-old Labrador, Cody, was also involved. The dog stood on the other side of his owner, looking bewildered at the sight of the flying trout.

In the image, the fish can be seen posing in the air like a real-life Big Mouth Billy Bass, while a startled Mike appears to share his deadpan expression.

Big Mouth Billy Bass is an infamous animatronic fish that deploys a wall plate to look directly at the audience and sing along to tunes.

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

Mike is an avid fisherman who retreats to the Bighorn River as it is known for its great trout fishing (photo: Mike with another trout he caught that day

He adds that he and Amanda only take fish out of the lake to eat once a year. He also fished in the Bighorn River when he was a child

Here Mike is pictured with his trusted canine companion Cody. The dog was snarling and looking very bewildered at the flying trout

Amanda, the now novice photographer who took the photo on her mobile phone, said the pair couldn’t believe the quality of the image given how quickly the trout jumped back into the water.

She added: ‘I didn’t think I had 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 more beautiful photo than we wanted.’

The couple traveled two and a half hours to fish in the Bighorn River, known for its great trout fishing, and Mike fished there when he was a child.

He admits that they only take fish out of the lake to eat once a year, so the creature wouldn’t have to make a daring escape as it would have been released anyway.

Mike posted the image to Facebook later that day and has since gone 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 poses on Mike and Amanda’s fishing boat)

He posted the image to Facebook later that day and has since gone viral with more than 300,000 likes and 50,000 shares.

He wrote: ‘This is without a doubt the wildest film I have ever been involved in. I caught this nice brown trout and told Amanda to get the camera ready.

‘I held him up for the photo and he jumped out of my hands, then turned and smiled at the camera!

‘And of course it’s perfect timing on camera to take this 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. Great picture’.

A second added: ‘This is epic! You three all have the same look on your faces!’

Someone else wrote: ‘Oh my god, this makes me laugh. One of the best photos ever!’

Another wrote: ‘Even the dog looked shocked. A unique moment captured on camera! So cool’.

“Fish photobomb,” one joked.

Meanwhile, some people insisted that the image was the good result of Photoshop: ‘Is it real or photoshopped? I don’t know if I’m in a simulation anymore,” said one.

‘Fish photoshop’ added another.