What is Gyotaku? If you can catch a fish, you can print it

A few years ago, not long after I purchased my current home, a friend pulled something out of his garage and offered it as a housewarming gift: a canvas fish print of a walleye. It was beautifully done, in color, and mounted on a reclaimed wood frame. I was grateful and happily hung it up in my new house.
This particular walleye wasn’t a 10-pounder you might have seen mounted on your grandfather’s wall. In fact, it was one you might catch on any given trip to Lake Erie or New York’s Oneida Lake. This fish print, or “Gyotaku,” was a piece of art and not a trophy.