I have not seen as many spiders this year as in past years. I am sure that is because I have changed my critter hunting procedures. I used to walk very slowly and keep my eyes focused on areas just a foot or so in front of me. This allowed me to notice very small critters and my little pocket camera was very good at capturing these little critters. Since getting the new camera and 55-200mm lens, I started looking at areas a couple of yards in front of me. The 200mm lens lets me use working distances that are greater than before but little critters are hard to see at these distances so I started shooting larger critters that were hard to get close to. I also started sitting in one place for extended periods of time instead of constantly being on the move. As a result, I got lots of Dragonfly, reptile, and amphibian images this year but not many spiders. Six-spotted Fishing Spiders are pretty big (as far as local spiders go) and since I have spent so much time around the pond this year, they are also encountered frequently. Thanks to those who take the time to comment. Lee