Originally published in The Mountain Connection, July 2002.

Fishing has become one of my new preoccupations. This can be a problem for a photographer. The best times to fish are early in the morning and late in the afternoon. When the light doesn't reflect directly off of the water surface it is easier for the fish to see potential food. Also, the water is cooler then and the fish become more active.

The problem of course is that this is also the best time to do photography. Sometimes there is so much competition for me between the two that it is difficult to decide which vice (I mean interest) I should pursue. Ultimately, the desire to be creative usually wins out and I settle for photography at least during the magic hours. But at other times you'll find me with a rod in my hand.

This is not to say that fishing is not creative. Although I do not pursue the purity of flyfishing (this may have a lot to do with my impatience with learning the art of how to use a fly rod) I do like to use dry flies on a spinning rod. There is still skill in picking just the right fly that will fool that trout and making the perfect cast that places it in front of his nose. It is true that to be a good fisherman you need to think like a fish.

It also means that you have the built in excuse of often being in some of the most beautiful wilderness in the world. One of my favorite places to fish is in Rocky Mountain National Park. Within an hour and a half from my house I can be in a high alpine setting with rivers, streams, and mountain lakes. I am hard pressed to name another place that is so gorgeous and so near to where we live.

Now like all good fisherman I won't tell you my favorite secret spots but I will tell you that you can't go wrong no matter where you fish. Even if you don't catch anything you will still be able to enjoy the great scenery.

It is very easy to fish in the park. As long as you have a Colorado fishing license you can fish anywhere in the park. The major restrictions are that bait fishing is not allowed except for children less than 12 years old and there are possession limits for different species.

Up through the 1960's many steams and lakes were stocked in order to improve the sport including many high altitude lakes that had never had fish. Since then the park has reconsidered the policy and the goal has become to try to restore the fish populations that originally occurred in the park. Colorado River cutthroat and native greenback cutthroat trout, which were the only two native species, are being restored to park waters and exotic and non-native fish are being removed. Besides the two fish listed above there are also brown, brook, rainbow, and cutthroat trout.

When you enter the park be sure to stop at a visitors center to pick up the latest fishing information sheet. This sheet provides a partial list of the lakes known to contain fish, the areas that are catch and release, and closed areas. It also has all of the fishing regulations and possession limits.

Rocky Mountain will provide you with an outstanding and rare opportunity to fish in a pristine high mountain environment. And catching a whopper will be almost beside the point. As for me, I still can't quite decide which I enjoy more. So you may see me on a park trail with a fishing rod in one hand and my camera and tripod in the other.