My hope was that the water was clear enough for fish to rise to dry fly imitations of the bugs — fat patterns easily visible to my aging eyes and graced with names like the Sofa Pillow because of their engorged size.

This couldn’t get any better, I thought, holding the fly up for closer inspection and a photo. Thankfully, I was wrong.

2 of 41,000

We were two of the approximately 41,000 anglers who will fish in Yellowstone National Park this year. We came for an obvious reason: Where else can you cast a fly across from a steaming hot pool or while wildlife like bison or elk wander past? Even if you never catch a fish in Yellowstone the experience is like no other.

Most of Yellowstone’s angling pressure is confined to the busy tourist months of July and August, although those looking for more privacy will fish in the spring and fall. According to the park’s website, fishing license sales generate about $36 million annually, even though native fish like Yellowstone cutthroat trout, whitefish and arctic grayling must be released. Nonnative fish like rainbow, brown and lake trout are required to be kept in many areas of the park as a way to remove them from the ecosystem.

Going native