It’s possible to sight-fish many of the rivers around Yellowstone, but it takes great awareness, patience, observation and stealth to be successful at it. These skills are nothing new for anglers serious about the sport, and the best anglers I know work tirelessly to refine them. Seeing our quarry before casting to them adds yet another layer of excitement to an already thrilling sport. Sight-fishing is also the route to catching the largest river fish, precisely because large fish love to lie in shallow water—exactly the kind of water that’s easiest to see into. Unfortunately, the shallows are where most anglers end up wading by default, spooking the lunkers into deeper, safer water. The photo below shows what a large brown trout looks like while feeding undisturbed in a foot of water. I find the picture entrancing, to say the least.