Credit Melissa Sevigny
The water at Lees Ferry is so clear sometimes you can spot monster fish lurking beneath the surface. Big brown trout, a European species with spotted sides and a mouth full of teeth.
"We've seen a couple," says Samantha Peter, pointing out over the river, "a whole bunch of them were right around there." Peter, Jessie Bootz, and Billy Hamill are on a family outing at the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, trying to land the big one.
"They saw us too quick, huh," Peter jokes.
"You see them, they see you," Bootz replies.
The kids would rather squish in the mud, but Hamill is still hoping to reel in a brown. If he turns in the head and guts to the park service, he’ll get 33 dollars per fish. "Maybe just get the experience," he says, "I want to catch a brown trout, and maybe the trip can get paid for, you know?"