One fish, two fish, 27 fish in all. They're located along the Route 28 corridor in the Catskills. Our Beth Croughan found out more about this community-wide art project.

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PHOENICIA, N.Y. -- Fishing for Rainbow Trout in the Esopus Creek is quite a popular pastime around here.

"Even the 10-inchers are an awful lot of fun to catch," explained Mark Loete of Chichester.

But there's no catching necessary for these trout, measuring in at 36 inches long.

"All kinds of crazy mediums. From fiber art to very realistic painting to highly abstract," described Loete of the pieces of art.

Twenty-nine area artists volunteered to decorate an aluminum cut out of the fish.

"When Mark suggested that I could help out with this project, I just jumped at it. Like a trout going after one of those really excellently tied flies, those little dry flies," said artist Dave Channon.

And 27 businesses and public spaces along the Route 28 corridor volunteered to display them. The project is aimed at promoting awareness for conserving the Esopus Creek.

David Pillard, the owner of The Tender Land Home in Phoenicia, says the Creek is vital to the community.

"Fishing, tubing, hiking, people just going in for a dip. It's kind of the lifeblood of the area here," said Pillard.

And it also supplies the Ashokan Reservoir, which is a main source for New York City's drinking water.

"We as a conservationist group, Trout Unlimited, wanted to convey the message that clean water benefits everybody, it's everybody's responsibility," said Loete.

And everyone involved in the Leaping Trout Art project has seemed to benefit as well.

"It incorporates all the businesses, all the artists, it brings people on a tour that takes them from place to place to see these trout, and also, in the habitat where the trout live," said Channon.

The fish will be on display through September and then will be auctioned off as a fundraiser for Trout Unlimited. Fourteen of the 27 are located along Main Street in Phoenicia.