River Angel Dan Delekta - Beartooth Fly Fishing

Although we were on our way to West Yellowstone to visit the fly shops, I was on the lookout for Dan Delekta's Beartooth Fly Shop. I was telling Rick that I'd like to stop there if it was on the way. In the next few minutes their roadside sign was in front of us.

We'd been driving along the Madison River and I was remembering when I first met Dan. I was fishing the Beaverhead River, surrounded by fishermen - a couple upstream and a couple further away downstream. Dan floated by with clients and when he found enough room he pulled his drift boat over to shore and anchored. His clients were catching fish and obviously having a good time. He walked towards me and I was wondering who he was, he handed me a small handful of flies and said "Here, try these. They'll catch fish." As he turned and walked back to his boat I was speechless, but mumbled "thank you", totally amazed that a stranger would do that. As he was pulling up anchor I managed to ask "What's your name?", thinking I'd tell his boss how kind he was. He said "Dan Del-something" and I didn't hear what he said. He was gone with the current before I had a chance to ask again. A river angel?

During the next week I asked a few of the guides if they knew a fellow guide named Dan Del-something who wore a big cowboy hat, but none of them did. We went into Tim Tollett's Frontier Anglers and when I asked Tim, he said he did know who I was asking about = Dan Delekta at Beartooth Fly Fishing on the Madison River. Tim said he was a nice guy and had been in the area forever. I looked it up on the Internet and found their website and learned all about Dan and his wife Nancy, their wedding and their fly fishing business. I sent him a comment through their website and subscribed to their newsletter. This, however, was going to be the first time seeing him since the river.

We were lucky to find Dan, Nancy, and his father in the shop that morning. They were all extremely friendly and helpful and their shop and lodge were amazing. So well stocked with fly fishing equipment and tying materials that Rick accomplished almost all the shopping he planned to do. Dan is very knowledgeable about fly tying (to say the least) and was able to help Rick find almost everything on his list. Dan grew up in the area and has been on the area rivers with his dad since he was a kid. From what I've heard, Dan is one of the "good guys". If you are in the area, you must stop in to visit them or stay at their lodge on the river. Check out their website, their story, their flies, and sign up for their newsletter.

http://beartoothflyfishing.com/

We travelled on to West Yellowstone, along the Madison River, past Quake Lake, Hebgen Dam, Hebgen Lake and more. Although we had our fly rods with us, we didn't plan to stop to fish. We made it to town in time for a late lunch at Kiwi's Takeaway and had delicious hamburgers. Very delicious. More on town later. Thanks for stopping by.