SNAKE RIVER FLY FISHING

Reviewed By Deanna Travis - August 9, 2010

Snake River Fly Fishing; Through the Eyes of an Angler
By Boots Allen
Published by Frank Amato Publications

Much of the present day writings are simply repetitions of the accumulated experiences and thoughts of other writers, especially writings about fly fishing. Today's writers often restate the knowledge they acquired through reading the older books and articles, never crediting the earlier authors. This one however really is different. The author, Boots Allen, not only quotes other writers but he has listed two pages of References, an Index, a Names reference and another two pages of Flies and Patterns Index. He not only did his homework, he did yours as well.

The author is a third-generation fly-fishing guide from Jackson Hole, Wyoming who, since 1991, has guided 100-plus days each season on the Snake River, the South Fork of the Snake River, the Green River, and the streams and lakes of Yellowstone National Park. He was the top-scoring guide in the Jackson One-Fly Contest in 2004, 2005, and 2008. Sticking his PhD in Sociology, (2006 University of Texas at Austin) in the closet he returned permanently to the Rocky Mountain West to work in the fly-fishing industry and lend his expertise to local communities dealing with growth and development. This is his second book.

If you are traveling west to fish any of the waters covered in this book (and all of the Snake River and its tributaries are covered, Wyoming and Idaho.) save yourself the time and grief of researching it yourself - it is in there. Just get the book. “It gives the angler the insight that is a quantum leap above the average angler”, said Scott Sanchez of Jackson, Wyoming.

Part One covers the Upper Snake River, Wyoming. Included are the Geology, Human History and the Development of a Fly-Fishing Heritage. The stories of the people who pioneered fly fishing and tying are delightful. This section also describes the trout of the upper Snake, their foods and fly patterns. There are excellent maps and hatch charts in this section as well.

The section of fly-fishing strategies and tactics thoroughly explains in detail the various types of water on the upper Snake with very nice colored drawings of specific features such as holding water on a riffle and teaches the reader how and where to fish each feature. When the reader has finished any particular description he should be quite ready to produce fish from those situations.

There is also a River Log for the Snake and its tributaries from Yellowstone National Park to Palisades Reservoir. These again are very detailed.

Part Two; The South Fork of the Snake River, Idaho is constructed in the same manner as Part One, with the River Log covering from Palisades Dam to Menan.

Part Three has two flies per page, nice clean photos of the flies (some historical) with the recipe and history of each fly. Forty-four of the most successful and popular flies on the river, great fun to read and several I had not seen before.

Finally Part Four: Snake River Legends including photos of those who really brought fly fishing to the region. An excellent piece of history.

Over all, even for someone who has been involved in fly fishing for a number of years, the book is terrific reading. Well written, interesting, extremely well illustrated with beautiful photography the book is a bargain at $24.95.

Highly recommended! ~ Deanna Travis

Snake River Fly Fishing; Through the Eyes of an Angler
Author: Boots Allen
Softbound 81/2 x 11, 138 pages
Color photos and illustrations
ISBN-13: 978-1-57188-458-9
$24.95; Published by Frank Amato Publications

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