The original Lil’ Spanker, Allie was baptized in the rivers of Montana. Born to Dan Delekta, she started her fishing life at 3 months old with her car seat bungee corded to the front of her guide father’s wood boat. Growing up at Beartooth Flyfishing, Allie fished the rivers of Southwest Montana extensively with her father, family and extended flyfishing family. She started the Dan’s School of Finer Flyfishing at a young age and as she grew her knowledge and ability of flyfishing grew with her. As much as she loved to fish, puttering around on the bank, picking special rocks, and studying the unique ecology of a river system was and is a continued passion for Allie. As soon as she turned 18, Allie got her guide license and started guiding for Beartooth Flyfishing. She was able to fully fine tune her guiding abilities taking her “Grandpa” and a dear friend Gene Novikoff every week, they gifted her patience and wisdom of old fishing souls. Guiding in the Summer while she attended Montana State University for 2 years, Allie had epic adventures and memorable moments with clients that she treasures to this day. Growing up at Beartooth Flyfishing she heard stories from clients, guides, and family friends about adventures from around the globe, and at 21 she had to go make her own. From fishing for Halibut and stalking Sitka Brown Bears in Alaska, cruising the Caribbean hunting Bones and especially Barracuda on Andros, barreling in Marlin and Sailfish in Panama, scoring Steelhead days on the Rogue, and thoroughly tromping the Lakes, Rivers and Mountains of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado.
This girl has a fiery and active spirit for adventure! Allie paid for her traveling working various places including Logging in Montana, Environmental Cleanup Engineering in North Dakota, Heavy Equipment operation in Colorado and North Dakota, Forest Service Dispatch in Oregon, Gym Floor Specialist (painting gym floors across the West), Gas Station Attendant in various locations and far too many more to list. But the best is yet to come as she is now back to her roots with the love of her life in tow, Dan “DJ” Dedman, working at Beartooth Flyfishing together! Allie is thrilled to return to her fishing tribe and bring her talents and experience back to her home to help the people and place that she loves so very much. If she is not in the shop, you may see her down at the river; rocking a sunburn, running down the river screaming “Yee-Haw” with a hooked-up fish, wild and crazy as ever, as time doesn’t change everything.