Donovan Best

Donovan’s combination of youthful enthusiasm, positive attitude, ability to truly connect with and teach people, and ability to find the fish make him one of West Yellowstone’s most sought after young guides.

Donovan began fly fishing when he was 6 years old on the small streams in the mountains surrounding his home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico. He came to Yellowstone Country for the first time in the summer of 2009, on a trip that was, in his own words, “kind of a fluke.” A fishing trip that he and his dad planned to southern Colorado ended up cancelled with blown out river conditions. So, at the last second they called an audible, flew in to West Yellowstone and had one of the best times of their fishing lives. On that same trip, Donovan made some connections in the local scene and ended up getting a job in town the next summer working behind the counter at a flyshop. Two years later he began guiding in both Montana and Yellowstone, and he hasn’t left since.

In the winter, you’ll find Donovan fishing beyond Yellowstone Country, or skiing and riding the mountains of SW Montana. Donovan has guided in the Chilean Patagonia, and has literally fished the far corners of the US (for steelhead on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, and for tarpon in the Florida Keys), soaking up every bit of knowledge he could along the way. Donovan’s extensive knowledge and passion for fly fishing is evident both on and off the water. He’s also a great teacher, communicator, certified Red Cross instructor of First Aid/CPR/AED, and aficionado of green chili peppers.