In BEYOND THE CAST, Boots Allen examines 1) weather and climate oriented factors such as barometric pressure, precipitation, temperature, wind, and light; 2) stream and lake oriented factors such as water temperature, water levels, pH level, dissolved oxygen, and conductance; and 3) natural phenomena like moon phase. In each chapter, he describes how these factors impact trout behavior and the behavior of their food and forage, as well as strategies and tactics fly fishers can employ when these factors are predominant. The research for this book is based on his thirty-plus years of guiding and fly fishing throughout North and South America, parts of Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. This research also comes from his friendship or acquaintance with some of the most knowledgeable fly fishers in the world. These individuals are noted throughout the book with quotes, Allen’s observations of their methods and tactics, and his conversations with them. BEYOND THE CAST will build upon other notable fly-fishing books that examine successful strategies, such as Swisher and Richards’s SELECTIVE TROUT, Rickards’s FLY-FISHING STILLWATERS FOR TROPHY TROUT, Galloup’s STREAMER FISHING FOR TROPHY TROUT, and, more recently, INSTINCTIVE FLY FISHING (Taylor Streit), DYNAMIC NYMPHING (George Daniel), and FEEDING TIME (Jason Randall). However, it adds to this lineage by examining in length those elements of fly fishing that are often glossed over (if not ignored altogether) and describing how fly fishers can best understand those elements while on the water. Because this work looks at what has previously been underappreciated and overlooked subjects, there is potential that it could have the same impact as Marinaro’s In the Ring of the Rise and Swisher and Richards’ Selective Trout. Both were groundbreaking works and the sport is still feeling their influence today. The book features high quality photography for each chapter to lend context to the situations, issues, trout, trout food, water types, and methods described in the book. Also included are graphs, charts, and tables for pertinent factors to lend greater understanding of how they impact the fly fisher and trout.