Just when you thought the fly fishing world was safe again, I’m back, reloaded and ready for bear.

Thanks to booking a shoot in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, I managed to gather about four solid days there, and string together about a days worth of fishing.

There’s Good News and Bad News

THE BAD

There’s more going on in Texas than meets the eye. Apparently the red tide outbreak is spreading – on and off, and the post I had ready to go on it last week, is likely way out of date by now. I will check my sources, update that and publish it tomorrow.

The doldrums for inland Texas are in full swing. Temperatures are dropping, La Nina is in place, and lakes and rivers continue to drop*.

THE GOOD

It looks like the flounder run on the Texas Gulf Coast is underway, and that could be in the cards in the near future. Long time readers may recall that I stumbled onto researched, and executed a very successful morning of flounder on fly awhile back in Galveston, Texas.

Work is still getting in the way of getting away to Austin to have a look at the new location of Living Waters Fly Shop, and the interview there.

There are a few posts on fly fishing a couple of locations around Pagosa Springs, Colorado, as well as the Pagosa Springs Brewery and Let it Fly – a wonderful mom-and-pop fly shop in Pagosa Springs since 1997. I didn’t have much time, and left with more questions than clear answers, but I think the posts on Pagosa Springs will entice you to give it a go if you’ve been sitting on the fence. Of course, the time is just about up for fly fishing much of Colorado as the snow has fallen, and the sun is setting on this season.

*Even with those (the doldrums) liabilities, I am looking for comrades to brave the waters of Lewisville Lake, Amon G. Carter Lake, Lake Arrowhead, and a few more places that will either begin to get too cool soon, or where the fishing will start to heat up soon.

So, sit back down at your screen, open a brew, pour a hot cup, or whatever it is you do, and get ready for new photography, words and information related to travel (a surprise story) and fly fishing in Texas and Colorado. Full ahead at warp speed!

In case you couldn’t tell, my photography work has picked up just about the time we see the light at the end of the doldrums.

It rained about twenty-four hours, off and on, here in North Texas – starting Saturday night and carrying through much of Sunday. Today, the clouds departed, and the sun came out once again. At least there wasn’t enough heat to make steam out of the wet earth.

I did a deal recently, to photograph a wedding in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. If you have read TFC for awhile, you know I am partial to that area of Colorado. Expenses paid, and a good rate for the wedding photography … priceless.

There is a lengthy post in the works, another DIY story starting from scratch.

If you are wondering what’s been written in the past, here is a list:
Wolf Creek Anglers Report
Day 2 In Town and Running
Day 1 The Piedra
Colorado Fly Fishing Update
Colorado Day .1

That is just the recent history of Pagosa Springs trips. My fascination with that area goes back about ten years now, and shows no signs of letting up.

Stay tuned.

I had a call a few days ago from an acquaintance who is headed to Buena Vista, Colorado, ostensibly to fly fish. To an information geek, such as myself, that’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Personally, I know little about the Arkansas River and the Buena Vista area of Colorado, so as a courtesy I thought I would gather some research from the internet and compile it here.

Another Day in Fly Fishing Paradise
The Arkansas River in South Central Colorado gets a good write up in Mark Williams’ “So Many Fish, So Little Time.” On pages 238, 239 Williams gives a glowing review of the scenery and “riffle after riffle, pocket water galore under craggy mountains, chock-full of feisty brown trout. Say no more, South Central Colorado, a hotbed of conservative thinking, and feisty brown trout!

Williams does describe stretches other than the one from Buena Vista to Salida, a grand total of 100 miles. At that length, you would expect, and he verifies, that there are a lot of changes in altitude, incline and fourteeners as the background to this adventure.

The site that seems to have the most coherent gathering of information is Arkanglers.com, which includes a hatch chart for the Arkansas River.

As is common in Colorado, there are tributary rivers along the Arkansas and some reservoirs within range as well. My affinity for the high altitude lakes, where cutthroat will eat the shirt off your back, can be reserved for a day you rest from the weariness of big river fly fishing on the Arkansas.

We are fully into the monsoon season, which means, you can take the average day and cut it in half. Rains with wicked lightning are extremely likely to shorten your day to about three or four p.m. every day.

The dining choices seem to be even more abundant and diverse than the fish habitat. When I go to Buena Vista, you can be sure I am going to check out the Eddyline Pub with their own micro brewery and check here for a long list of Buena Vista, Colorado restaurants.

NOTE – If there’s a location that interests you, or if you have information about a location that hits the Texas Fly Caster radar, feel free to help your fellow fly fishers. You will be helping out more than 300 new visitors who find Texas Fly Caster every day. Even though a post like this amounts to novice internet surfing, I suppose it has the value of concentrating the information in a “filtered for relevance” fashion.