It’s a gentle, misty morning on the lower Colorado River, near Austin. Fly-fishing guide Alvin Dedeaux makes a striking figure against the gray backdrop, fly rod in hand, dreadlocks streaming from the back of his red baseball cap.
“I’ve been fishing since I was a kid,” says Alvin. “After moving to Austin in the mid ‘80s I got a canoe, which opened up a whole new world … miles and miles of water you could never get to otherwise.”
A former musician who spent time in nature to counter the stress of concert tours, Alvin used to manage the Austin Angler. He fished area lakes and began exploring the sparkling rivers of the Hill Country, until his passion led him to become a professional fly-fishing guide.
“I’m glad I’ve devoted my life to this,” he says. “I wake up in the morning and I don’t hate my job. Sometimes it’s not as fun as other times, when it’s cold or windy or rainy, but I never wake up thinking ‘God, I hate this!’ And I feel like that’s success, right there.
“The Colorado is my number one waterway in Central Texas. Thanks to new access points that have opened up through TPWD’s River Access and Conservation Area program, there’s a lot more opportunity to get on the water now. If more people are using the river, there will be more people who are going to care about it and who will want to take care of it, and that’s obviously a good thing.”
Having additional access points also makes it easier for guides like Alvin to take people out on the river for a few hours on the weekend, or on weekday mornings before they head to work.
“You have to get to where all you can hear is the wind and the birds,” Alvin reflects. “Get some quiet, so you can hear yourself think.”
Alvin is honored to be an ambassador for Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation as he champions the wildness of Texas, the vastness of our Texas spirit, and why we should be inspired to conserve it.
Learn more about Alvin Dedeaux and his love fly fishing out on the water.
Q&A with Alvin Dedeaux
Q: Where do you spend the most time fishing and what do you like the most about being a fishing guide?
The Colorado River in Central Texas is my number one waterway. I love introducing people to it. You don’t have to get too far out of Austin for a really relaxing experience where you’re not going to see a lot of people. I never get tired of fishing the Colorado. I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to devote my life to this. I make a living doing what I love. Sometimes it’s not as fun as other times, when it’s cold or windy or rainy, but I never wake up thinking “God, I hate this!” And I feel like that’s success, right there.
Q: You’ve introduced a lot of folks to fly fishing. What is it about fly fishing that appeals to so many people?
I’ve had clients tell me that they never really thought fishing was that cool, but they saw fly fishing on TV or whatever and they thought, now that looks cool, I’d like to try that. So, they see it as a completely different thing, not even necessarily an outdoors type of activity, it’s just something cool that just happens to be going on outdoors. And I’ve seen people over the years who have gone from that person who just wants try it to someone who turns into a different person because of their experiences.
Q: What is the Freshwater Fisheries Advisory Committee and what is your role on it?
The committee is composed of a group of citizens and stakeholders who advise Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries staff on a number of issues. We get together a couple of times a year and staff bounce ideas off of us. We discuss upcoming regulations, and it’s been pretty cool to get an inside look at how things work at Parks and Wildlife related to freshwater fishing.
We also learn all about TPWD fisheries efforts, like the Sharelunker program at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. It’s pretty amazing what they are doing there in terms of high-tech science that is benefitting Texas anglers. We’ve also gotten involved with a program called the Conserving Texas Rivers Initiative, which is a partnership project to take care of Central Texas rivers and to provide better access to them. The more people have access to Texas rivers, the more they will want to take care of them.
Q: What is your favorite fishing spot?
My favorite place to fish is wherever I’m going next! I love guiding here in Texas, and I enjoy spending time in Colorado. There’s a bunch of places I would love to go back to, and there’s a bunch of places I’ve never been. Wherever my boat is pointing, that’s my favorite place!
