John Edstrom remembers the genesis moment for the Midwest Flyfishing Guides Association.
The late Tom Helgeson, the godfather of Midwestern Fly Fishing, had summoned Edstrom and a pair of other young fly fishing guide proteges to the rear of his Bright Waters Fly Shop. Edstrom guided fly anglers for three years in Alaska from 1987 through 1989 and was just getting going in Minnesota in 1990, getting trips lined up on occasion through Bright Waters.
Helgeson was a father figure of sorts to the young guides, having established and later ran the Great Waters Fly Fishing Expo, published Midwest Fly Fishing magazine, and served as deputy managing editor for the Minneapolis Star newspaper.
“Tom had this vision,” Edstrom explained, “for a guides association, some form of a fly fishing organization. He scolded us a little bit, about the need to be organized and to highlight the opportunities of the Midwest.”
Helgeson had a vision, but the young guides were not ready for the moment and shrugged it off. The years went by and Helgeson’s vision still nagged at Edstrom. Around a decade ago, Edstrom brought up a guides association to his fellow colleagues as well as some clients turned friends. Some loved the idea while a few were not convinced. But as time has ground along, more and more fly anglers expressed support.
Edstrom took the leap of faith in 2026. Working with a former client turned friend and talented fly angler and communicator in his own right, Carl Maijer, the duo floated the idea of a guides association with fellow fishing guides. Maijer spent a dozen years working within the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs in D.C. and is an excellent communicator and organizer. Edstrom has 40 years’ experience as a fly fishing guide and operates Headwaters Fly Fishing Company.
A small group of a dozen guides were willing to sign on in Minnesota as charter members of the Midwest Flyfishing Guides Association. Maijer and Edstrom eventually settled on the name and registered their 501c3 nonprofit organization in May.
Their website will be up and running next month. MFGA’s conservation advocacy is just starting as a potential data center is being planned next to the Vermillion River in Farmington, an important and popular trout stream.
Edstrom and Maijer say the MFGA has four main pillars that serve as association goals and have a simple mission statement: “Uniting professional guides to elevate the sport of fly fishing through scientific literacy, conservation, leadership, and the promotion of exceptional client experiences.”
MFGA wants to set the professional standard for qualifications for both consumer and service provider protection for fly fishing guides. Guide members will be first aid and CPR certified, pass a background test, pass a drug test, and be screened for insurance coverage requirements as a prerequisite.
Edstrom likens the professional standards to the commercial use authorization (CUA) requirements for guiding on the St. Croix River where he runs many trips. The CUA is needed for commercial operators on the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway overseen by the National Park Service.
Edstrom says the CUA is proof of qualification that you have insurance, training, and can safely take visitors out for a safe and rewarding experience.
“People don’t want to get onto a boat with a guide who isn’t prepared and then have an incident or accident and find out that they’re not covered for insurance, or they aren’t ready to treat a serious injury, or they don’t know much about the water they are operating on,” explained Edstrom.
Besides safety standards, MFGA members would get annual refreshers to promote both ethical and sustainable angling.
“Working with insurance companies through the larger association would be a benefit to members, Maijer said. “When you form an association, with numbers comes power.”
“Fly fishing guides are educators, “ Maijer said. “Our guides can go out in the public and talk about their trade. It’s so important and these guides have that connectivity to the environment. They can tell their clients about bugs, fish, water quality, plant life. There are many teachable moments in a day on the water.”
A second tenant of MFGA is to create a network for fly fishing guides. Maijer says he is hoping to be able to one day create a website where the public can look up the association. He envisions a map on the website with all the water systems on it where you can see what guides are available and what trips they offer. Providing business advertising for client members would be beneficial.
Elevating Midwestern fly fishing is another goal for MFGA. While conventional fishing will always dominate in the Midwest, fly fishing here is exceptional and should get the national recognition that other regions get. The Midwest has phenomenal smallmouth bass fishing, incredible muskie fishing, highly productive trout fishing on Great Lakes tributaries and in the driftless region, and boasts incredibly diverse offerings all over the map.
Community science is a final, aspirational goal. MFGA members could be counted on to log observations with fish catch, water conditions, and participate in fisheries data collection to assist management agencies.
“The term that’s been thrown out there so many times is citizen science,” explained Maijer. “I want these guys to become the stewards of our waterways, to usher in that citizen science and provide a real pulse through data that they collect so that we have a better understanding of the ecosystems and our fisheries that are out there.”
Maijer is hoping to put together an annual, year-end report on the wellness of waterways frequented by the Association’s guides with data collected by members.
Some states do have guide associations, but nothing as comprehensive as what the MFGA is organizing. The closest comparison, Edstrom said, was the Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana (FOAM).
“This whole thing reminds me of Pheasant Forever,” Edstrom said of the fledgling start to the Minnesota Flyfishing Guides Association.
In his younger years, Edstrom was a merchandise director for Pheasants Forever in that nonprofit organization’s early years of formation.
“It reminds me of the early years of Pheasants Forever,” he said. “You had Jeff Linden, Dennis Anderson, and Joe Dugan, just driving around, starting chapters. It was very grassroots. Fly fishing here is not as big a deal as it is in other states, but it could be.”
Carl and John have met with fly shops, Trout Unlimited chapters, and fellow fishing guides. The momentum is growing, just as the open water season is off and running. After years as avid fly anglers and advocates for the Midwest’s incredible fly fishing, Edstrom and Maijer are seeing their vision, and Tom Helgeson’s vision, brought to life.