A great friend Ody and I were walking upstream from the Claybanks access on the Pere Marquette River in Baldwin, MI one evening to do some steelhead fishing. It was a crisp Fall evening, gloomy and just above freezing. We were excited to get a line wet. While entering the river as the public land turns to private, we saw a boat approaching from the gravels above the Deer Lick cabin. I found it weird that a drift boat fit for three people was barren with only a rower??? Weird, right. So being the person that my father raised me to be I sparked up a friendly conversation. Once the salutation had finished the following paragraph ensued:
Alex F: "Is everything alright?"
Matt S: "Yes, why do you ask?"
AF: "Well, we're not looking for your buddy floating down the river soaking wet are we?" Because we don't usually see lone rowers in a large drift boat.
MS: "No, no, I am just in town with my family, trying to get a little time on the water and didn't have anyone to float with."
AF: "Oh thank goodness, good to hear it. Where are you from?"
MS: "Colorado. Hey do you guys have a minute to talk?"
AF and Jon O.: "Absolutely!", as I always have time to talk to other anglers about fishing!
After a few oar strokes the anchor immediately splashed into the cold, clean waters of the PM.
What followed was a 45minute to an hour conversion about where the fish are located in the river system and within the runs and pools. We connected these locations to water temperature, talked about leader diameter and strength, length of total rigs and leaders, choice of fly line, indicators, and most importantly flies. After this lengthy conversation with a great individual who was not afraid to ask for local knowledge I immediate followed his company, Minturn Anglers, on facebook and tried to stay in contact with him.
This was a memorable day. I don't even recall if we hooked or landed a fish that evening. It would however prove to be an integral conversation and a turning point in my fishing career.
My friend Ody ended up fishing with Matt that Fall on the Big Manistee. I did not have the pleasure of sharing a boat with Mr. Sprecher until the next Fall, which would have been November of 2012. I floated the Big Manistee River with Matt and his friend, per Matt's request to fish the "Big River". About an hour into the day I hooked and landed a nice steelhead.
After landed a gorgeous Big Manistee fish, I was done fishing for the day. I wanted the other two gentlemen in the boat to experience that pull of a crazy pissed off steelhead. As the afternoon approached Matt turned to me and said "You're hired! You'd be a great guide!" To which I said, "What?!?".
MS:"If you ever want to guide in CO, you have a job!"
AF: "When should I show up?"
MS: "June 1st."
AF: "I will be knocking on your door on May 28th!" And I was! And the rest is history... as they say.
I have been guiding for Minturn Anglers since June of 2013. Since then I have guided a few trips in WY and started my own business, River Ninja Outfitters, in MI. The summer of 2016 will be my fourth year at Minturn Anglers, and I have loved every minute of it.
A huge thank you to Matt Sprecher for giving this country boy from the Midwest a chance and throwing me to the wolves within two weeks in a raft on THE Eagle River! What a wild ride it has been. I am indebted to so many of my mentors over the years.
What a group of guides to say I have fished with and learned from:
Bob Streb, Anthony Mazza, Alex Garnier, Jeremy Clements, Scott Thompson, Duane Redford, Tommy Lynch, Alex Lafkas, David "Rambo" Randby, Jeff "Cookie" Cooke, Blake Knisely, Nick Denbow, and the list goes on and on. I appreciate all of the relationships I have made and all the fish that I have netted along the way. I have grown a great appreciation and happiness out of seeing a fish go in the net. I find true pleasure from flushing the bag on a fish for the first time with a new client.
Here is a link to Minturn Anglers website. I hope to see you out there in the Summer months.
www.minturnanglers.com
Thank you to all the guides, anglers, and clients that I have spent days on the water with in the past few years. It is all of you that make me smile everyday. I am so fortunate to be able to chase a dream job and work outdoors.
Alex Forsberg
River Ninja Outfitters
www.riverninjaoutfitters.com
(989)802-1125
riverninjaoutfitters@gmail.com
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