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Tenkara Summit

September 9, 2011 By Tom Sadler

Last month I traveled to West Yellowstone, MT for the first Tenkara Summit. More than 100 hundred people showed up to hear presentations, talk tenkara and see an on-stream demonstration.

Here is part of the write up by Daniel Galhardo on the Tenkara USA blog:

Originally we had expected, optimistically, that about 70 people would show up. The conference room was setup to accomodate 100 people, but that was not enough. Over 100 people showed up yesterday. People came from 23 different states, and from 3 different countries specially for the Summit (well, they did come to fish in Montana…). I’d really like to thank all those who came and helped make this an extraordinary event; it was the best crowd ever. Thank you!

The Tenkara Summit had the presence of special guests Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, the leading authority on tenkara in Japan; Chris Stewart of tenkarabum.com; Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies who gave a very passionate presentation about tenkara in Montana and showed some great clips of large fishing being caught; Ryan Jordan of backpackinglight.com as well as ryanjordan.com; and Tom Sadler who spoke about the advantages of using tenkara as a guide and as a way to introduce new people to fly-fishing so they can continue conserving the environment in the future.

Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, "Tenkara King"

Dr. Ishigaki is known as the “Tenkara King” in Japan. His presentation was a wonderful insight into the world of tenkara. He is a warm and charming story teller lacing his presentation with witty anecdotes of his tenkara exploits.

Chris Stewart, Daniel Galhardo and Dr. Ishigaki, share a panel discussion.
Ryan Jordan of Backpacking Light
Craig Mathews talks Montana tenkara

 

 

It was a special honor to part of the summit and to learn from fellow tenkara enthusiasts!

One personal highlight was to have lunch with Craig Mathews and Yvon Chouinard. Those two were the reason I got started with tenkara so it was a special treat to spend time with them both at the summit.

Dr. Ishigaki showed his tenkara chops during an on-stream demonstration.

gearing up for some fishing

 

Watching Japan’s Tenkara King put a tenkara rod through it’s paces was fascinating. It was also reassuring to see that my on tenkara technique was not so bad.

Tenkara King does his thing
Double team tenkara

 

 

Tenkara fans stay tuned!

January 13, 2011 By Tom Sadler

Looks like those of you who want to learn more about tenkara fishing are going to get a treat. My good friend Craig Mathews of Blue Ribbon Flies has been hinting in his newsletter about a tenkara adventure:

I will fish today. After a week of brutal cold windy conditions it looks like the weather might be favorable to spend a few hours on the river this afternoon. Tomorrow Phil and I will be fishing and filming using Tenkara rods. My good friend, Yvon Choiunard, called last week and asked for some Tenkara footage for the Patagonia website but due to the nasty weather we’ve not been able to get out. The forecast looks favorable so make sure you check out our blog for the fishing reports we will file on our next two afternoons of midge fishing on the river.

I have been waiting to see if Craig and Phil get their tenkara on. It looks like they did and we are in for a treat!
[Read more…] about Tenkara fans stay tuned!

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