Go TENKARA with US?

Go TENKARA with us?

I discovered TENKARA when I was a small child.
Then, this spring, when I was in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, where I work, I heard that Nikko is said to be the birthplace of TENKARA, and my memories suddenly came flooding back.
I heard that there was a unique fishing method called “Nikko TENKARA”, in which people used to spend days in the mountains like Matagi, catching char and other fish that they sold to inns and restaurants.
Apparently, such people were called “professional fishermen”.
There is no such thing as a professional fisherman in modern times, and mountain stream fishing has a strong negative impression of being an old man’s fishing. On the other hand, TENKARA has spread overseas and is gaining popularity under the name “TENKARA”, especially in America, where there are various TENKARA organizations and even original rods are sold.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that “TENKARA is one of the cultures that Japan can be proud of.”

Encountering with TENKARA ANGLER

The most representative business tool today is the Internet.
In particular, Google in the United States is a very good search site, and when I typed in “TENKARA”, I immediately found many articles.
One of them was “TENKARA ANGLER” by Michael Agneta.
Without thinking, I sent an inquiry email. I’ll never forget the subject line of the email: “Go TENKARA with us?”
A few days later, miraculously, I received a reply from Mike. “What an interesting thing to say.”
This was how we met.
I think Mike was confused by the email from an unknown person in Japan.
But he was sincere and listened to me.
We also occasionally did online MTG and got to know each other.
After many such conversations, we finally decided to actually visit America.
Our Japanese group visited the United States from October 11th to 17th, and from October 12th to 15th we met up with the American group to play TENKARA.

About Colorado

I think there are many people who have often heard of it, but have never actually been there.
Please do your own research for the details, but the state is located at the southern end of the Rocky Mountains, slightly west of the center of the continental United States, and has a high altitude overall, with the state capital Denver at an altitude of about 1,500 meters, and the state where we stayed at Estes. It is approximately 2,300m at Spark.
When you hear the word “Boulder,” some people may think of it as a place for high-altitude training for marathons and other events, but Boulder is also located in Colorado.
We are shameless and learned for the first time from Mike on our visit to the United States that Colorado is one of America’s leading fishing meccas.

DAY1

Laughing Grizzly (Fly shop)

I was taken to a fry specialty store called “Laughing Grizzly”.
The store’s electronic bulletin board flashes “CLOSED” in red.
Ignoring that, Mike knocked on the door and a man and a dog jumped out.
He is the store owner and the signboard dog.
The inside of the store was the same as in Japan, but they had a great inventory of fly materials and the fries themselves, and the owner was friendly and gave advice.
It seems like cream fries are good these days.
What surprised me was the fishing license. In addition to checking my passport, there were several other items listed on the license sheet, including height, weight, and eye color. In Japan, most of the time you just have to pay, so I felt a big difference.
It can be used throughout Colorado, and a five-day pass costs about $45, the same price as in Japan.

Pumphouses Brewery

For lunch that day, at the recommendation of the fly shop owner, we went to a restaurant run by a nearby brewery.
As expected of America. It also had the elements of a sports bar, with merchandise from local sports teams lined up all over the place. I heard that the football season has started and it’s very lively at night.
We refrained from drinking beer since we had to drive, but since we came to America, we decided not to eat hamburgers, so we each ordered one. Although the taste was exceptional, the portions were authentic-sized and quite large. Coupled with the juiciness of the meat, I couldn’t finish the potatoes… After the meal, the three Japanese people agreed, “Let’s have something light like a salad tonight.”

ESTES Park

This town, located approximately 2,300 meters above sea level, is apparently popular as a summer resort, and many people visit on weekends.
It’s like Karuizawa in Japan, with all kinds of stores, including supermarkets and Starbucks.
The big difference from Karuizawa is that wildlife is common in the city, as it is located at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a deer called elk, and it’s about twice as big as the deer you see in Nara, Japan. huge. If you were hit by something like this, you might not be injured, but the locals say, “It’s okay because it’s quiet.” I have no choice but to believe.

Windcliff Bear Cove

The lodge that Mike arranged for us had four bedrooms, with two rooms each shared between Japan and America. There is a bath and shower, and the kitchen is very well equipped, including a dishwasher and a large oven.
The best part is the view from the deck, where a picture postcard-like scene unfolds before your eyes.
I truly thought that there was no other luxurious place like this. I can watch it forever.
At this point, Matt and Jonathan joined us from the American side, and all members were assembled.

Tenkara friends

There are a total of 6 members this time, 3 from America and 3 from Japan.
<USA>
Mike: Lives in Florida. Editor of TENKARA ANGLER
Jonathan: Lives in Colorado. Master of tying
Matt: Lives in Illinois. A fierce man who drove 1,500km to Colorado in his private car. Master of mainstream fishing
<JAPAN>
Takashi: Runs an outdoor activity company. Also called korosuke.
Aki: Akihiro. I work as a fishing guide in Nikko City.
Hiro: Hiroyuki. Coordinator this time. While working at a consulting company, he spends all his time fishing.

Gift exchange

The purpose of this time is “Alternating current”.
For this reason, we, the Japanese team, have four types of T-shirts “Sebatake-kun T-shirts” (T-shirts featuring Yuzo Sebata, also known as the “old man of the valley’”), “Yuzo Sebata’s kebari”, “curry rice”, and “Fruche”. prepared.
On the other hand, the American side gifted TENKARA USA’s “AMAGO” mainstream tenkara rod and line/fly set for each person.
I had told them beforehand that the Japanese group didn’t have any mainstream tenkara tools, and they said they would lend them to me, but I never expected them to give me one as a gift.
It’s something you can’t buy in Japan, but to be able to “immerse yourself” in America is truly a “treasure of my life”.

Fruce’s magic!!

I don’t think many people know that “Fruce” is a coined word made from “fruit” and “dolce” (an Italian word for anything sweet).
When I was asked, “What does Fruce mean?” I simply answered, “It’s an abbreviation for “Fruit” and “Grache” (Thank you in Italian).”
This fruit cheese is easy to make as long as you have milk, and there is no one who doesn’t like it.
We made this fruit with curry rice. I concentrated all my attention on the curry and rice, but when I tried it, the fruit was overwhelmingly popular. It can be said that it was highly praised.
I thought I was there to exchange Tenkara fishing, but it turned out to be Fruche’s business…

DAY2

Wild Basin

The first day of Tenkara fishing in America was in a basin called “Wild Basin”.
This is within Rocky Mountain National Park, so an entry fee is required. To make matters worse, there are trash cans in the parking lot, and there is no trash on the promenade. As expected from America. We will collect fees for proper management. We want only people who understand this to come… We are embodying this idea.
Fishing in the Wild Basin is very tough, with water temperatures only 4 degrees. In the end, after 2-3 hours of fishing, I got a bow.
The mountain formations are not much different from those in Japan, but they are all easily accessible from promenades, and rather than going up a mountain stream like in Japan, it’s more like pinpoint fishing, moving along the promenade, and so on.

Big Thompson River

Based on the Wild Basin results, I decided to go to a place with high water temperature, and came to the Thompson River below Lake Estes (dam).
This place is also rather close to the main stream, with a paved road beside it and cars whizzing by. American fishing spots are easily accessible by car.
Although the chance time came in the evening, the fishing was slow due to the number of anglers coming in during the day.
As this situation continued, Takashi made the call just when he thought it was about to go up.
The one I caught was a brown trout.
It was a really valuable fish that I caught under difficult conditions.
By the way, the rod I used was a TENKARA USA’s “AMAGO” that I received as a gift. This means that he was able to enter the soul in his hometown.

The destructive power of New York pizza!!

On this day, the Americans prepared New York pizza because they said it was delicious. It’s a popular restaurant with long lines, especially in the evening.
Since it’s a New York pizza, the crust is thick and the portion is huge.
It is about 50cm in diameter, and in Japan it is not available in L size, but is called “mega size”.
After eating two pieces, I can’t eat anything else.
Americans are so big that they eat this kind of food without any hesitation.

Magic Fly

Jonathan made us fries every night.
The craftsmanship is excellent, and the finished product is beautiful.
In addition, I use unexpectedly small hooks, such as #18 and #20.
This kebari catches fish like magic.
“Tiny, tiny” was Jonathan’s favorite phrase, and he secretly nicknamed him “Tiny Jonathan”.

DAY3

Rich nature of the Rocky Mountains

The area we visited this time is the southern tip of the Rocky Mountains.
The altitude is over 2,000m, and even in October the temperature can drop below zero in the mornings.
However, there is still a rich natural environment here, and there are people who protect it.
There was a traffic jam along the way.
Just when I thought something was going on, a herd of elk (big deer) was crossing the road.
Naturally, the elk are the priority. The car waits silently for them to cross.
This is the land of wildlife.
Everyone who visits understands this and is willing to go through the trouble and burden accordingly.
It was originally a wildlife land. That’s where humans get in the way. Naturally, I will try my best not to cause any inconvenience. This takes time and money. Therefore, the burden is on the visitor…if you think about it, it’s pretty obvious. But I think this is what makes it sustainable.

Lake TENKARA

It’s unthinkable in Japan, but in America people do tenkara even in lakes.
It doesn’t seem to be anything special.
The trick seems to be to “just keep fishing.”
Although the result was a bow, it was a moving experience to be able to fish in a picture postcard-like scenery.

Fern Lake Trail

This is the main part of our fishing trip.
You can go to the deepest source in this area, and the fish are very abundant.
We split into two groups and went fishing and enjoyed Tenkara to our heart’s content.
Brown trout and brook trout are the main species.
By the way, the first brown trout ever stocked in Nikko were actually from Colorado. In other words, we are fishing with our ancestors, and with some strange feelings I felt that we had not just come to fish.

DAY4

South Platte River

Today is the last day of tenkara fishing in America.
This time, at the suggestion of the American side, we decided to try “mainstream tenkara”, so we came to this river. It was about 200km from Estes Park, where I stayed.
That’s just a little further away. As expected of America.
Now, of course, the rod used here is the TENKARA USA’s “AMAGO”.
The kebari used is “Magic Fly” by Jonathan.
They are the strongest combination.
This river seems to be a fishing mecca, and you can see many anglers along the way.
Most of the fish seemed to be fried, and there wasn’t even a single tenkara.
We immediately started playing tenkara, and in this river with the most abundant fish, we could catch fish.
The size of the trout was usually over 30cm, and some brown trout were close to 50cm.
If you look around you, you won’t be able to catch that many fish…you can catch tenkara fish.

When we say goodbye

Fishing on the South Platte River continued until sunset.
The American side looked a little taken aback by the tenacity of the Japanese side…
After the event, we said our farewells in the parking lot.
We also have to catch a return flight the next morning.
The people of America have been really nice to us these past four days.
Even though they were using their own vacation time, they took care of us until the very end and gave us the best tenkara fishing experience in America.
Most of all, the treasure for us is that we have made friends across the ocean in the United States through tenkara fishing.
This encounter and memory must never be forgotten.
And we must be grateful to nature for providing us with such wonderful experiences and friends.

Go TENKARA with us?

These words were the title of the first email I sent to Mike.
I can’t find anything else to say other than thank you to Mike for opening such a strange e-mail from a stranger in Japan and responding so earnestly.
Mike’s friends also provided the best hospitality in America.
Four months have passed since the “Go TENKARA with us?” email, and our visit to the US has ended successfully.
However, our purpose is to leave Tenkara fishing behind.
My goal is to protect nature and connect the culture and history of the people who live there by loving tenkara and spreading the word.
To that end, I think we must continue to spread these words to as many people as possible.

“Go TENKARA with us?”