Sherry and I attended a seminar put on by Daniel the owner of TenkaraUSA and Dr Ishigaki flew in from Japan to speak to us about the origins of Tenkara fly fishing, give a casting demonstration for those at the SF Fly Fishing Club, and demonstrate how to tie a Tenkara Kebari fly. It was a fun day at the angling clubs lodge and casting pool.
Daniel Galhardo, Dr Ishigake, and Masaki Nakano, the Dr's translator, preparing for the casting demonstration. He could easily cast a 19 foot leader and line with his 15 foot rod.
We all met at Daniel's home that evening and before we left for dinner and after sharing thoughts about Tenkara and admiring the 14 nets Daniel has built, begun or is in the process of building, Dr. Ishigaki presented a gift to Sherry and I. This was completely unexpected from a guest in our country. We were presented with a hand carved and painted trout pin and scissors.
I am afraid to use them for fear of breaking a fin off of such a nice gift. I'll need to be very careful!
We'll be fishing tomorrow outside of Yosemite and I'm looking forward to learning more from the man known as the Tenkara King in Japan. He does all this on his own dime by the way. He loves teaching others about Tenkara.