Today I uploaded a large batch of photographs from the Tenkara Summit and a few funny things happened. Without me wishing it, Google combined a few images into multi-photo compositions. And, it combined others into animated Gif files. Some of them worked out well – pretty smart system. But, I didn’t want them, nor need them. So much for using Picasa for our photography needs, time to find a new service. But, in the meantime I’ll share some of the funny things it did today:

Here’s TJ, happy to be in a Virginia brook trout stream

And a collage of 3 photos of him:

The water was running high, covering the base of many trees. I spent sometime shooting this one.

Here’s John working on a dead-drift. I wish he had caught a fish right there:

And, here he’s working on a different section of the stream in Virginia

And, TJ awestruck by the sudden snowfall we experienced:

And, TJ having fun with the bluegrass music in the background:

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Tenkara Summit 2013 – Images by Justin Ide

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Here’s the link to get your t-shirt: http://www.zazzle.com/tenkara_summit_2013_shirt-235190548398762435

Photo by Justin Ide:

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Photo by Justin Ide

Photo by Justin Ide

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SCHEDULE:

Day 1  (May 11):

Walk-ins welcome! $25 fee includes lunch

Location: 1400 East Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801

9AM – 9:45 Welcome remarks and presentation by Daniel

10:00-12:00 - Clinics, vendor tables, silent auction:
Clinics:
1) Fly Tying with Jason Klass, Loften Duprez, Misako Ishimura, John Geer
2) Casting with Daniel
3) Tenkara Knots

Vendors:
1) Mossy Creek (TUSA rods/lines/etc; waders, etc)
2) Tenkara USA (event T-shirts and showing rods)
3) Zimmerbuilt (packs)

Authors:
1) Kevin Kelleher and Misako Ishimura
2) Dave Dirks

12:00-1:00 - Lunch, provided
1:00-1:20 - Video presentation by Daniel Galhardo, preview of upcoming DVD
1:30-2:15 - TU presentation, Seth Coffman
2:20-3:00 - Different techniques with a tenkara rod, Tom Sadler
3:00-3:50 - Tenkara in Virginia, and Local waters – Brian and Colby Trow
3:50-4:00 - Final remarks, directions to Day 2 by Daniel and Tom Sadler
6:00-10:00 - Skype with Japanese anglers on a stream, then Dinner/Band/Party

Day 2 (May 12):

10AM – 12PM free demos on the river at Riven Rock Park. Participants can stay past the time at the park.

12PM- 1PM there will be a lunch provided to participants who paid for the day 2 registration (now sold out)

1:00PM – 5PM paid participants will be guided to nearby waters to fish (sold out)

FAQ

Q. What should I bring?

A. For day 1, you do not need to bring anything. We’ll just look forward to your presence and participation. For day 2, which will be held outside, we recommend bringing sunscreen and appropriate clothing. We also recommend bringing your own tenkara equipment to ensure we have enough gear for everyone and can give you tips on using your own equipment. If you’re participating in the guided portion, waders and wading boots are recommended but not required. Keep an eye on the weather, there is a chance of rain – Weather Forecast.

Q. Will equipment be available for sale?

A. Yes. Mossy Creek will have a stock of tenkara and other fishing gear (e.g. waders) available. However, there is no guarantee of availability. We recommend bringing your own.

Q. Will there be event t-shirts available?

A. Yes. We have made a limited run of t-shirts with the artwork designed by Anthony naples and will be making that available at the summit. Shirts will cost $25.

Q. Can I still register?

A. For day 1 you can still register here, and walk-ins are welcome. There is a $25 fee, which includes lunch. Unfortunately we are completely sold out for the guided portion of day 2.

Q. What flies should I bring?

A. That depends on your philosophy when it comes to flies. I was there last year to teach a class, was told that I should use specific patterns but did very well with the Ishigaki kebari. Here is a post on fishing there, and here is a video shot at Mossy Creek. 

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When I was about 10, I remember seeing a neighbor using this very funny contraption; it had no electric cables nor an engine. It made no noise. He just pushed it around while some blades seemed to make the grass shorter. I couldn’t fathom how that tool could possibly cut grass. It looked so old school. I thought to myself the poor guy couldn’t afford an actual lawn mower. Nonetheless I was very intrigued.

Yesterday, for the first time, I had to mow my own lawn. But, before the lawn could be mowed I had to shop for my first lawn mower. There are many choices out there: electric or gas; self-propelled or push; cheap or expensive. I opted for simple.

I didn’t like the idea of getting a gas mower, it pollutes and I’d have to deal with gasoline. Plus, I remember how often my dad’s lawn mower seemed to fail or need some type of work. I read reviews for electric ones, but they were very discouraging: although now we have electric cars it seems the technology hasn’t translated well into mowers and batteries tend to fail – plus, they are pricey. Then, the old push reel mower came into view.

Over the years I have seen many people compare tenkara to simpler alternatives in their chosen hobby. “Single-speed bikes are the tenkara of bikes”; “Holga cameras are the tenkara of photography“; “Bow-and-arrow hunting is the tenkara of hunting.” I don’t think anyone has yet said that push reel lawn mowers are the tenkara of lawn mowing, and I suspect many will notice how the “reel” in the name makes this a specially ironic analogy.

Mowing the lawn had never been a chance to reflect in the past, all I could ever think of was shutting the damn noisy thing off and being done with it. But, it seems the lack of noise from an engine-driven lawn mower allowed me to actually think as I pushed the simpler mower around. Since all I tend to think about is tenkara, mostly what I thought about were the similarities between push-reel mowing and tenkara.

There were few things to know about this machine. It was simple. Eliminating the engine, like eliminating a reel, allowed for other things be rid of and not be distracted by. There are no cables attached to it, no gas or spark plugs to replace, no batteries to deal with. I felt a tenkara-like sense of freedom in that.

Like tenkara, a push reel mower may not be for everyone. If I fished lakes and targeted very large fish more often I probably would use a reel, and if my yard was bigger than 1/2 acre I probably would opt for a gas-powered mower. But, I suspect a few tenkara anglers who fell for tenkara for its simplicity may be drawn to the push-reel.

Sure, mowing the lawn is a chore, fishing is a hobby. But, the weird thing is, it actually felt fun to mow the lawn! It made me feel connected to my house. Rather than trying to rush through the chore, I was able to feel every bump in my yard and really paid attention to the landscape around me. I had some ideas for improving the yard that I don’t think I’d have with a noisy, fast-moving, powerful machine.

A side benefit to this connection to the land, and slower form of mowing, is that I found a set of nippers I had assumed I lost while fishing a few weeks ago. I wonder what would have happened if I had a powerful mowing machine running over it. The poor nipper would have been disintegrated right there, or it would have flown into the eyes of my neighbor’s kid.

There was a sense of satisfaction in knowing that now mowing the lawn depended a little more on me than on an engine. As in tenkara, there seemed to be more of a need for technique and awareness. For example, I couldn’t run over twigs on the lawn as I used to since this would jam the blade. At first this irritated me, then got used to it, and came to enjoy knowing where the twigs were. At the end, the lawn looked great and I put no new pollutants in the air.

“How do you reel in a fish if you have no reel?” may be the most common question we get with tenkara. And now, after 20 years, the question to “how do you mow the lawn without an engine?” has been answered.

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“To an English eye the native [Japanese] method of fly-fishing will be rude; but it is justified by its results.”

- Basil Hall Chamberlain in “Things Japanese”, 1890

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