Written by Daniel

The idea for a Tenkara Summit originated last year, when Dr. Ishigaki saw pictures of a trip I took to Montana and told me he’d like to go there himself. He needed an excuse to travel abroad, so he asked if I could arrange for him to do a presentation in Montana about tenkara. Not finding other events that matched his schedule, I decided to put up our own. And the Tenkara Summit was born. It really is just an excuse to go fishing in some pretty cool places.

This year’s Tenkara Summit is being held in Salt Lake City, Utah, and we are fortunate to have the participation of 4 special guests from Japan. They travelled to the US at my invitation specifically to show us how they fish tenkara, how they tie tenkara flies, and even how to make a tenkara line – and of course, they were all just looking for a good excuse to go fishing in a new place.

Our guests arrived in San Francisco yesterday. And, today we arrived in Salt Lake City. We have packed a lot in just under two days. So far I took them out for a tour of San Francisco, hitting the touristy highlights of the city; and less than 24 hours later we were fishing in Utah. They are thrilled to be here and really looking forward to meeting all who come to the Summit.

Here are pictures I took yesterday and today.

Left to Right: Daniel, Mr. Ishihara, Mr. Tanaka, Mr. Yamakawa, Yamakawa’s friend who came to greet him at the airport, and Dr. Ishigaki

Mr. Yamakawa, Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Ishihara looking at the Golden Gate Bridge – no tenkara fishing yet…soon.

AND, of course, pictures of some fish we caught today and more fishing pictures. Based on the fishing today, I simply can’t wait for what the next 5 days hold for us!

Tenkara Anglers Hold Convention in Salt Lake City

For Immediate Release

Salt Lake City, Utah - Practitioners of a Japanese style of fly fishing called “tenkara” will hold a convention July 28^th to 29^th in Salt Lake City, drawing anglers from around the world.

This weekend, anglers who practice an unusual form of fly fishing known as “tenkara” will participate at a second annual event dedicated to the method. The Tenkara Summit will be held at the University of Utah Campus.

Tenkara is unique in that unlike Western fly-fishing, no reel is used.  Instead, the line is affixed directly to the rod.  The method originated in Japan and was introduced to the USA by Daniel Galhardo through his company Tenkara USA— the main sponsor of the event.  Since its introduction in 2009, tenkara has seen a steady rise in popularity in North America, South America, the EU, and Australia.

A similar event was held last year in Yellowstone National Park. This year the interest was so great that more than twice the number of participants will be attending, flying in from all over the US to enjoy the event and the fishing in Utah. Around 300 people are expected to attend the event, far exceeding Tenkara USA founder Daniel Galhardo’s expectations.

Galhardo says, “The Tenkara Summit, an event I started last year, is intended to bring together the passionate community of tenkara anglers from all corners of the US and beyond.”

Several Japanese tenkara experts will be coming from Japan especially to attend and give demonstrations. Galhardo sees this as an important step in preserving tenkara as it is translated to a Western audience.

“We’re very proud to count on the special participation of very experienced tenkara anglers from Japan, including Dr. Ishigaki, the most prominent authority on tenkara. With the Tenkara Summit I want to spread the knowledge about tenkara and how it is practiced in Japan”, says Galhardo.

The Tenkara Summit is being co-organized by Salt Lake City-based Tenkara Guides, LLC—a company specializing in guided tenkara fly fishing trips.  They will also be giving guided trips and clinics throughout the event.

For more information, visit www.tenkarausa.com/summit 

About Tenkara USA

Tenkara USA is a fully independent, US-based company. Founded in 2009 by Daniel W. Galhardo. Tenkara USA is the first and company in the US dedicated to bringing the traditional method of Japanese fly-fishing, tenkara, to those in pursuit of a simpler and more effective way to fly-fish mountain streams.

About Tenkara Guides 

Tenkara Guides is a tenkara based fly fishing guide service specializing in Utah streams and rivers. They provide guided excursions using unique, effective, easy to learn methods of tenkara fly fishing perfectly suited to Utah’s waters. Their certified professional guides will design a unique trip customized to your schedule, level of experience, and craving for adventure.

Tenkara Summit 2012 to be held in Utah.

July 27-28, 2012.
Day 1: Salt Lake City, clinics and speakers
Day 2: Wasatch Mountain Range, demos and guided trips

Please RSVP here: www.tenkarausa.com/summit
UPDATE: Special participation by Dr. Hisao Ishigaki

Recently two of our customers, Erik and John, started organizing a tenkara gathering in Salt Lake City, Utah. I had been looking forward to returning to the area. The last time I had been there I spent a week fishing every day after work. The mountain stream fly-fishing in the area is phenomenal. That was pre-tenkara, and I had been looking forward to tenkara fishing in those mountain streams. I knew they would be tenkara-perfect. Indeed they were.

Below is a slideshow of the 4 days I spent in the area. Every day as perfect as it could be. On Thursday I arrived at the airport in late afternoon, checked into my hotel, and headed to one of my favorite streams. I called Erik up, and he was already there – mind you we had no plans to meet that afternoon, but we had a blast fishing together. Friday was a nice repeat, and it included John. Awesome company in small stream fishing. On Friday night I gave a talk at Western Rivers Fly Shop in SLC. They don’t currently carry our gear, but were very welcoming and eager to learn more about tenkara and have their customers also learn about it. The talk was followed by a great dinner at a sushi restaurant not far from the shop. Saturday we resumed the “talk” with on-stream demonstrations. We fished all day, caught some nice fish. More fishing Sunday on one of the most gin-clear streams I know. On Monday I headed up to Logan to meet with our dealers in the area. Round Rocks brought in a great crowd, many already avid tenkara anglers. The rivers were completely out of control and it was raining but I still gave the on-stream demonstration, on the stream that runs right behind their store. It was very cool to teach real tenkara to people that were so used to using it similarly to western fly-fishing.

Today I came to Bozeman and already have some great stories, which I hope to share soon, including tenkara fishing in the middle of an unexpected snow blizzard today. Tomorrow morning I’m heading on a 2-day backpacking trip with Ryan Jordan, founder of Backpackinglight.com. Definitely looking forward to this and to sharing it all with you. All in all a great time. Enjoy the pictures.