Back from Japan, Part 2

Where were we again? Oh yeah, lunch time! It was raining pretty hard, so we headed back to the campsite/cabin for lunch. On the way back, we had to go around some rocks that fell into the road...

 

Mini landslide. The guys were clearly more worried about this than I was, but its no joke - there's a lot of extremely steep ground that can easily create landslides when it rains - but I knew I was in good hands with Go Ishii behind the wheel!

Soon we were back at the campsite, enjoying the leftovers of this stew from the night before, with soba noodles added. Thanks to Kura-san for this delicious vegetable and pork red-miso stew that kept me in good spirits, even with all the rain.

At lunch we talked about the state of Tenkara in Japan and the US, and some of the different players. Go told me about many of the anglers who had come to visit Japan so far, and it was great to hear this all from the Japanese perspective. Summary: go fishing in Japan.

I decided that it would be a good idea to use this post-lunch rest time while the rain slowed, to discuss flies.  Above is a nymph that imitates a local butterfly grub. It caught plenty of fish in the AM.

The flies above were tied by Kura-San in the kebari style. He used the dark-bodies for summer fishing, and was adamant about using the lighter bodied-flies in the early season/spring. I didn't have many with me, but luckily the ones I did bring were working fine, and I had not lost any yet!

The flies in the boxes above were tied by Otani-San, or mostly tied by him. He had an affinity for larger kebari, so he had a section of his box devoted to them in different colors. I noted that there were plenty with multi-colored bodies, but didn't really ask about that.

Above, flies tied by Kiwi (of the North River Blog and of "American Sakasa Kebari" blog-fame, which he was generous to tie for me to bring for the Japanese anglers.)

Soon the rain had slowed and pretty much stopped, so we geared up to head out for the afternoon. The plan was to fish "Tani" or tributary waters... similar to "Genryu" which, I learned, only applies to the true headwaters of a river, and not technically any-old tributary... good to learn this difference!

 

The skies were still cloudy and a Hawk flew overhead as we neared our tributary, recommended by Ajari-San the night before. Kura-San and Otani-San seemed to use the same (Oni?) rods they had used in the AM. However, being that I was finally fishing the small stream waters I was more used to at home, I wanted to switch to a smaller, more sensitive rod, because that's how I roll over here. Go Ishii generously offered me his Nissin Pro-Square, and again, I can't thank him enough! 

I had a nice chase to my fly above this pool - I had switched to a size 16 " the usual" just for fun, its a really productive trout fly for me in the Northeast US. No surprise that as soon as I had a nice run to fish, I had a couple of follows. Again showing me that light colors worked great here in the spring. Unfortunately no takes...  I watched a beautiful Amago follow the fly through the run I fished twice, but on the second follow, it saw me, and darted across and back to its hiding spot.

As I headed downstream to find the others, Otani-San was walking up with an Amago in his display tank. He wanted to show me the fish he caught with Kiwi's fly, above! Great moment. Skilled Japanese tenkara anglers using traditional kebari tied by an American... and catching fish. I felt like this was a great "full circle" moment for me and it brought a huge smile to my face. Thanks again, Kiwi, for the flies. They worked great!

Soon the rain was picking up and the alarm at the dam went off, telling anglers to clear the river for an upcoming water release. We weren't in any danger on the tributary, but figured it was a good time to call it a day. Everyone had hooked or landed fish and I sensed that it was, once again, time to start drinking and laughing and getting warm.

Soon we were joined by a few locals, who (if I heard correctly) were members of the local fishing collective, the group that controls the Tenkawa river and issues fishing tickets. We had a second Otani-San now (sitting where the first Otani-San was sitting the night before, on the left, in this photo.) Slightly confusing? It mattered not, everyone was in good spirits and happy to be in good company.

And I certainly cannot forget Minami-San, one of the locals who, upon seeing all the Daiginjo Sake I brought, got right back in his car and drove home and back to bring me a bottle of his local Daiginjo sake. What a treat! It was some kind of "local rice growers reserve" that was made by and for those who grow the rice, and, unlike the rest of this breweries' sakes, was not exported or widely available in Japan either. Thank you, Minami-San!

There was squid on the grill, and then Go Ishii busted out some prime sukiyaki-style beef (I think that's the name for this...) and had brought 3 different cuts/quality-levels. I exploded with Joy... let's be honest, after a week of seafood-heavy cuisine, the thought of pure beef on the tongue was as good as anything I could think of at the moment. And what a treat it was!

 

A splash of sake and soy, or not... both ways worked just fine, and the beef tasted amazing. More drinking and fun ensued.

As the level of intoxication increased to a level that was perfect for what was going on around me, Kura-san started having fun with the stew pot. We were out of stew, but he had lots of seaweed left. Hmm... Is this drunk food in Japan? Go suggested it would be too much seaweed and he was right. We didn't eat it, letting Kura-San and Otani-San finish it off. I resorted to snacking on cookies, which was another amazing treat.

At some point it got really late and the group dispersed. I stumbled into the cabin, finding that kura-san had turned in already. I turned the in-cabin propane heater to "blast" and got inside my sleeping bag. It would be close to freezing this night, and I was ready to catch up on all the lost sleep. I was out like a log, and awoke the next morning to snowflakes. Uh-oh.

In the AM it was clear that conditions were not ideal for fishing... the dam had released a lot of water, and the river was flowing much higher both below and above the dam. That, coupled with the threat of snow had us packing up early to escape the mountains. I had a plane to catch the next day and couldn't let the weather get the better of me.

Reluctantly, I said goodbye to the others and loaded my stuff into Go's van. We headed back towards Kyoto to find a hotel and some food. It was really hard to say goodbye to my new friends, and I'm REALLY looking forward to the next time I can visit in Japan. Hopefully they can come to the US and I can show them the same hospitality they showed me!

On the way back, I spotted a tank of trout in front of a store in the town of Tenkawa. I don't know if they were for purchase as food, for bait, or to be used as some kind of marketing for the store, which was closed at the time. As I approached the tank, the fish went nuts. I didn't want to stress them too much so I left quickly. 

After driving through a bit of a snow storm, we were back in Kyoto for a cold, windy, but absolutely beautiful afternoon. We started with some epic traditional style Ramen - simple and nothing like the heavy pork-fat-laden broth of the Tonkatsu ramen I eat so readily at home. 

 

Before heading home, Go was nice enough to take me to a few amazing tourism-worthy sites in Kyoto. 

Nijo castle, the Tokugawa Shogunate home in Kyoto was epic. It included multiple levels of walls, moats, and a castle within a castle. Bonus - Dr Seuss trees, above.

 

Gardens, doors, architecture, sun, evergreen trees, moss and a sense of deep history... what a treat.

The view from the tower ruins over the inner moat.

Finally, it was time to say our goodbyes. I knew I had made an important friendship (or friendships) in Japan, and it meant a lot to me. I felt really lucky to have had such a great opportunity to learn from another culture on multiple levels. I'm looking forward to the next time I can see my new friends!

I spent the evening exploring Kyoto alone, a very new and exciting experience for me. I had been with various groups for 12 days and was enjoying time to just wander and do my own thing. I finished at Jam Hostel & Sake Bar... the best sake list I found in Kyoto by far. Prices were more than reasonable.

The flight home was way faster than on the way to Japan. I took some time to look out the window in the back of the plane while we flew over Alaska. It was just indescribable and a real treat to see what it looked like from the air. I'm not sure if this is part of the Brooks range, as my GPS was off while in airplane mode... but what an adventure it must be to traverse these mountains. I was feeling a little emotional and somewhat overwhelmed by all the amazing things I had seen and experienced over the last 12 days. This was an adventure to remember... but hopefully not just once in a lifetime. I plan to return to Japan, and so should you!

Back from Japan!

Japan! - Part 1

Wow, what a place. Why do I live in this godforsaken city of New York again? Everything in Japan just made sense. Well, not everything. But life in general. There is a natural flow that is nothing like the cities over here in the states. But I digress... we're supposed to be talking about fish, right?

 Oh, not that kind of fish?

What about this one?

Now we're getting a little warmer...

maybe that one??

So yeah, the fish market in Tokyo was pretty cool. Skiji Market. Go there, eat fish and other goodies in the area surrounding the market. Then go fishing...

Thanks to Vine Connections and some hard work, I was mostly in Japan to visit sake brewers, like Ozaki-San, and learn about how they do things.

He took us to an amazing mountain Inn, or Ryokan, with Onsen, or natural hot-springs. What an experience.

While we were on our trip, we ate the most amazing foods and visited some incredible restaurants. The detail in the presentation, the beauty of the bowls, it was all a bit overwhelming.

 

After consuming more than enough sake to kill a small horse, I met up with Go Ishii in Kyoto, who was taught by Masami Sakakibara. He had put an amazing plan together to fish the Tenkawa river in Nara prefecture for some Amago trout. 

Go had an absolutely top-notch tempura meal scheduled to show me what Kyoto cuisine has to offer. It was a chef's table-style meal, and couldn't have been more perfect. The shiso-leaf wrapped trout was probably my favorite. I can't thank him enough for this amazing meal. I was so stuffed I couldn't even finish all my food, and that's rare for me!

 We left Kyoto with very full stomachs, ready to get to our campsite in Tenkawa. I was so tired and a little hungover because the last night of the work trip had been a celebration of epic proportions. I was apprehensive about the drive into the mountains, but knowing it wouldn't be that long, I was excited to see what this part of Japan looked like.

We left the highway and started winding through mountain towns. Apparently we took the long route, but I didn't even notice.

 

 There were lots of tunnels. So much easier to drive straight through then over or around...

  

I learned that trees planted after the war look like this, because they had to clear cut large sections of forest to build everything when they ran out of metal and other supplies.

 I was fading fast, and the road looked the way I felt. Luckily a few minutes after this crashing feeling crept over me, we were there!

Yuki-San and Ajari-San had the grill ready to go and I immediately caught my second wind.

I have a feeling they thought I'd be less than interested in the food they brought, because everyone seemed rather happy that I was so genuinely enthusiastic about what we were eating. I guess this is where the "New York in me" becomes a strength...

We had Sazai (sea snails) and Ise Ebi (Japanese Lobster) on the grill, along with a Nabe (stew) with vegetables, fried tofu and pork.

Of course, we had way too much wine and sake to accompany dinner with, and we drank most of it if not all of it by trip's end.

I absolutely loved the setup at the campsite. Each cabin could sleep 6-8 comfortably, possibly more (on the floor) and was set up for cooking. There was a covered porch, optional rain-curtain, and a large grill. Add the two portable pack and carry grills brought by the other guys, and we had a really luxury setup!

It was going to be cold at night, so I had an emergency blanket under my thermarest neo-air, and my western moutaineering caribou MF sleeping bag. This is my preferred setup when backpacking as well.

Woke up in the AM to a daytime view of the campsite, a foggy view of the mountains and the threat of rain. Checked out the river and couldn't believe the color. This was fresh water?! Sweet. I got some casting lessons in the parking lot, and tried out a few rods. Some were Japanese, others made in China, and an Oni Rod. I settled on the Daiwa Rinfu and absolutely loved it. Why not fish a rod that size if I could??

After Kura-san corrected my casting as best as possible, we headed to the office of the local fishing collective to buy our fishing tickets. In Japan, the rivers are not gov't regulated for fishing - each river is controlled and monitored by a local fishing collective. Its one of the few sources of income in these remote mountain towns.

On the way to the river we passed a few isolated homes, a few decaying cabins and a lot of beautiful forest. The roads were windy and narrow, and we soon were above the dams and into some beautiful water.

Kura-San lead the way down to the water and Go Ishii warned me to cross carefully, the dark rocks being crazy slippery and covered with perma-slime. I followed his instructions, stepping in the light patches of sand or less-slippery rock.

For some reason, it seemed like the hardest river crossing of my life! I felt like I was in slow motion. Maybe it was the unfamiliar river, the new place, a different feeling on the bottom of the stream... whatever it was, I needed to take a deep breath and take it all in.

Go showed me the ropes on the river and suggested where to cast. Otani-San and Kura-San wandered off to fish their own sections of river. There weren't any signs of fish where we were so we decided to move further up river. Good call. The pocket water began just above the rouch water you see in the photo above.

I watched kura-san fish, and he was into some fish right away. In very typical western fly-fishing fashion, I asked what fly he was using, and switched to the closest thing I had, which was basically a killer kebari style fly that I had tied last minute at home. Kura-San landed another fish while I tied on my fly.

I fished above him and got a hit almost right away but failed to set the hook. I saw a shadow dart up and knew I had ruined that pool for the moment. We moved up the stream. Go and Otani-San were somewhere behind us, but at this point it was just us, ready to hook some Amago!

Right above the little falls were a few nice pools and I was able to sight some fish moving in and out of the current. Kura-San took one pool and I took the next. He landed another fish:

I climbed around on the rocks above, set myself up to cast to the Amago I had my eye on, and lobbed my first "perfect" cast - delivering the fly right in ahead of the fish I had seen. 

BOOM! I had a hit. Fish on. I fought it for a moment, but the fish launched into some crazy barrel-rolls and worked itself off the hook. ARGH. I was frustrated a bit about not landing the fish, but also really ecstatic that my cast, presentation and a fly I tied in the states did the trick.

At this point, it was starting to pour, and everyone was cold and a little bit wet. We put our rods away and Go snapped a quick photo. To the left is Otani-san, and to the right is Kura-San. It was time to head back for lunch.

Speaking of which, it also happens to be time for me to hit the sack. So I'll make this a two-part post, and I'll update it with part 2 in the next few days.

More Sakasa Kebaris

Man is it cold in New York. I feel like we've been in this "deep freeze" forever. Walking the streets of Brooklyn, the usual construction, slush, and ice make for a depressing combo. Thankfully there's always someone to provide some comic relief just when you need it most...

I'm really looking forward to escaping this cold and getting to Japan for some more typical Spring weather. Forecast calls for mid 40's and into the 50's for the next 10 days and I couldn't be happier, even if there is a bit of rain too. (Hopefully not too much!)

I've been using a lot of peacock herl for the most recent Kebaris I've been tying. This is mostly because I stumbled upon an amazing post, somewhere on Adam Trahan's forum - Tenkara-Fisher.com, and it linked me to a Japanese tyer's site:

 http://www.hi-ho.ne.jp/amago/b-streams/flytying/tenkara3.html#top

This amazing site shows the local patterns by region, historically speaking, for Japanese fly fishing. Pretty cool. I urge you to take some time to look at this slightly old but VERY useful resource. Its amazing all the work this gentleman has done to research, re-create, photograph, and reference many flies from different regions in Japan.

My attempt at a Kumazaki Kebari - a dry fly.

I've been using mostly silk threads, purple seems popular. Hard to choose a color, but a few videos I watched suggested darker colors. The above fly was created by Shintaro Kumazaki, and was featured and named in a video made by Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA. This is a dry fly, unlike most of the others I've been tying here.

This version, above uses a Persimmon-dyed silk cord for an eye. Tied on a Gamakatsu eyeless hook I got from TenkaraBum.

Here I tried using some striated yarn and more peacock herl, which also came from TenkaraBum

Another Takayama Sakasa Kebari.

I'm a HUGE fan of Fran Betters' patterns, especially the "Ausable series." I spend too much time fishing in the Adirondacks, and I've come to trust and love his flies. The flies above and below are both tied with Fran Betters' orange-died Australian Opossum. Let's see how the japanese trout like it... the Brookies over here sure do. 

Much credit is due to Kiwi of American Sakasa Kebari Blog for turning me onto his "Ausable Kebari" and it got me into using this stuff for my Kebaris as well.

Here's a fly I took right from the Japanese site I linked to above. Given that I'll likely be fishing in the Tenkawa area instead of the original plan to hit Takayama area, I found some flies on the site and tied one up on a size 18 Gamakatsu barbless scud hook, readily available at a few fly shops I frequent (unlike most of the other hooks which I buy online.)

Hopefully they'll catch me some fish! Keep your fingers crossed for me that the water levels are not too high, because I need a lot of luck this early in the season.

So goodbye for now, snowy New York... 

Stay tuned for more when I return from Japan, there will likely be lots more to share!

Tying Sakasa Kebari Flies for Japan

Well hard work really does pay off sometimes! I've won a work-related trip to Japan, thanks to Vine Connections, one of the premier Sake Importers in the USA. Check out their selections some time! Of course, being a Tenkara angler, this meant I just HAD to arrange some Tenkara fishing for the end of my trip. This of course, will be me:

Tsurikichi Sanpei (Fishing Enthusiast Sanpei) is a Manga about fishing and mountain life in Japan - which is exactly what I'll be participating in! Meanwhile, back in real life, I've been connected with Go Ishii in Japan, who is helping me arrange everything. And I couldn't be more thankful! If you have time, check out this link to an interview of Go Ishii by Adam Trahan, of Tenkara-fisher.com

http://www.tenkara-fisher.com/content.php?208-Interview-with-Go-Ishii 

In preparation, I've been reviewing soft hackle wet-flies, and specifically the Japanese Sakasa Kebari. A Kebari is the Japanese version of a North Country soft hackle fly. Or should I say it the other way around?? The North Country spiders and similar soft hackle patterns are generally minimalist flies. Here's an example called "February Red" tied by Alan Petrucci of the Small Stream Reflections Blog. Check out the links section to the right if you'd like to visit his blog! 

February Red tied by Alan Petrucci of Small Stream Reflections blog.

Now take the hackle and reverse it forward... and you've got a Kebari!

One major benefit of the Kebari is the way the forward-facing hackle can be "pulsed" or manipulated in the water to create a very buggy-looking presentation. I found a great video posted by Jason Klass on youtube that shows one in action! Link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cflrh-c7eM

 

As I began tying some of my own Kebaris, I reached out to Kiwi, who ties for the Tenkarabum.com store - he pointed me in the right direction. Luckily I had purchased a few Kebaris from him previously that I could use as examples. There are a lot of patterns to check out on his blog, and I included a few examples, below.

"The Isabella" tied by Kiwi of The North River Blog

"Mohonk Kebari" tied by Kiwi of The North River Blog

I also reached out to Chris of Tenkarabum to order one of his "one fly tying kits" for the Takayama Sakasa Kebari to get myself started. This is particularly awesome because I'll be fishing in Takayama. I received my Kebari tying kit in 2 days and got right to tying. My first flies were not as amazing as Kiwi's flies, but as he's rightfully pointed out to me before, sloppy flies catch fish! I tied some with the materials from Chris' kit and some with materials from my existing stash:

 

I started with some Danville's waxed thread and partridge.

 

Bright orange catches the attention of the Brookies in the Adirondacks... will it work in Japan?

 

Here I tried a wool-bodied hare's ear variant.

 

Red Sakasa Kebari with wire ribbing.

This one is my favorite. I used Danville's waxed thread, green wire, and the dyed-orange Australian Opossum from the Fran Betters "lineup."

I know the wire wrap isn't "traditional" with the Sakasa Kebaris. From what I've read, the key is to use the water features to sink the fly down and present it as nature would. Brilliant. However, I'll definitely be fishing very early season, and any advantage to get some faster sinking action seems appropriate, so I added the wire wraps.

This is an Amago Trout. Photo lifted from an unidentifiable source online... not my photo or fish.

I encourage you to tie some of your own Sakasa Kebari flies and fish them this season. While you're at it, won't you wish me some luck in catching these insanely beautiful wild trout that call Japan home?