Sasamagawa Revenge

Last weekend I spent two whole days fishing the Sasamagawa River.

Saturday (3-29-08):

Clear skies and light wind. I did a little better than the previous weekend. I caught two Amago trout. They were both small, one was 15 cm and the other 16 cm.Of course Mr. Sakai-san caught the largest fish, a nice 22 cm Amago (below)
Sunday (3-30-08):

AM overcast skies turning to rain around noon. Unfortunately Mr. Sakai-san was not able to join us this day. But I did have the pleasure of fishing with Oguchi Shuhei-sama, founder and chief editor for Tsuribito-sha, the parent company for Fly Fisher Magazine. Mr. Oguchi-sama is 85 years young and it was quite an honor to meet him.

We had a large group Sunday. We had a nice lunch on the river bank complete with hot coffee. (left to right) Kiwi Yoko, Doko Ji, Oguchi-san, Shimizu-san, Satoh and Karematsu.
Mr. Shimizu-san caught a 15 cm Amago. He is a tenkara fisherman, the traditional Japanese form of fly fishing. It uses only a long rod with the line attached to the tip (no reel). The flies resemble mayflies emerging from the water (emergers). Mr. Shimizu-san would whip the fly down into the water about 1-2 inches deep, let it drift down stream, then pull it straight back out imitating the action of an emerger. Very interesting to watch. (below- Mr Shimizu tenkara fishing).
After a long cold rainy day of fishing we all went to a small onsen (hot springs) in the mountains nearby named Kurami Ochiaiso. We had a nice soak and a dinner party afterward. (below- I am wearing an antique Tenkara fishing hat (sugegasa) donated by Shimizu-san and Oguchi-san to the Lifestyle Design College.)

By the way, the folks at DK Littleton Outfitters in Greenville South Carolina posted one of our photos from Kanogawa on their website. (follow link below)

http://www.dklittleton.com/bragging.asp