PROFILE
His older brother Tomodairo and younger brother Keisuke are both professional fly fishermen. In their hometown of Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, they operate a fly fishing specialty store "WORLD WIDE ANGLERS," where they sell their original brands, etc. They also operate a YouTube channel and a managed fishing spot "Okazaki Trout Pond" to promote the culture of fishing. Instagram:@yutaro_sugisaka @keisuke.sugisaka
The excitement of preparing for the event is also a lot of fun.
Spring has arrived. In the world of fly fishing, the season is about to get going with the opening of the fishing season in many fields. This time, we visited the Kansa River in Shinshiro City, guided by the Sugisaka Brothers, who promote the culture and fun of fishing based in Aichi Prefecture.
I was studying abroad in the United States at the time, but my father suddenly told me to come home, and that's when I started fishing. I was studying abroad in the U.S. at the time, but my father suddenly told me to come back, and that's when I started fishing.
My father used to be a fisherman, and the family business was a supermarket, but he was also involved in the planning of fishing equipment. That's when he decided to bring us back from the U.S. and devote all of his business to fishing.
The father they are talking about is Kenji Sugisaka. He is a well-known figure in the world of fly fishing.
In the '70s, fly fishing was introduced as a cutting-edge lifestyle, and my father's generation was fascinated by this culture. I heard that the movie 'River Runs Through It' became popular in the 90s, and fly fishing became all the rage.
Originally, fishing as a lifestyle attracted a lot of attention, but it gradually evolved around the time my father and his family started fishing, and in the 2000s, it became more technique-oriented," said Keisuke.
It was around the late 2000s that the two Sugisaka Brothers returned to Japan. From there, they started going fishing every week with their father.
At first it was difficult to get good at it, and the difficulty outweighed the fun. But the more I tried, the more I got into it, and I went to all the rivers, lakes, and oceans. I followed my father on fishing adventures all over the world. I even went deep into the jungle in Bolivia. There are many famous fishing spots in the world, and we would always collect information about them, and when we found a good spot, we would go there on a trip.
In Bolivia, South America, they caught a golden fish called dorado, also known as the "river tiger."
It was the headwaters of the Amazon River, a beautiful river like a Japanese mountain stream, and there were golden fish over one meter long swimming in the water. When I gently approached the fish and threw a hair hook in front of it, it attacked me with tremendous force.
He jumped and had really great power!" (Kei Liang)
They have traveled all over the world to catch fish. Traveling around the world in search of fish is one of the best parts of fly fishing. It is like playing an RPG game.
There are fish that are coveted by fly fishermen all over the world, and anglers from all over the world travel in pursuit of them," says Tomodairo.
I contact my fellow guides around the country to get information on what's hot right now, but it's not that easy because I'm dealing with nature. Once when I went to Argentina, the river that was supposed to be there had dried up and disappeared. It took me two days to get there after traveling around Europe. It was such a sad experience.
