Tenkara guide Lance Milks went for it and got a nice tenkara tattoo. Here is his story:
“I’ve been playing around with ideas for a tattoo that showed my love for fly fishing. I had some good ideas but couldn’t settle on any one. I could have gotten a mayfly, stonefly, or caddis and people who know what they are would say, “he must fly fish” and they would be correct, but a Kebari not only identifies me as a fly fisherman but also as a tenkara fisherman.
It tells a more precise story of who I am. Although I have been fishing tenkara since very early in its introduction to the US, for the past year and a half I have seen my passion for it really grow. I changed my guide business to tenkara exclusive, I’ve collected more rods, flies, and lines (to the notice of my girlfriend), I have travelled to and fished more places, and I have met some really cool people. In fact it took my girlfriend asking me last fall if I had used the new Ross reel she bought me for me to take out my 4wt. There are several things that I like about tenkara, simplicity, compactness for hiking, and being able to pick the water apart and fish it properly just to name a few. Jason Klass once asked me what I thought of tenkara. I responded by telling him that I had never fished a method in which I felt so intimately connected to the water. I still tell people that if you want to learn to read water fish with tenkara. I cant write this without also saying that the tenkara community is amazing. I have never seen such a wide network of people all sharing knowledge and experiences with each other as well as helping newcomers to the sport. I am proud to be a part of this group of people. I don’t know if you (Daniel) ever envisioned this all when you brought tenkara to the states, but as you can clearly see now it has become much more that a rod, a line, and a fly.
See you on the trail,
LanceMilks
www.appalachiantenkara.com
www.lmflyfishing.blogspot.com
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7 Responses to Tenkara Tattoo 6: Lance Milks
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One day I will get the courage, time, and $ to get me one. tj
Very cool Lance! I will never have the guts to get a tattoo because I’m too afraid of needles but I think it’s great that people are finding different ways to express their commitment to tenkara. Now if they had temporary tattoos, that would be a different story.
Jason, we will have a henna tattoo both at next years Summit.
Jason, maybe We should make henna tattoos and sell them . 😎
By cance, I met Lance at Gander Mountain in Greensboro NC. It was blind luck I decided to ask him about fly fishing and Tenkara, and it was then, he showed the tattoo on his wrist. I knew I was in the presence of an expert fly fishermen. Spent a good twenty minutes picking his brain on the history of Tenkara, rod designs and how to get into Tenkara the propper way. He was so genuine and welcoming to the craft, I bought a SATO rod the next day. Wish I could find the business card he gave me, I’d love to plan a guided Trout trip someday. Have yet to fish outside the piedmont area. Pleasent fellow.
Love the Tattoo!!! I would like to get the Logo Tattoo, But it would require Daniels Approval, as it is his logo and I wouldn’t want logo copyright infringements against me! My husband is a Tenkara guide here in the Bitterroot Valley in Montana. We Love to Tenkara all year long!
Hey Bonnie, by all means get the tattoo! We’d never claim infringement on something so personal