Collaborative Events

Luong Tam of Tenkara Tanuki will be hosting Tenkara Boot Camp in the Western NC mountains! The 1.5 day event will take place on May 17th and 18th in and near Brevard, NC. On Saturday, May 17th, expect a full day of demonstrations and lecture-style presentations at the Mary C. Jenkins Community center by Luong Tam of Tanuki Tenkara, Robert Worthing of Tenkara Guides LLC, Amanda Hoffner, also known as Lady Tenkara Bum of Heritage Tenkara Project and Tenkara Angler, and local tenkara fishing guides with privileges in the national forests in Western North Carolina and surrounding areas.  On the next day, Sunday, May 18th, there will be a few morning hours of a hands-on workshop and presentations at Headwaters Outfitters in Rosman, NC.

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Amanda Hoffner of Heritage Tenkara Project is organizing the event and will be a presenter and volunteer instructor for this first East Coast edition of the bootcamp. After helping at the Eastern Sierras bootcamp back in September last year, she was encouraged to see the local (and not so local) tenkara camaraderie and the number of women who attended the event and stayed locally over the weekend to fish and meet other tenkara anglers. She chose this area in Southern Appalachia specifically to hopefully bring in people from around the country to explore Western North Carolina after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Please feel free to enjoy the town of Brevard and the Western North Carolina communities as they are particularly dedicated to the beauty of the area and have been economically hit hard by lack of tourism. If you are lucky enough you might even catch a glimpse of a white squirrel! This is not a joke. Google it.

We have recruited two western North Carolina tenkara guides, Ben Colonnese of Fixed Line Appalachia and Chris Jameson of Trout Trails, to present their local expertise of Southern Appalachia trout fishing. Please feel free to reach out to them to inquire about guided tenkara fishing trips over this weekend and beyond. Sunday after the morning skills workshop would be the perfect time to book a half day with the guides. Remember to mention your participation in the bootcamp event for the discount when booking!

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Along with some locally sourced tenkara and brook trout goodies, Heritage Tenkara Project has acquired a few items to be raffled off at the Bootcamp for the weekend event. The raffle includes guided tenkara trips with Ben and Chris each with their individual tenkara guiding companies! All proceeds will benefit a local nonprofit organization dedicated to helping with post Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. Stay tuned to sneak peaks to the raffle prizes.

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Along with the two tenkara guides presenting on Saturday, there will (hopefully) be other local tenkara guides available for booking and information on the other close tenkara fishing destinations of East Tennessee, North Georgia, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  

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Tickets for this event will go on sale in February with prices to be all inclusive of events listed in the schedule. There will be a limit as to the number of tickets available. The cost of the ticket will be for the event only and not for overnight accommodation. Please read on for the schedule of events, suggestions on local accommodations for staying overnight, and local fly outfitters and tenkara guides.  

 

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, May 17
8am-4pm: Presentations, Mary C Jenkins Community Center, 221 Mills Ave, Brevard, NC 28712
530pm – 830pm: Social gathering, Ecusta Brewing, 451 Ecusta Rd, Brevard, NC 28712

Sunday, May 18
8am-11am: Hands-on tenkara skills and demos, Headwater Outfitters, 25 Parkway Rd, Rosman, NC 28772

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Local Resources:

Tenkara Guides:
Ben Colonnese, https://www.fixedlineappalachia.com/
Chris Jameson, https://www.trout-trails.com/
Arran Kerr, https://www.hellbenderoutfitterstn.com/

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Fly Shops:
Headwater Outfitters, 25 Parkway Rd, Rosman, NC 28772
Hendersonville Outfitters, 144 3rd Ave W, Hendersonville, NC 28792
Davidson River Outfitters, 49 Pisgah Hwy #6, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768

Accommodations:
Airbnb (search Brevard, NC) has MANY options for local overnight stays
Foggy Bottom Cabins (https://www.foggybottomcabins.com/direct-booking)
Dupont Yurts (https://www.dupontyurts.com/new-page)
 

Camping:
Davidson River Campground
The Adventure Village (https://www.theadventurevillage.com/)