Kazu: I started fly fishing a bit late, when I was 45 years old. A friend of mine asked me to go fishing and since that day I’ve been fascinated by it and by the beauty of trout. Later on, I started to do fish-related art because I wanted to have a way to catch the beauty of the trout without keeping the fish. Nowadays, I get requests of my fly-fishing art, and it has become my reason to live.
What kind of techniques do you apply?
Kazu: I do two main kinds of artwork. Pencil drawings and fish craft carvings.
For the first ones, I use fiber‐tipped pen with which I do the line drawings, and then use colored pencils and pastels to color them. To make the full-sized fish craft, I shave a block of wood first. Then, I color it with acrylic paint. Lastly, I put it all together with a backboard drawing and the piece is then finished.
What about fly fishing over there in Japan? What kind of fishing do you usually do?
Kazu: the number of people who fly fish here is really small, especially if we compare it with sea fishing and bass fishing which are popular in Japan, but the ones doing it are having fun at lakes and rivers.Personally, I use dry flies mostly. I’m using typical types of flies and now trying feather jig fishing, and “Tenkara” too this year. I’ve never done fly fishing in the sea yet but I want to. I go mostly for trout with a handmade bamboo rod my friend gave me, a couple Hardy and Pflueger Medalist reels, and lots of Japanese Tiemco and Campanella hooks for the flies. If I had to visit new waters, I would go to Canada, New Zealand and the US.
Thanks, Kazu!
