Antonin de Siebenthal
I started fishing with my dad when I was about 6. Watching him, I learned how to read the water, progress stealthily and most importantly, cherish and respect the fragile nature that surrounds us.
One day, as I was preparing my gears to fish my favourite mountain lake, I came across an odd object in the basement, wrapped in a cotton bag, underneath a table. It was a Hardy, dating back to 1976. How can you catch a fish with that, I thought. I grew increasingly curious about how to whip this bamboo rod in the air to lure my favourite fish, the magnificent brown trout, and the following week, I was trying out this heavy but fascinating rod and caught my first fish in the Lake of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
As soon as the next season kicked off, I went back to the small mountain creeks I knew and started to get my first hold on branches along the bank. After lots of practise in my backyard and tutorials videos on how to cast, I eventually started to get some control on my line and fell in love with the technicity and active style that fly fishing embraces.
Shortly after, I had my dad hooked into it as well. Ever since, we travelled the world to fish together, discovering amazing places along the way; the Alps of France and Italy where the beautiful browns and marmorata trout hide in torrential waters, Canada where I caught my first salmon and slept in Mr. Roderick Haig-Brown’s cottage by the Campbell River in British Columbia, New Zealand where fish make your reel sing aloud every time, Colorado and New Mexico where sceneries, cowboys, cutthroats and rainbows give you the thrill, Hong Kong where tarpons and snakeheads await to ambush your fly and finally Japan where I have yet to discover its beautiful rivers and lakes.
Along with these unforgettable trips, I had the opportunity to meet wonderful people, who have influenced the way I see our sport today and I truly thank them for that.
So, as you can imagine, I am very excited to be part of the Tokyo Fly Fishing and Country Club and I can’t wait to pursue my learning of this precious sport with its skilful and knowledgeable members.
Tight lines everyone!