When: Friday April 21 – Sunday April 23
Where: Elkmont Campground
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (near Gatlinburg, TN)
Central Location: Campsites B9 & B10 for Gathering
There is no attendence fee to attend TenkaraCamp; which is sponsored by TenkaraAngler.com. Parking tags are required for all vehicles parking on Great Smoky Mountains National Park grounds for longer than 15 minutes starting March 1, 2023.
Streamside Clinics
Meet at Campsite B10 at 8:45 on Saturday morning. There will be free clinics starting at 9:00 and at 10:00. Participants can choose to to listen to 2 of these 3 leaders.
Leaders
Robert Worthing: Tactical Considerations for Tenkara Trout (Advanced)
Amanda Hoffner: Practical Skill Application in Moving Waters (Intermediate)
Jason Sparks: Tenkara/Fixed-Line Basics & Angler Mindset (Beginner/Novice)
The topics will be the leaders’ choice and will have some Q&A at the end of the session, time permitting. The topics will be repeated each hour. So choose your 9:00 & 10:00 speakers and find your way to their audience. At 9:50 Session 1 will wrap up and everyone can shift to their Session 2 choice which starts at 10:00.
At 11:00 this morning event wraps up. Everybody breaks for their lunch and prepares for an afternoon of fishing. Reminder – all weekend there will be experienced tenkara ambassadors available for conversation. Introduce yourself and ask questions.
Evenings Around the Campfire
We will be hosting casual “Meet & Mingle” on Friday and Saturday evenings around a blazing campfire at the B9/B10 Campsite.
The idea is that we all come together and introduce ourselves among the group. Many of us have met before over the years and others will be first timers to a tenkara gathering. Everyone is welcome and we look forward to chatting it up all evening long. There are always great conversations about tenkara, rods, lines, fish stories, children, life experiences, harrowing travel and “this one time at band camp…” type of stuff. This is all controversy-free discussion in good spirits of respect and new friendships.
Please consider donating a bundle of firewood for these evenings. Swing by B10 when you check and in a drop off your contribution logs. Remember wood has to be “Park Certified” (kiln dried local wood) which is available at every food store and gas station as you drive in through Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Cherokee. Thank you.
Let’s Go Fishing!
You are free to go fishing ANYTIME YOU LIKE. The idea for TenkaraCamp is to bring us all together for the mingle, but also in a new destination location. This will be a great opportunity for many anglers to get a line wet in the fabled Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You are encouraged to form small groups to go fishing. This is a chance to fish near someone you want to learn from, or share time on the water with an online friend you have chatted with for years, meeting now in person.
Here are all the regulations that apply to where TenkaraCamp will be located.
Please Read These —> Great Smoky Mountains Fishing Regulations
Here is a teaser: “Great Smoky Mountains National Park has about 2,900 miles of streams within its boundaries, and protects one of the last wild trout habitats in the eastern United States. Approximately 20% of the park’s streams are large enough to support trout populations.The park offers a wide variety of angling experiences from remote, headwater trout streams to large, coolwater smallmouth bass streams. Most streams remain at or near their carrying capacity of fish and offer a great opportunity to catch these species throughout the year.”
Where to Fish
Here is a list of resources for your homework.
- https://littleriveroutfitters.com/pages/fishing/flyfishinginfo.htm
- https://greatsmokiesfishing.com/national-park-fishing.html
- https://diyflyfishing.com/great-smoky-mountains-national-park/
- https://www.flyfishingsmokymountains.com/streams/
Camping/Lodging
This is the reservation of your choice. You can camp at the Elkmont Campground or choose a private campground if you like. There are hotels/motels in Gatlinburg that are not far away. There are AirBNB and VRBO cabin rentals as well.
This is a Fluid Gathering
The streamside clinics are the only part of this event that has organization. There is no obligation to attend. The rest if the time is simply be with and near friends and getting out on the water with new fishing buddies. The ebb & flow of attendees is expected as we make out own plans to spend our time. The B9/10 campsites will consistently be a common meeting site. When you want to know what is happening next, make your way there to see who is up to what and when.
We’re looking forward to seeing you there!
TenkaraCamp Merch!!
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