Tenkara Angler Welcomes Bill Robichaud

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting many interesting people while fishing tenkara over the past fifteen years, but one of the most unique is William (Bill) Robichaud. I sort of joke with Matt Sment that Bill is the “international man of mystery” of the tenkara community.

So, when Bill recently contacted the two of us about the concept of an “International Editor,” we had to give it serious consideration.

What’s interesting about Bill is that he gets around. Not only as a fixed line fisher (which has been documented in the pages of Tenkara Angler), but also as an award-winning wildlife conservation biologist and writer. He’s dedicated quite a bit of his life to locating and preserving one of the most mysterious and critically endangered species on Earth, the saola. This “Asian Unicorn” is a large mammal resembling an antelope that was only scientifically discovered in 1992! (Learn more about Bill’s conservation efforts.)

As such, Bill has traveled the world over the past three decades, particularly in southeast Asia carrying out his work. But did I mention his girlfriend lives in Switzerland? A sister in Italy And a half Lao daughter raised in Laos (where Bill used to live while doing wildlife conservation work)?

Bill’s role with Tenkara Angler will be to explore, fish, and bring cultural stories from abroad to our readers. We hope that he is not only able to report on fishing from around the globe, but connect us with members of the larger, world fixed line community. He already has plans to visit Sicily, Switzerland, and Austria later this year, with sights on Nepal and Laos down the road. (Maybe we can even nudge him to include Japan in his travels.) And while not quite as exotic, he also happens to be at the Wisconsin Driftless Tenkara Campout this weekend.

Domestically, Bill resides in the Driftless Region of southwestern Wisconsin where he lives off the land by growing, foraging, hunting, fishing and preserving his own food. He has been chronicling this “anti-supermarket” way of life through charmingly written entries on his blog, A Bird in the Bush.

As Bill gets settled in here at Tenkara Angler, we’d love it if you would (re)read his catalog of prior posts. I’m certain you’ll enjoy them.

Please join us in welcoming Bill to the Tenkara Angler team!

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