Entertainer Shoji Tabuchi is in harmony with Ozarks

BRANSON, Mo. Nijimasu.

In a word, Shoji Tabuchi described the excitement generated by the fish on the end of his line at Lake Taneycomo.

Before he even landed his catch, he offered a translation.

“That’s Japanese for rainbow trout,” he said as he pulled his catch into a landing net.

That’s also a translation for one of the reasons Tabuchi, the legendary Branson entertainer, is so at home in the Ozarks.

When he first set eyes on the glittering city in the Ozark mountains, he was taken by the region’s stunning beauty. And especially its water.

More than 30 years later, that fascination hasn’t waned. He still savors the early mornings when he can be on the water only a few miles from his theater, fishing for trout on Taneycomo or bass at Table Rock.

“When I came to the United States, I got the fishing fever,” he said. “I fished in Japan growing up. My dad loved to go out. We would catch big funa, which is almost like a crappie, and carp. We also used to fish for trout in the small streams coming out of the mountains.

“But we never caught trout like this. This Taneycomo is a wonderful place.”

With a big smile on his face, Tabuchi played the trout to the surface, then pulled it into a landing net extended by his guide, Chuck Gries.

Just hours earlier, Tabuchi had been bouncing across the stage, playing his fiddle with enthusiasm, basking in the applause of a packed house.

Now he was on the water, enjoying his second passion fishing.

It quickly became obvious that Tabuchi is as comfortable with a fishing rod in his hands as a violin. Shortly after Gries tied two scud flies onto his line, Taubuchi used the 7-foot, light-action spinning rod to cast the lures into the clear water. When the bright-orange strike indicator twitched slightly, Tabuchi set the hook and felt the darting tug of a trout.

“This one’s a jumper,” Tabuchi said as the fish flew out of the water.

Seconds later, the brilliantly-colored rainbow was in the net, destined to be released a short time later. But that fish was far from alone.

In the next three hours, Tabuchi and I caught and released close to 40 rainbows in a variety of sizes. Time and time again, the orange strike indicators danced, and trout tried to dart away with one of the imitations of their natural food.

For Tabuchi, it was just another day in paradise.

He had another show that evening, then another the following morning. But the outstanding fishing was keeping him wide awake and ready to go.

“This is a big part in my staying here for so long,” Tabuchi said. “I fish every chance I get.”

His fishing even has ties to the Kansas City area. His first steady job in the United States came in the 1960s when he played fiddle at the Riverside Starlite Club. During that time, he would often fish at Wyandotte County Lake.

His career was in its infancy back in those days. He had studied violin in Japan but developed a fascination for country music when Roy Acuff, a longtime member of the Grand Ole Opry, performed on the campus of the school he attended.

With just $500 in his pocket, Tabuchi headed to the United States, first to San Francisco, then to the Kansas City area and Wichita. He then ran across Acuff, who urged him to come to Nashville, Tenn.

Acuff got Tabuchi a gig in the Grand Ole Opry, and Tabuchi impressed with his fast-paced fiddle playing. When Tabuchi got a spot with legendary country music artist David Houston’s band, he moved to Louisiana. And Tabuchi was quickly introduced to bass fishing.

“Up until that time in the 1970s, I didn’t even know bass fishing existed,” Tabuchi recalled. “But David loved it, and he would take me fishing on Toledo Bend,” known as one of the nation’s best bass lakes.

“I liked it from the start. The bass were so aggressive and so challenging to catch. I remember the time I caught an 8-pounder on a Hellbender. After that, I was hooked.”

Since then, Tabuchi has traveled to the Amazon to fish for peacock bass, has appeared as a guest on Roland Martin’s television show and has fished alongside many country music greats including Mel Tillis.

Many casts, many fish, many memories. And at age 72, Tabuchi is still going. And still calling Branson an ideal place to live.

“Taneycomo, Table Rock and Bull Shoals are all right here,” he said. “For someone like me who loves to fish, you can’t ask for much more.”

(c)2015 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)

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