Shin Fukae: Coming to America, and the MLF Bass Pro Tour

By Mike Pehanich

Shinichi “Shin” Fukae is the only man to win Angler of the Year awards in Japan and the USA. But catching fish has been the easy part of his angling odyssey.

Fukae caught the fishing bug at age six, capturing crawfish while his big brother fished. By his junior-high years, he was a tournament force. He turned professional at age 19, guiding on Lake Biwa between events. He competed for 13 years in Japan, winning the Angler of the Year title at the elite level of Japan Bass: the JB Top 50.

But all that proved a prelude to his bigger ambition.