Hello Flavien, can you first introduce yourself to the readers of Pêche.com?
Flavien Malemprée -Hello, my name is Flavien Malemprée. I am 50 years old, married and father of two children. I have been fishing since I was a child in the North Cotentin, in Basse-Normandie. Son and grandson of angler, my mother was also a saleswoman in a fishing store. My daughter, my brother and my nephew are also fly fishermen. A family of Gallic fishermen! (laughs).
The region in which I live is a historical and cultural province. It is also a magnificent territory where you can practice many different kinds of fishing: trout fishing, migratory fish, carnivorous fish and of course, marine fish like sea bass. The North Cotentin alone has 600 km of marine coasts. The regional natural park of the Cotentin and Bessin, with a surface area of 1 466,5 km², is crossed by numerous canals, rivers and streams. Between the Douve, the Vire, the Taute, the Saireâeuros¦ there is plenty to do!
When I was a kid, I started fishing with my brother on the Trottebec, a small river not far from my parents' home. It was once wild and the trout were queens. Unfortunately, urbanization has destroyed this magic. From time to time, I like to go and observe the few trout that survive in this little river.
My first steps as a fly fisherman were taken at the age of 12, always with my brother who was already a very experienced fly fisherman. He taught me the basics. When I was 16 years old, I took my first steps in fly fishing after having seen video tapes where you could see Billy Pate fishing huge tarpon. For me, it was an eye opener. At that time, we could not find any rod, reel or line to practice this fishery in France, they were only available in the United States. So I started to look for marine fish with a river fly rod.
For the last ten years, I have had the chance to travel to different countries: Senegal, Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Cuba, Mexico, United States and many others. All these trips have allowed me to assert myself as an angler, because I have been able to experiment different fly fishing techniques.
You are the author of the book Le Bar à la Mouche, why did you decide to write such a book?
Flavien Malemprée -Passionate fisherman for almost forty years (ouch, it hurts), I dedicated myself to the quest of this fantastic fish. Because of its morphology, its behavior, it is a real challenge for an angler who wants strong sensations. Little by little, I specialized in the search for sea bass in wading on the Norman "flats" and by boat.
I have always been a person who likes to share and transmit knowledge. I am not one of those fishermen where everything has to remain a secret. I like human relations and I think that knowledge should be shared with a maximum of fishermen and passed on to future generations.
I am a very active person on social networks. People started to follow my publications by asking me questions about my techniques, my approach to fishing or fly tying. My friends and family suggested I write a book. According to them, I had a lot to pass on. The idea slowly grew in my head.
Writing is a solitary work, the publication of a book is a long way strewn with various pitfalls. I did not write this book for notoriety, it is necessary to remain humble, there are many talents and much better than me.
When the pandemic arrived in France, the whole country came to a standstill. We couldn't do anything anymore and especially we couldn't go fishing. So I started to write. For me, writing was a good way to continue to escape.
To my surprise and against all odds, more than one hundred and fifty books were sold in the first month of its release. In March 2022, it was among the number one selling specialty books and many readers contacted me via the Internet to congratulate me on the quality of the book. The success was such that, during my visit to the Carhaix fly fishing show, I found myself out of stock: I had sold out in forty-five minutes! There are even fishermen who came especially to the show to meet me, to get a dedication! A crazy thing!
Can you present us more precisely your book?
Flavien Malemprée -The book Le Bar à La Mouche is intended for all novice or experienced anglers who wish to discover or improve their skills in the sport of fly fishing. In this book, I have tried to share all the techniques that I practice: choice of equipment, strategies to adopt according to the fishing conditions, rigging sheetsâ?¦ Everything is illustrated by many photos and paintings of my friend Romain Dieul, painter and talented fisherman without whom this adventure would not have been possible.
Several of my friends honored me by participating in this project: Franck Ripault, Colin Macleod, Philippe Dolivet, Vito Rubino, Miguel Angel Fuentes and Laurent Kieff. All of them brought a personal, philosophical or artistic touch. The purpose of this book, in addition to answering different questions on the practice of sport fishing for sea bass with fly, is also to collect funds to transfer them in their entirety to the association of Defense of Aquatic Environments (DMA).
The book is 224 pages long. It is available in bookstores, on web platforms or at bookelis.com as well as at some fishing retailers like Riverstone.
I chose to print on demand. It takes about 7 to 8 days to receive it. There is no stock, being in self-publishing the cost would have been too high.
The funds collected are donated to an association, can you tell us more?
Flavien Malemprée -Yes of course! Many fishermen are aware that marine resources are threatened. Many fishing practices are dangerous for the future of biodiversity, such as trawling on sea bass spawning grounds, the use of nets in estuaries to catch migratory fishâeuros¦
Being a fisherman concerned about the environment and the preservation of marine species, I wanted to help in my own way so that these practices would stop. So I looked at what was being done in various associations to find the one that best matched my convictions. After a few contacts, my choice was the Defense of Aquatic Environments (DMA).
This association created in May 2017 under the name of the Association for the Defense of Marine Resources (ADRM), changed its name in July 2020 to the DMA. It brings together passionate fishermen and its membership continues to grow. The association is recognized as an association of general interest.
The DMA carries out actions that have a global aim by alerting public opinion and the various administrations without privileging any particular economic or social actor. It has won important legal battles: the end of pelagic trawling on the Rochebonne plateau in the Bay of Biscay, a sanctuary for the reproduction of sea bass in 2019, and more recently, the suspension of the two river fishing decrees for migratory fish in the Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques regions by the Pau court. For more details, I invite readers to go to the DMA website (www.defencedesmilieuxaquatiques.org).
Do you fish exclusively with flies? What has been your background?
Flavien Malemprée -I have experimented with several fishing techniques: jigging, match fishing, carp fishing, trout fishing with ultra light tackle, surfcasting with a spinning drum and of course, fly fishing.
My brother and I started a fly fishing club in the 80s. A few years later, I became interested in surfcasting fishing with a spinning drum. I then created a club that I managed for several years, which allowed me to participate in many competitions in France. At the same time, I wrote fishing articles in the magazine "Surfcasting Bord&Bateau". I also took part in several reports for Vidéo pêche and for the broadcast "une pêche d'enfer" on France3.
In the mid 90's, I worked with Buldo as a technical advisor in fishing tackle design, which was a pretty cool experience!
Then, I had my period of carp fishing. I became a member of an association which wanted to develop this technique in Calvados, Orne and Manche. At that time, I was entrusted with the responsibility of the Manche sector in order to obtain new carp fishing routes.
At some point in my life, I wanted to have more time to fish. I had to stop the association. Two years ago, I joined the team of MTX fishing as a technical advisor in fly rod design.
Do you have other projects?
Flavien Malemprée -Honestly, I don't know yet, because family life is important. My relatives have already supported me a lot for this book, especially my wife who did all the proofreading. I can't thank her enough for all the time spent supporting me, I'm really lucky! Following requests from abroad, I would also like to have my book translated into English to reach a wider audience and raise more funds for the DMA. But that's another story and a non-negligible budget (if there are volunteer translators, I'm interested!)
Of course, I hope to continue sharing with new anglers through social networks and various fishing organizations.
I am also an eternal dreamer and I would like to discover new countries, to catch new species of fish, like the Dorado or the Tiger fish. I am also thinking of going back to the United States in the next few years to learn more about striped bass.
