Hello Guillaume, can you introduce yourself to the readers of Fishing.news ?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros Hello, I am 41 years old and I am passionate about all types of sea fishing. I am an April Marine, Simrad and TimeZero ambassador and holder of 28 French and world records for catching big fish.
My favorite techniques are swimming fish, light soft lure, sliding tenya, sight fishing for bass in UL (a kind of adapted rockfishing).
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros I started fishing at the age of 13. A fishing on a rocky spur in the sea to tease smelts. Passionate about water sports (rollerblading, bodyboarding, swimming in competition...), I saw fishing as an old-fashioned practice, flat... And I got hooked, I went back again and again. In one year, I went tirelessly and I observed and asked lots of questions, devoured the magazines. No one in my family was fishing and I learned everything on the job.
At the beginning of the following season, I started fishing for bass with swimbaits and caught my first labrax with bib lures. At the same time, I catch my first bass on baits and I am always looking for ways to target the biggest ones. The passion is devouring. At 18 years old, I am a lifeguard, permanently on the beaches, always near the fishing spots. My reading of the water is refined, especially the bays where the bathers are in danger, but also where the bass are hunting.
At 20 years old, I manage to touch very regularly bass from 70 to 90 cm in boat, but especially from the edge with techniques and very targeted tide times. My fishing website attracts attention, I start to write and transmit my passion on magazines ...
Finally, the results are obtained through hard work. The keeping of a fishing logbook in particular. When I open it and see that in June 1999, I have listed 31 trips over the 30 days of the month, I tell myself that there was a problem of addiction!
When, how and why did you agree to be a Pro-Staff?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros I am accompanied by partners for several years, for example the navigation software TimeZero for 11 years, the boat manufacturer Beneteau for 6 years, Navico with the brand of onboard electronics Simrad. My title partner is April Marine who has been following me for 3 years.
The partners bring me an important logistic support in the success of the fishing. If I was catching big fish 20 years ago with three times nothing, today I am at the cutting edge of technology with a powerful and comfortable boat. And this contributes to explore more spots and to look for the small details that make fishing more efficient.
What does being an ambassador mean to you?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros It consists in highlighting a brand in our fishing world. In addition to the visibility of the brand, it is necessary to adopt an irreproachable behavior, to pay attention to our image which also becomes that of the brand which we represent. To last in this field, we must be representative in all circumstances.
For example, quality fishing pictures, technical writings without spelling mistakes and, especially for the youngest, no evening pictures displayed in public, no alcohol or cigarettes visible on fishing pictures...
The rest is more personal: an open mind, a good reception of the people who approach us physically or on the Internet, simplicity... That's it, it's a real work in progress, you always have to take care of your image. This does not pose a problem for me because I have kept the passion of the first days. I am always amazed, like a child, when a bass of more than 50 cm jumps on a surface lure.
Partnerships are also a human story. My partners share this spontaneity in our exchanges and this passion for the sea. The April Marine team shares the values of work, respect and passion for water sports. The Navico and TimeZero teams are real tech enthusiasts, they are always looking for solutions to our passionate requirements. I like to talk with the technicians about product updates and technologies.
Being a brand ambassador is all about visibility, passion and shared values.
What is your best memory, or anecdote, as a Pro-Staff to share with our readers?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros There are a few, but I particularly liked my first visit to Sables d'Olonne at April Marine last year. I took the team on board for a fishing trip on an area I didn't know at all.
Julie (marketing manager) caught a nice bass at daybreak. The next day, while looking for bass with a soft lure, I caught a huge skinny on a 7-28g light rod and a 0.12mm braid, with my great friend Florian who was passing by. I love discovering new spots. It was just before the Grand Pavois 2021, a great memory !
How do you see the fishing industry in France?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros Fishing in France is not represented at the height of what it represents and, as I am an eternal optimist, I see in this a huge potential for improvement and visibility of our leisure in the coming years.
This potential in a few figures: 430,000 km of public waterways, 5,800 km of maritime coastline, 3 million regular fishermen. If we take into account the number of sports licenses, fishing is the second most popular sport in France, just behind soccer. So you can see the margin we have in terms of visibility and the space that can be opened up for future new brand ambassadors.
Any advice for anglers who want to join a Pro-Staff team one day?
Guillaume Fourrier âeuros Yes, read carefully my answer to "Being an ambassador, what does it mean to you? It will already be a good lead.
Also, before contacting a brand, make sure you have things to bring, to have serious profiles on social networks, especially dedicated to our hobby. Create a "pro/special fishing" profile to be representative, take care of the quality of the photos rather than the quantity, avoid mistakes by passing the texts to the spell checker.
If it helps, check out my Facebook page, you'll get a little preview.
