Hello Mickael, can you introduce yourself to the readers of Fishing.news ?
Mickael Le Poursot - Hello, I am 46 years old and I live in Brittany. I practice all kinds of fishing. These last years, it is mainly the feeder in competition and the carp fishing which occupy most of my time. I am responsible for the training of fishing instructor-guide in Caulnes in Brittany since 2004.
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
Mickael Le Poursot - I started fishing with my father and grandfathers at a very young age. I was already holding a fishing rod in the stroller, my clear memories go back to the age of 6. I was fishing with the rod for white fish and carnivorous fish with a spoon. Then I had the chance during my vacations to meet some precursors of modern techniques of carp fishing and English and feeder fishing. I started slowly when I was 11 years old and started fully when I was 13.
When, how and why did you agree to be a Pro-Staff?
Mickael Le Poursot - Shimano France spotted me around 1999 during my first articles in Media Carpe. I accepted to become an ambassador of the brand because I was already fishing with Shimano reels (whatever the technique) and because I loved the equipment of this brand. Our vision of sponsoring was also the same.
What does being an ambassador mean to you?
Mickael Le Poursot - For me it is a partnership, an exchange, a work, between a company and an angler. The fisherman helps the company in the design, the improvement, the promotion of the material, in return the company helps him in the fishing.
It is important that the angler is convinced from the outset by the company's equipment and uses it fully. However, he must remain objective about the strengths and weaknesses of his sponsor's equipment, and also about those of competing brands. This is important to maintain credibility with other anglers.
What is your best memory, or anecdote, as a Pro-Staff to share with our readers?
Mickael Le Poursot - I have plenty of them with Shimano since 2000. Choosing one is tricky.
For the carp side, I would say my first participation under the colors of the brand, in the Masters Media Carpe, in 2000, where we finish second with my friend PJ for 100 grams of fish. Also, my meeting with the whole Tribal Europe Team in 2004 in England where I had the chance to fish in pair with the late Jan Porter. Or my first fish of more than 25 kilos caught on the float with the first prototype of the Tribal Lite Allround in 2005, or recently the meeting of the Tribal Team for the 20th anniversary of Tribal.
On the feeder side, I would say our victory with Julien, at the first Shimano Aero Cup in June 2022.
How do you see the fishing industry in France?
Mickael Le Poursot - Our sport, to be recognized by the general public, needs to continue to professionalize and work on its image. The image that the majority of the general public has of our activity is not really in adequacy with what we practice. The competition must be the engine of our sport, for the leisure, and the showcase of the activity. For that, it will undoubtedly have to be professionalized at some point.
The leisure must go to seek new practitioners by relying on the values of the activity (nature sport, values of respectâeuros¦) and the image conveyed by the competition. The fishing instructors-guides have a central role, also, to play on the development of new fishermen, by teaching them the technical bases and values of our sport.
If fishing, and mainly the competition world, were to become more professional, I think that the world of ambassadors would not escape it. Like in England or in the United States.
Any advice for anglers who want to join a ProStaff team one day?
Mickael Le Poursot - It is important to be convinced by the brand's products. Keep in mind that this is a win-win partnership and that the roles and obligations of each party must be well defined from the start. Finally, do not confuse sponsoring with a paid partnership with prizes.
