Hello Emeline, could you introduce yourself to the readers of pêcheur.com?
Hello everyone, my name is Emeline, I'm 24 and I come from a small village between Lyon and Grenoble in the Nord-Isère region. I've travelled a lot, both in France and abroad, and I fish with flies or lures, depending on what I feel like doing. I love fishing as much as the surprising encounters you can make on the water's edge or the beers you can drink after more or less successful sessions!
I took up fishing at the same time as photography, so much so that with my partner Mattéo, we founded The Fin Chasers Media, an audiovisual fishing association. You can discover our little escapades in the Jura on the legendary Loue, our encounters with sea trout in Denmark, our almost biannual rendezvous with Slovenian rivers or our new playground: Finistère! We've been accompanied by our three partners for two seasons now: hPa, Fiiish and JMC-Mouches de Charrette.
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
Indeed, there are many beginnings to fishing as far as I'm concerned! Until three years ago, I often crossed his path but never took it. My uncle has been fishing for as long as I can remember, and was the first to put a rod in my hand during a shoot when I was 10. When I was 15, on a trip to the United States, I fished (a big word for casting and retrieving a lure) in an acquaintance's pond until I lost the lure without catching anything. All these encounters never really got me into fishing until I met Mattéo, who gradually introduced me to different types of fishing.
I promise I'll keep it short, but gentlemen, read carefully, this technique is unbeatable for getting your girlfriends to go fishing!
- Step 1: Suggest fishing with a rod, always in good weather, with friends, beers and a good barbecue.
- Step 2: Sight fishing, including rockfishing with some pretty species!
- Step 3: Let's get down to business and head for black bass fishing with Wacky and Popper. Step 4: Introduction to fly fishing in a reservoir in the middle of January in the snow and rain with old waders...
Granted, the last stage was pretty tough, especially as I spent most of my time untangling my tippet while the gentleman was pulling out his fifteenth fish... Whether it was a question of ego or a refusal to start out on a failure, I persevered and it didn't pay off, as my first fly-fished trout was a 68-centimetre big one. After that, it was all practice, walks and lots of fun!
When, how and why did you agree to become a Pro-Staff?
As I mentioned earlier, I learned photography and video in parallel with fishing. The sessions can sometimes be long, especially for a beginner, so I was happy to be able to vary my activities at the water's edge. After the creation of The Fin Chasers Media, we were invited to take part in a small fishing film festival. It was a good pretext to go fishing in Norway for a few months and make our first short film; we wanted something with a change of scenery! Renaud from hPa was the first to offer us his support for this trip, and we were delighted to start working with him.
We set off in our little Berlingo van in search of adventure and stories to tell in pictures! We found a superb spot where the river and the sea meet to form a current that I'd never experienced before, with tidal changes that were sometimes confusing. The Fiiish lures were perfect for this kind of fishing, catching yellows, saithe and cod. This caught the attention of Julien and Romain, our communications managers, who invited us to join Team Pro-Staff. At the same time, JMC-Mouches de Charette came to us, interested in the shots we'd been posting for a few months.
It all went very smoothly, and we gained each other's trust, because for my part, I was worried that we'd be asked to do all kinds of promotions or distort photographic productions. Fortunately, these fears were quickly swept away after our discussions with Fiiish, JMC and hPa, and we were able to prove to them that we were motivated to produce as much content as possible despite our time-consuming studies. These proposals were (and still are) very rewarding for the work we do, and it motivated us to challenge ourselves and to want to produce increasingly high-quality photos. I don't regret having accepted for a single second!
What does being an ambassador mean to you?
I think being an ambassador shows the trust the brand has in its ambassadors, and vice versa. It's important to share the values conveyed by the brand and its team, and to be confident enough to work with them and recommend them with your eyes closed! This also means vouching for the quality and quantity of the work produced for them. What's more, on the networks, things can quickly get out of hand, so the brand needs to have confidence in the actions of its ambassadors, and be sure that they're in the same frame of mind as the brand itself.
Being an ambassador also means sharing and meeting new people! On the one hand, it gives you a chance to talk to the brand about their products, ask questions or pass on positive or negative comments. It's great to be able to share fishing anecdotes, afternoons on the water or advice on fishing techniques you're not so good at. You don't have to join a team to talk to other anglers, but it does create a certain synergy, a bit like a big summer camp!
What's your fondest memory or anecdote from your time as a Pro-Staff?
One of the anecdotes I could share with you is that of SANAMA (Salon international de la mouche artificielle à Saint-Étienne) 2023. I confess I'm not necessarily very comfortable at these shows, because as a woman, I quickly become transparent... So we start our little tour, and it's a chance to meet up over a drink with colleagues we've met on our travels, or with whom we've only met through our networks. When I pass the JMC stand, I'm confronted with a huge photo of my head with their new cane in my hands. It's a photo we'd taken in Slovenia a few months earlier. Even if it's not a poster in the metro, it's fun and gratifying. I'm afraid we'll have to take a rain check this year!
What do you think of fishing in France?
It's hard to talk about fishing in France without mentioning sexism. Sure, it's something that affects other sports, but it's still far too entrenched and old-fashioned in this one. I don't want to go into a long sociological tirade, but it's pretty discouraging when you're excluded from the conversation from the outset, being seen as a companion and not an actress, and having to constantly impose yourself. Women anglers are more highly regarded abroad, and it would be great to include women anglers in France, such as offering more waders and clothing for women, avoiding inappropriate remarks or jokes that don't make them laugh, taking a genuine interest in what they say and inviting them into the discussion... There are lots of little things that everyone can do to help this community grow and carry more weight. Brands and institutions also have their part to play, such as recruiting more good fisherwomen or giving them visibility (even if the proof is in the pudding!).
Generally speaking, I'd like to see a little more cooperation between anglers, regardless of the technique used or the fish caught. There are federations and collectives that really get things done, and that's very motivating! The more we reach a consensus, the stronger we'll be, and I think it's possible to do great things here!
Any advice for anglers hoping to join the Pro-staff team one day?
I admit I'm not sure I'm the right person to be giving advice, whether it's Fiiish, JMC-Mouches de Charette or hPa, they've always been the ones to come to us, at a stage when we didn't even imagine it possible. We really didn't have many subscribers and we didn't think it would happen so quickly. While this may encourage some people, it's not the number of followers that counts, it's the passion and hard work that counts. There's always a certain amount of pressure and work involved in being part of a Pro-staff team, and you have to be aware of that, it's not just about taking advantage of material shipments. Staying 100% yourself and motivated, I think, is already a good start!
