Hello Clovis, can you introduce yourself to Fishing.news readers?
I am 40 years old. I fish mainly in freshwater, reservoirs, small and medium-sized rivers, on the street and by boat. New to Team Bricoleurre this year. I mainly fish with lures and I love tinkering, testing and inventing!
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
I started at the age of 6 in a small river while on vacation with my grandparents. I'd leave in the morning, at midday my grandmother would shout from the bridge to come and eat, and I'd eat and go back until it got dark... Classic fishing a cork with a worm, on the fly with a grasshopper, then a wood holder, the minnow handled...
When I was 12, I used to ride my bike around a small lake near my home to watch a local angler. I'd sit behind him and watch for hours. Then one day he told me to grab a rod and go fishing. I took up spearfishing and went on to do a lot of competitive fishing, including a few French championships up to junior level.
Then, with my studies, I fished a little less in the years that followed... But the call of the water was too great, and I got back into it a few years later with fly fishing, then inevitably lure fishing with its inexhaustible technical combinations to make a predator succumb...
When, how and why did you agree to become a Pro-Staff?
By reading an article by Christophe Darcet, manager of the Bricoleurre company. He was presenting the company and its philosophy, and was looking for freshwater ambassadors. As a DIY enthusiast and fishing ambassador myself (I'm president of a small AAPPMA, "La Gaule chanitoise"), I thought I could meet Bricoleurre's search criteria. So I called to introduce myself, and after exchanging ideas, we came to an agreement for this year.
What does being an ambassador mean to you?
For me, being an ambassador means embodying the company's values, respecting its principles and sharing its values with the general public.
What's your fondest memory or anecdote from your time as a Pro-Staff?
I'm still too young to join the company as an ambassador, but as a fan of the Bricoleurre brand, I was like a kid at the Clermont fair on the Bricoleurre stand. Observing, exchanging and discovering the many lure-making techniques and transposing the various ideas that emerge over the course of the season. Every angler is a crafteur!
And as an anecdote, that evening at the campsite with Nico (Bricoleurre ambassador) and other friends, over cep crusts and good wine, developing imaginary future products! Fishing is all about sharing!
What do you think of fishing in France?
I think the fishing industry is doing well, and I think this is an opportunity for us. No one can afford to miss out on the water challenges of the next few years. Warnings are regularly issued about potential shortages of drinking water in various communes... Fishing can only relay this better.
Fishermen are soldiers for the defense of water quality, for the feedback of information on natural environments, and for the defense of biodiversity through the understanding of different ecosystems. Fishing is 40,000 years old - it's in our genes!
Any advice for anglers who want to join a Pro-Staff team one day?
Associate yourself with something that suits you and share your passion.
