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Hello Julien and Sylvain, could you introduce yourselves to Fishing.news readers?
Hello, Julien Baudin, 35 years old from Morvan and Sylvain Rouzié, 45 years old from Périgueux. We met in 2020 during a vacation on Lac de Biscarrosse. I put an ad on Facebook to find an outing on the lake and Sylvain proposed an outing on his boat, which turned out to be a Nitro bassboat, a big surprise for me when it arrived.
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
Julien: i started fishing at a very young age with my grandfather, then as a teenager I took up fly fishing. Then I started lure fishing for trout and predators on a more regular basis.
Sylvain: i started fishing at the age of 7 with my father, then I practiced spearfishing, then carp. Finally, I've been fishing for predators for several years now.
When, how and why did you decide to take up competitive fishing?
For the past fifteen years or so, we've been competing on our own. As we live 700 km apart, this allows us to practice different techniques in totally different places. Competition fishing allows us to question our techniques, our beliefs and, above all, our habits at every moment, and to exchange ideas with other competitors in order to make constant progress.
What do you think of competition in general?
Whether the competition is small or large, we approach each event with the same enthusiasm and fervor. We know that by the end of it, we'll have learned new things that we can put into practice in the future.
We meet people with varying degrees of experience with whom we can exchange ideas to help each other progress, all in good fun.
As for improvements to competitions, it's important to showcase all anglers, not just the famous or the biggest boats...
What did taking part in the first Mercury Fishing Cup mean to you?
Taking part in this first edition was an exceptional experience for us, both in terms of the atmosphere and organization, as well as the quality of the course chosen for the event. We came here with no pretensions or pressure, we just wanted to find out where we stood on a national scale.
What do you think of this first edition?
We finished thirteenth with a total of 7 pike-perch between 62 cm and 72 cm. We missed and unhooked a good number of fish on a fast vertical fishing against the current, heavily leaded with 20 cm white finesse and 6-inch One Up. Following the heavy rain, the level of the Seine played tricks on us, as our stock of heavy-weight lead heads was not sufficient to last the two days of competition.
Your fondest memory, or anecdote, from the Mercury Fishing Cup?
We came away from the MFC with our heads full of memories.
- First of all, our result, which is a great source of satisfaction for us, and the time spent with our friends from the Taillée/Harvois team.
- The course and the fish offered by the Seine.
- And finally, an anecdote that we're now laughing about, Julien's fall on the pontoon during the launch on the first day, when his phone with the FFPS catch-accounting application went off to join the fish in the Seine...
Will you be attending the second edition on Lac de Vassivière?
Of course we'll be there for this second edition. We'll be in the starting-blocks the day registration opens. At the same time, we'd like to thank all those who have supported us and helped make this project a reality, as well as the organizers Mercury Marine France and the FFPS.
Given that this second edition will take place on the lake, we hope to do as well or better than in Poses.
Any advice for anglers hoping to take part in the Mercury Fishing Cup one day?
As Jean-Claude Duss would say: "If I can give you one piece of advice, it's this: forget that you don't have a chance, go for it! You never know, on a misunderstanding, it might work..."
