Hello Maxime and Stéphane, could you introduce yourselves to Fishing.news readers?
Maxime : my name is Maxime Terret, I'm 38 and I live in southern Burgundy in a small village called Saint-Amour-Bellevue. I've been part of the BKK team for 2 years (a Japanese brand known for its hooks) which is distributed in France by Pescanautic through Guillaume Auger. I fish mainly with lures, all techniques combined, and mainly for no-kill freshwater carnivores. I don't fish for catfish except when they decide to steal my lure, so we have to take a picture...
I like to study the species I'm looking for, their behavior, their way of life, I also like to fish "the old-fashioned way", in the sense of the water without electronics, for pike and perch in the summer season, to study water veins, spot weed beds, surface activities, birds and observe nature. I fish the river in our beautiful Saône, which is sometimes capricious. I also fish in various lakes (Bourget, Vouglan...)
Stéphane: Stéphane Lachieze, has been fishing since a very young age, with strike fishing and a few competitions.
When I moved to the region about ten years ago, I took up fishing with a vengeance, opting for carnivorous fish, as well as sea angling for bluefin tuna, sea bass and a few others that come my way. For several years now, Maxime and I have been taking part in competitions representing the BKK and Illex brands. This has enabled us to win a few podium places. For me, my passion is about sharing and having fun.
We would also like to thank our sponsors BKK and Illex, as well as Sélect plaisance, for their invaluable help and unfailing support in this adventure.
Can you tell us about your early days in fishing?
I started fishing with my father when I was about 10. We fished whites from the shore with natural bait and cork, then I did a few small local trout competitions with toc, and then I decided to start taking my card to do first category trout openings. After observing other anglers fishing differently, I started spooning trout, my first lures and I soon realized that luring fish was addictive! The surprise of the "strike" after a nice run in the current and the joy of having lured the fish is truly satisfying.
After a few years of trout fishing, I wanted to tackle other species. I fished for pike-perch on stillbaits and livebaits, then continued to equip myself with lures to diversify my fishing and thus the species. I did a lot of research to be able to target the right areas to avoid accumulating the famous "hoods". The fish started to "come in", so I invested in a float tube to widen my spots. I also bought my first boat and since then, I've only fished by boat...
When, how and why did you decide to take up competitive fishing?
I started competing in float tubes. I wanted and needed to measure myself against other anglers to see if I was "right" in terms of my research and knowledge, or if I was on the wrong track. My results were pretty good, so I kept going... Alone on the float tube, you're forced to draw on your own knowledge to find the fish. Great encounters, great atmosphere, great results, I just had to keep going, and so I did, but this time on a boat, with heats at higher levels... Stéphane Lachieze is my neighbor, so we decided to team up to fish competitively.
What do you think of competition in general?
Competition isn't leisure fishing, you're there to achieve results. You have to think fast, be efficient with every cast, and be in sync with your partner. It's both a personal and a team challenge. It's vital for both of us to get along and support each other, because the emotional elevator is definitely there. There are strict rules, you have to think of everything, manage your stress, and that's something you have to prepare for. You have to invest time, of course, but you also have to have equipment that meets all the requirements. Everything has to be anticipated for the big day. Plan A is ready, and if it's not, you go on to plan B and then C... You learn a lot about yourself in these moments. The pleasure is multiplied tenfold when a nice fish joins the boat and brings big points. When you reach the podium, that feeling of victory, the result of a great deal of thought, is the fisherman's Holy Grail!
However, as the "competition" is tough, the financial investment is not accessible to everyone, which is a real shame. Because if you want to be at the cutting edge of technology and maximize your chances of success, you have to make a major financial effort, especially when you start competing at the highest level. A boat that can cope with all weather conditions, batteries that will last a day in strong currents or capricious weather, a wide range of rods and lures, and fishfinders equipped with "live" technology are all expenses that need to be planned for.
Local competitions are an opportunity to be on the same pedestal more often than not. Categorizing competitions by type of fishfinder technology (live and non-live) might be an interesting idea to make the "big" competitions accessible to other anglers. These are great experiences to have, and you get to meet people who are passionate about what they do, even if you don't necessarily give each other tips and tricks, because it's still a competition!
What does taking part in the second Mercury Fishing Cup mean to you?
I'll be taking part in the MFC for the second time. Despite a perilous first competition, we're doing it again! The competitive spirit and bad luck we experienced on the first MFC date are driving us to take our revenge. We had a technology breakdown throughout the weekend, compounded by capricious weather with huge water flows and an almost unknown location. We didn't have enough time to do any prefishing.
We obviously didn't give up despite a very complicated weekend, a cut on a pike, a few stalls, it happens to us too... Too many failures, so we can't leave it at that! Our partnership is solid, we've got the technology, the equipment and we've accumulated a lot of knowledge. We need to put all these parameters in phase to climb the steps of the podium. I think it's a state of mind, because Stéphane and I are on the same wavelength.
How will you prepare for this second edition?
To prepare for this date, we're gathering as much information as we can via the Internet and our acquaintances, and then we're going to go prefishing. This will allow us to make an initial "sorting" of the information we have. We like to fish according to the competition schedule, as this gives us an indication of the feeding behaviour of the fish at different times of the day. Even if we already know that the weather conditions will not be the same on the day (water temperature, atmospheric pressure, water turbidity, weather in general...). We have the bathymetric map of the lake, so we already know the depths in advance. We'll be using Garmin's live technology to target fish more quickly. It's hard to say in advance, but the idea is to spot where the fish are, and then, depending on how they behave, adapt the most optimal technique for catching them (lure size, presentation, weight, color, etc.). So many parameters to refine as quickly as possible.
Any advice for anglers hoping to take part in the Mercury Fiching Cup one day?
My advice would be not to think that it's inaccessible, but to take the time to prepare, enter other competitions and diversify your fishing and fishing grounds. You learn every day on the water! Invest in yourself and focus on your goal. It's a great experience to live to the full, and you'll grow personally and in your shared passion. Be daring!
