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He's only 17, but he's already made quite a name for himself in the world of sport fishing. Florian Reigner , a high school student in Saint-Satur, won the Junior Fishing Tour (JFT) on July 18, thereby claiming the French championship title.
An early achievement for a young man who didn?t discover fishing until he was 10 years old. For the Reigners, this passion is, above all, a family tradition. Florian and his twin brother Valentin started out together, accompanied by their father and benefiting from his advice as they improved.
A few years later, Florian progressed from his first family outings to national competition.
The Junior Fishing Tour as a Stepping Stone
His victory at the Junior Fishing Tour , a national tournament series for young anglers, has helped him reach a new milestone. The JFT offers younger generations the opportunity to learn about the demands of competition: analyzing fishing spots, choosing lures, strategy, time management, and adapting to fish behavior.
For Florian, the journey continued just a few weeks after winning the title with a particularly memorable experience: participating in the 2026 Mercury Fishing Cup .
The young champion was at Lake Bort-les-Orgues thanks to an invitation from Fishing Boat Insurance , an official partner of this fourth edition of the MFC. The organization's press release specifically mentions Fishing Boat Assurance among the partners that contributed to the event's success.
At 17, among the top French competitors
The change in scale was significant. MFC IV brought together nearly 140 competitors , with 68 teams registered and 67 at the start. Over the weekend, 150 fish were certified, totaling more than 73 meters in length.
For Florian Reigner, therefore, the stakes went far beyond the result. At just 17 years old, fishing under the same conditions as much more experienced fishermen presented a unique opportunity to observe, learn, and gauge how far he had come since his first family fishing trips.
His participation in the Mercury Fishing Cup also symbolizes the bridge being built between the Junior Fishing Tour and Major National Competitions . Training young people, allowing them to gradually compete at the highest level, and giving them the opportunity to rub shoulders with the best are all ways to prepare the next generation.
From the 10-year-old fisherman guided by his father to the French JFT champion invited to the Mercury Fishing Cup at just 17 years old , Florian Reigner has already come a long way. What began as a family adventure has turned into a sporting one?and it may well be just the beginning.
