Interview Bertrand Bouilhol
Hi team, first of all congratulations for your 3rd place on this Open des Glénan 2022!
Can you present your crew in a few words?
Thank you!
I am 40 years old, I have been passionate about fishing since I was 8 years old and more particularly about bass fishing with lures for about 20 years. My son Charles is 11 years old, he started fishing with me when he was 5 years old, he has been independent for 3 years, he masters bass fishing with lures and surface lures and pollack fishing vertically. We live near Brest, we fish all year round in Brest harbour, Ouessant and the Iroise Sea and in summer in the Glenan. Our boat is a Searib's 670 we received it 3 days before the Open! Thank you MMG!
Who decided to enter the Glénan Open, you or him? And why this particular competition?
It was me who decided to enter the Open without telling him. I had never taken part, but for a bass fishing enthusiast, it is a mythical event! For the last 4 years, we have spent our summer holidays in Trevignon, in the morning, it's fishing in the Glénan and in the afternoon the beach! We are starting to know the area and I thought that Charles now had the level and the motivation for 2 days of non-stop fishing. I really wanted to share this moment with him. I sent my complete file the day the registration opened, and when the list of registered teams was published, I told him that we were going to participate in the Open, he was overjoyed!
What was the strategy at the weekend?
My strategy was to fish for big rock heads in traction outside the islands. When we arrived at the first spot, Charles couldn't stand on the boat, he didn't manage to grab his rod! There was more than 2 meters of swell and 25 knots of wind! So much for the strategy, we were there above all to have a good time together, I proposed to Charles a fallback solution in the room to be sheltered, even if the chances of catching nice fish were less. We fished edges and areas of sand and grass in less than 2 meters of water.
You shared on the Rodhouse Fanzone, your 100% NFC Open des Glénan bundle, why this particular brand?
I love these blanks, I know exactly what my lure is doing when I fish with them, the round action in the fight means I can unhook very few fish and the power reserve in relation to the weight of the blank is insane! When I'm looking for a blank to set up I look exclusively at NFC for the moment, I've never been disappointed. I haven't tested my RPK72 yet but I'm not worried!
What combination of rod / lure / animation did you fish with? And what was the ultimate combo?
First and only drift outside the islands: NFC 807HM with a 130 madshad in traction. In the bedroom: I was fishing with a 733XRay. Charles was inaugurating his 705HM. He loved his new rod, it's hard to describe the sensitivity of the blank at 11 years old, but he has a good feel for how his lure works and he appreciated the power reserve of the blank which allowed him to control the fight better than with his previous commercial rod. We tried several lures: one up, dark sleeper, xlayer, we even took the asturias out to try, we had a few attacks and follow-ups, but no fish on the surface. We don't want to give the exact model, but we got 80% of our fish with a Fiiish natural colour lure TP under 10g.
What do you think of when you finish on the podium in such a competition with your son?
You feel a great emotion, and a great pride. It was not easy to speak into the microphone because I was so moved. Charles was much more at ease! I had prepared Charles by explaining to him that it was our first participation, that the level was very high and that our objective was only to score points. At the end of the first round we finished 8th and we realised that many teams did not have their quota... On Saturday evening Charles was called to the microphone, as he was the youngest competitor, he was highly motivated for the next day! Sunday morning, the objective is to succeed in making our quota again and to remain in the top 10, the fishing was more difficult for everyone, but we measure our fifth fish meshed at 1 pm, great joy shared on board, objective achieved! At the prize giving, we knew we were going to gain a few places compared to the first round, but we started to wonder when 6th and 5th were announced, then the Ultimate Fishing team was called for 4th place. We understood... Huge!!!
What’s next, 1st on the open next year? Common rodbuilding projects?
Next year, we will definitely do the Open again! We plan to prospect the outer islands this summer by fishing deep in traction. We took advantage of the bad weather and the reduction of the fishing area this year, but we know that in normal circumstances the best scores are not made in the room... We will go back in all humility without aiming for a podium, but above all to have fun together. Charles has not yet caught the rodbuilding bug. I finished my RPK72, I can't wait to test it! I have a 722 statement to build up before the holidays and Charles' little brother who is 8 years old is already asking me for a home made rod... It never stops!
Interview Martin Vigot
Hi team, first of all congratulations for your 13th place on this Open des Glénan 2022!
Can you present your crew in a few words (age, boat, location, experience)
Hi! We are two brothers, 12 and 20 years old, and we are used to the area as we live in Concarneau. We competed this year on our small family RIB, a Bombard 550/60hp Yamaha, with fairly rudimentary electronics (old generation gps/sounder, black and white). We both started fishing at a very early age through our father, and basically, since we were 4 years old, we have never let go of a rod! Being from South Finistère, we fish the Glénan quite regularly now, and have done so for the last three or four years, mainly for pollack and sea bass. As far as fishing in the archipelago is concerned, we like to fish in little water, by "instinct", and it is often by sight that we spot our spots (current veins, changes in the nature of the bottom, ...). The clear waters of the Glénan are great for that !
Who decided to enter the Glénan Open, you or your brother? And why this particular competition?
It was me who decided to sign up this year. I didn't know who to do it with: my dad, my little brother or a friend. As fishing is a family thing in our house, I thought it was cool to do it with my brother. It gives you a challenge and it's great to be able to show that you can manage despite your young age. It was our first competition, and starting with the Open des Glénan was quite logical. It's the area we know best, where we feel most confident, and the logistics are super simple, we're at home!
What was your strategy at the weekend?
A few days before, we had got it into our heads that we would be fishing the House, which is the calm, shallow area inside the islands. We didn't have much time to go fishing at the beginning of the season, but just enough to do some prefishing in the evening, the week before the event, where we were methodical enough not to waste time. We proceeded in the form of "touch and go": a few casts on precise zones, and at each touch or fish, we changed spot, to validate another one, etc. In this way we validated 5 or 6 zones that were quite promising to exploit during the weekend of the Open. We knew that this strategy of fishing in a small amount of water could bring in a lot of fish, but that the meshes would be rare! On Friday, we could see that our option would be the right one as in any case, we would not have been able to venture into the swell from outside the archipelago planned for the weekend.
What blanks did you use and for what type of fishing?
On Saturday, the conditions were strong with a lot of wind and swell. In order to keep in touch with the lure, we had to fish in a line, heavier than usual. We caught all our fish with a NFC MB805 HM for me, and a Rodbuilders Republic Statement 766 for my brother, at crazy paddle tail 150 and 20 gr of tp, and 10 gr in the shallow areas (-3 m). These two blanks have all the necessary qualities for this kind of fishing: we wanted to cast far to prospect wide, to have resonance to detect the bites on the way down despite a big banner due to the wind, and above all to be light, because a day of non-stop fishing is tiring, especially when you're 12! On Sunday, the more reasonable conditions allowed us to practice more finesse as we are used to on the sector. We divided up the fishing, I was fishing on the fly with the xlayer with 7 gr, on my Statement 724. I think it's great for that, its action allows you to make the slugs fly while being quite directional, and you get some great bites on the way down! Maël continued in linear, but this time lighter, with the crazy paddle tail 120, in 7 or 15 gr of tp according to the corners, on the MB 805HM.
What did the rodbuilding bring to you during this competition?
I started building up my rods at 16, younger than most rodbuilders, so I never really went through the "high end commercial rod" box before getting into home made. As I build up my rods, I progress in my fishing by understanding what my tools allow me to do. It's quite similar with my brother. Explaining to him that most of the bites happen on the way down is only useful if his rod allows him to detect them, and now that he knows this and has felt it, he never casts without paying attention to his rod... More concretely on this weekend, we found the fishes on Saturday on the last meters before an uncovered rock, towards which the drift pushed us. Our blanks, built up with rather soft guides, allowed us to cast very far, and thus to turn on the motor earlier in the drift, before being on the zone of holding of the fish: by casting further, we were more discrete and we did not pass with the motor on the bars. The rodbuilding also makes it possible to obtain super light rods, and that clearly makes a difference, and even more so in the hands of a 12 year old. But the most important element is the resonance of the blanks we used. The wind, at times over 25 knots, made it impossible to stretch the braid as the lure went down, but you could still feel the bites with the banner relaxed. These little extra qualities make it possible to make a few more hits and that's what makes the difference!
Martin, what do you think about when you finish 13th out of 111 teams in such a competition with your brother?
We didn't really have a target result for the weekend, given the number of boats and the fact that it was our first experience of competition. We thought that our weekend would be successful if we got at least one fish measured per day. In the end, we did much better than most teams, with 4 fish measured per day, so we can only be happy with our ranking. As I said at the beginning, it was great to be able to show that a very young team can compete with very good anglers and can score. I am very proud of my brother Maël, who was 100% focused all weekend, who was on the ball with the net and who caught 3 of the 8 fishes, including the biggest one !
What’s next, 1st on the open next year? Rodbuilding projects in common?
We have a lot of time ahead of us and a lot of experience to accumulate in order to hope for such a place one day, but both me and my brother can assure you that it is a dream! In any case, we will be there next year, ready to do as well as this Open des Glénan 2022! As far as Rodbuilding projects are concerned, I have to work on building a lighter rod than his 766 for my brother. As for me, I'm already looking at the new Statement 722, for very fine slug fishing, when the conditions require it, as is often the case in the Glénan!
Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, we look forward to seeing you next year on the Open, in the meantime we wish you a great summer of fishing and rodbuilding with your family!
