Two friends from Charente, passionate about fishing, won the world team championship in “street fishing” in the fall. A sport that is attracting more and more young fishermen. Introduction in the heart of the town of Cognac.
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On the first throw, Martin Jeanson hooks a pole. Direct ! Around, cars come and go. On a beautiful autumn day, the city vibrates with its usual hubbub, indifferent to these two friends below the Saint-Jacques bridge, their world champion gold medals in their bag. Their discipline? THE street fishingor fishing in urban areas.
Martin Jeanson and his teammate, Baptiste Verger, settled in the heart of Cognac on the banks of the Charente. These 31-year-old fishing enthusiasts demonstrate that without a lot of equipment and in a limited time, you can have fun.
“It is a fishing technique that is very easily and quickly accessibleindicates Martin Jeanson. There, I poached and in the three quarters of an hour that followed, I was fishing.”
No need for large equipment to practice urban fishing: it can even be done after work.
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© Bruno Pillet / France Télévisions
“It’s still nice even if we’re in town, we’re in the fresh air, by the wateradds Baptiste Verger. This allows you to put yourself in a bubble that goes beyond the context of work and family life too.”
They also practice sea fishing but it is urban fishing that favors them. No need for boots, you hardly get dirty and the pleasure of teasing the fish remains intact. “It’s trying to be smarter than the fish, disorienting all its senses to capture it. I have immense respect for it”indicates Baptiste Verger.
The two have been friends since high school and have been passionate about fishing since childhood. Their first attempt at the French championships was in 2023. They won. They then changed gear to attempt the world championships which they had just won, as a team, in Italy. “This is the culmination of work that we have been doing for 2 yearsconfides Martin Jeanson. We have been fishing together for years. »
In Italy, the two Charentais had the English and the Dutch as their main competitors but with another pair of Frenchmen, they were able to catch the greatest number of fish over two days.
Baptiste, the fishing guide, and Martin, the fishmonger, have adopted a very particular technique: that of coypu or wild boar, as they call it: “We have the audacity to try to fish in places where others don’t think to goexplains Baptiste Verger. This allows you to move out of areas where others are more comfortable. We always get into trouble and try to find fish where others won’t dare cast their lures. This often works out for us.” Like, for example, getting lost in the bushes, hence the coypu or wild boar technique.
Their success also comes from the confidence they have in the lures they use. In Baptiste Verger’s hands is a large brown larva. “It’s a Texas rig. The hook is caught inside the lure so that it can slide over grass and branches and avoid getting snagged.” Because it is in the middle of the seagrass beds, their habitat, that we catch fish.
In the very heart of towns, fishermen can come across large adversaries, like here a perch.
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© Bruno Pillet / France Télévisions
The two accomplices respect the rules of the street fishinglike releasing the catch: the pretty perch is freed from its hook without being injured and returns to its natural environment.
At the bottom of the two fishermen’s bags, the two medals jingle: the bronze one for the duo classification and the gold one for the team classification. In the end, much more rewarding than returning home with a big, lifeless fish.
