Open Glenan 2022: Interview with Martin Vigot & Bertrand Bouilhol

Interview Bertrand Bouilhol

Hello team, first of all congratulations on your 3rd place in this Open des Glénan 2022!

Could you introduce your crew in a few words?

Thank you!
I'm 40 years old, I've been passionate about fishing since I was 8 years old, and more particularly about Sea bass fishing with lures for the last 20 years or so. My son Charles is 11 years old, he started fishing with me when he was 5, he's been independent for 3 years now, he's mastered Sea bass fishing with Straight retrieve / Cast and retrieve lures on the surface and pollock fishing vertically. We live near Brest, and fish all year round in Brest harbor, Ouessant and the Iroise Sea, and in summer in the Glenan. Our boat is a Searib's 670, which we received 3 days before the Open! Thanks MMG!

Who decided to enter the Glénan Open, you or him? And why this particular competition?

I was the one who decided to sign us up for the Open without talking to him about it. I'd never taken part, but for a Sea bass fishing enthusiast, it's a mythical event! For the past 4 years, we've been spending our summer vacations in Trevignon, fishing in the Glénan in the mornings and on the beach in the afternoons! We're getting to know the area and I thought Charles had the level and motivation for 2 days of non-stop fishing. I really wanted to share this moment with him. I sent in my complete file on the day registration opened, and when the list of registered teams was published, I told him we were going to take part in the Open - he was overjoyed!

What was the strategy at the weekend?

My strategy was to fish big rockheads on Drift and lift outside the islands. Arriving at the first spot, Charles couldn't stand on the boat, he couldn't grab his rod! There was over 2 metres of swell and 25 knots of wind! So much for strategy, we were there first and foremost to have a good time together, so I suggested to Charles that we retreat to the bedroom for shelter, even if the chances of catching some nice fish were slimmer. We fished edges and areas of sand and grass in less than 2 meters of water.

You shared on the Rodhouse Fanzone, your Open des Glénan bundle made up of 100% NFC, why this particular brand?

I love these blanks, I know exactly what my lure is doing when I fish with them, the fairly round action in combat means I can land 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 mount, I look exclusively at NFC so far, and I've never been disappointed. I haven't tested my RPK72 yet, but I'm not worried

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With what combination of rod / lure / animation have you sinned? And what was the ultimate combo?

First and only drift outside the islands: NFC 807HM with a madshad 130 in Drift and lift. 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 got a good feel for how his lure worked and he appreciated the blank's power reserve, which gave him better control of the fight than with his previous commercial rod. We tried several lures: one up, dark sleeper, xlayer, we even took out the asturias 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 made 80% of our fish with a Fiiish lure natural color TP less than 10 g.

What do you think of when you finish on the podium of such a competition with your son?

You feel great emotion, and great pride. It was hard to speak into the microphone because I was so moved. Charles, on the other hand, 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, my fear was that we wouldn't make a fish mesh and that he would get discouraged. At the end of the first round, we finished 8th and we realized that many teams didn't have their quota... On Saturday evening, Charles was called to the microphone, as he was the youngest competitor, and he was highly motivated for the following day! On Sunday morning, the aim is to make up our quota and stay in the top 10. Fishing has been more difficult for everyone, but we measure our fifth mesh fish at 1 p.m., a great joy shared on board, objective achieved! At the prize-giving ceremony, we knew we were going to gain a few places over the first round, but we started to wonder when the 6th and 5th places were announced, and then the Ultimate Fishing team was called in for 4th place. We understood... Huge!!!

What's next, 1st on the open next year? Any joint rodbuilding projects?

Next year, we'll be doing the Open again, that's for sure! We planned to prospect the outer islands this summer, fishing deep in Drift and lift. We took advantage of the bad weather and reduced fishing area this year, but we know that normally the best scores aren't made in the bedroom.... We'll be going back in all humility, without aiming for a podium finish, but above all to have some Pleasure together. Charles hasn't caught the rodbuilding bug yet. I've finished my RPK72 and can't wait to test it! I've got a 722 statement to put together before the vacations, and Charles's little brother, who's 8, is already asking me for a home-made rod... It never stops!!!

Martin Vigot interview

Hello team, first of all congratulations on your 13th place on this Open des Glénan 2022!

Could you introduce your crew in a few words? (age, boat, location, experience)

Hi! We're two brothers, aged 12 and 20, used to the area since we live in Concarneau. We competed this year on our little family RIB, a Bombard 550/ 60hp Yamaha, with fairly rudimentary electronics (old-generation gps/sounder, black and white). We both got into fishing very early through our father, and basically, since we were 4, we've never let go of a rod! Being from South Finistère, we've been fishing the Glénan quite regularly for the past 3/4 years, mainly for pollock and sea bass. As for fishing in the archipelago, we like to fish in little water, "instinctively", and it's often by sight that we spot our spots (current veins, changes in the nature of the bottom, etc.). The clear waters of the Glénan are great for this

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Who decided to enter the Glénan Open, you or your brother? And why this particular competition?

I was the one who decided to enter us this year. I couldn't decide who to do it with: my dad, my little brother or a mate. Since fishing is pretty much a family affair in our house, I thought it would be cool to do it with my brother. It gives you an extra challenge, and it's great to be able to show that we can manage despite our 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 over the weekend?

A few days before, we'd got it into our heads that we'd fish the Chamber, i.e. the calm, shallow area inside the islands. We didn't have much time to go fishing at the start of the season, but just enough to do an evening prefishing, the week before the event, where we were methodical enough not to waste any 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, etc.. In this way, we validated 5 or 6 rather promising zones to exploit on the weekend of the Open. We were well aware that this fine fishing strategy in a small amount of water could bring in a lot of fish, but that the meshes would be scarce! On Friday, we could see that our option would be the right one, since in any case, we wouldn't have been able to venture into the swell outside the archipelago forecast for the weekend.

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Which blanks did you use and for what type of fishing?

On Saturday, conditions were strong with lots of wind and swell. To keep in constant contact with your lure, you had to fish straight retrieve, heavier than usual. We caught all our fish with an 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 shallower areas (-3 m). These two blanks had all the qualities we needed for this kind of fishing: we wanted to cast far to fish wide, have resonance to detect bites on the way down despite a heavy banner due to the wind, and above all lightness, because a day of non-stop fishing is tiring, especially at 12! On Sunday, the more reasonable conditions allowed us to fish with more finesse, as we're used to in this area. We divided up the fishing between us, with me fishing on the fly on my Statement 724 with a 7g xlayer. I think it's great for this, as its action allows you to make the slugs fly while being fairly directional, and you get some great bites on the way down! Maël continued in straight retrieve, but this time lighter, on the crazy paddle tail 120, in 7 or 15 gr of tp depending on the corners, on the MB 805HM.

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What did rodbuilding bring to you during this competition?

I started assembling 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. By building my rods, I progress in my fishing by understanding what my tools allow me to do. It's a similar story with my brother. Explaining to him that most bites occur 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 banner... More concretely over the weekend, we found the fish on Saturday on the last few metres before an uncovered rock, towards which the drift was pushing us. Our blanks, fitted with fairly gentle ring reductions, enabled us to cast very far, and therefore to turn the motor on earlier in the drift, before reaching the fish holding area: by casting farther, we were more discreet and didn't motor over the Sea bass. The rodbuilding also makes for super-light rods, and that clearly makes a difference, especially in the hands of a 12-year-old. But the most important thing is the resonance of the blanks we've used. The wind, at over 25 knots at times, made it impossible to tension the braid as the lure descended, but you could still feel the bites with the banner relaxed. Those little extra qualities make it possible to get a few extra hits, and that's what makes the difference!

Martin, what do you think about when you and your brother finish 13th out of 111 teams in a competition like this?

We didn't really have a target result for this weekend, given the number of boats and the fact that it was our first experience of competition. We told ourselves that our weekend would be a success if we measured at least 1 fish a day. In the end, we did much better than most of the teams, with 4 fish measured per day, so we can only be pleased with our ranking. As I said at the start, it was great to be able to show that a very young team could compete with very good anglers and score. I'm super proud of my brother Maël, who was 100% focused all weekend, who was on his toes with the landing net and who brought in 3 of the 8 meshed fish, including the biggest!!!

What's next, 1st on the open next year? Any joint rodbuilding projects?

We've got a lot of time ahead of us and a lot of experience to accumulate to hope for such a place one day, but both me and my brother can assure you that it's a dream! In any case, we'll be there next year, ready to do as well as this Open des Glénan 2022! As for Rodbuilding projects, for my brother, I need to look into assembling a lighter rod than his 766. As for me, I'm already eyeing the new Statement 722, for very fine slug fishing, when conditions call for it, as is often the case on 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 de and rodbuilding with your family