We had the chance to talk to Sylvain Legendre, an emblematic figure in our French fishing landscape, on the occasion of the launch of his new online fishing store: Fish & Ship.
Hello Sylvain, for the few people who don't know you yet, could you briefly introduce yourself?
It's not easy to sum up almost 40 years of fishing… We will say that I am 41 years old and 2 children, and a passion for fishing that has never left me, to the point of making it my job. First as a sales representative then as product manager and brand manager for the group Pure Fishing, then as brand manager for Fox.
Can you tell us where your passion for fishing comes from?
Honestly, no idea! An attraction for water and fish since always, as small as the puddle and its inhabitants.
You touch from near or far to everything related to the fishing industry. We see you as a competitor, designer, sometimes even Youtuber and today an entrepreneur. If you were asked to describe what fishing means to you, what would you say?
It's my life ! In reality it is not just a question of fishing, I even fish very little. I also take pleasure in taking up professional challenges in the fishing industry. This is what prompted me to explore all aspects of this field, or almost.
You recently launched Fish & Ship, a new online fishing store concept. Could you tell us a little more about this project?
I had this project in mind for a long time, and it collided with a desire for change and independence. So I launched this Online Store which is unlike any other. This is really the essence of the project.
At a time when online sales sites are flourishing, I wanted to stand out and bring added value. Any teenager can create a sales site in their bedroom and, from the smallest site that imports a few chinoiseries to the biggest player in the field. It is ultimately only a more or less well sold online catalog. My personal approach is really the online store rather than the sales site. That is to say that as a physical store, I have the products in stock, which I sell as soon as possible individually, and as a retailer (not all), I provide advice via the central module of the site which functions as a blog.
On the one hand it generates traffic on the site, and on the other hand I have the feeling of creating the link between the products “stupidly” put online, and the waterfront. Advice, analysis, knowledge are lost today and fishermen are often left in the wild or what is left without the necessary weapons to have fun.
What prompted you to launch Fish & Ship? Was there a lack that you wanted to overcome through this store?
To join the explanation given above, I think that the link between the store and the waterfront has completely deteriorated. Information is both much more accessible now on the internet but also completely depersonalized. A poorly translated text from the American explaining how to catch bass may not help you take more poles down your house.
My guiding principle has always been to do what I can to promote fishing in general and to make people have a blast by the water. I think this project is in line with my personal convictions. It's a subtle balance to try to be both true to your values while making a living. I ran after that, I left employers for the same reason, I hope Fish & Ship will allow me to be okay with it all.
If I understand correctly, Fish & Ship is also a team of 5 passionate writers. Could you tell us a little more about this team?
It's actually open to anyone who wants to collaborate, whatever the labels, the moment it really brings something to it. I started to fill in the section with friends who have things to say (but obviously not the time to do so, judging by the number of articles!). No seriously, the speakers will be varied and the subjects too!
How did you select the products?
The selection is based on my personal sensitivity, which I consider to be good products. Again, you have to find the balance between what people want and what I think is good.
I'm going to make some mistakes, sure. But overall I think we find on Fish & Ship everything you need to fish in good conditions. After all these are today (after less than a month of existence) almost 4000 references available at 92%. So there is plenty to do!
As you say, Fish & Ship is already thousands of articles referenced and available. Do you intend to give advice on use or tips for each item?
That will be impossible. The idea is to focus regularly on an article, as I started to do with the Dolive shad or the Replicant. I want to give the keys in detail, so I won't do the showdown. I try to stick to one item every 1-2 weeks, which I usually couple with a little commercial action, to allow anglers to try the product.
We already have the possibility to make a selection of articles by species or to benefit from tutorials and tips. Do you have any other new features that you would like to add to your site soon?
The problem is, I have 100 ideas a day. I have to sort it out. For the moment, I am looking at how I can talk in detail about rods because on the internet it is a real problem. It is hard to get a precise idea of the actions. At the same time, I am planning a Youtube channel to provide “living” content.
You have been launched for a few days already, what are the first feedback / lessons since the site was released?
For the moment, I am very satisfied and above all extremely grateful to the dozens of customers who placed their trust in me. I've had 100% positive feedback and it is very rewarding. The priority is to ship as soon as possible and I do my best for that.
Imagine that it wakes me up with a start in the middle of the night. Suddenly, I sometimes jump in my car at 4 am to come and prepare the packages. It may not last but for the moment it haunts me. I've never done things halfway at the pro level and I don't see it any differently with Fish & Ship.
Fish & Ship is also a physical store if I understand correctly? Like the online store, is there something that distinguishes it from a traditional physical store?
Fish & Ship is above all an online store. I have offices and a warehouse, and I offer the possibility of picking up orders on site to avoid shipping costs. Strictly speaking, you can't come and shop there. Everything is organized like a warehouse so the products are not on pins.
You who have been actively working in the fishing industry for years and in many aspects, what is your view on the management and the future of fishing in France?
It's a trick question ...
On the one hand, we have a brilliant hydrographic network. You can fish everything in France and we have huge fish. On the other hand, we have an associative management with its faults, conservative, orchestrated by a federation which is not less so. In my opinion, the situation is the same as in a large company. Politics often takes precedence over initiatives and changes.
I do not see any major positive substantive development, but I note some brilliant local initiatives in federations, led by more visionary, less political people, and that is really cool. So I don't expect miracles but I'm not overly pessimistic either.
What worries me more, however, are environmental issues. I am deeply affected by the profound changes so accelerated that they are noticeable on our scale. I am disgusted by the way our society operates, and worried about my children.
As you know, Rodmaps is working on promoting fishing guides in France. Do you also sometimes call on guides?
Of course ! Especially when I travel. In exo systematically already, and it also happened to me in fresh water. In the US, Spain and Asia. It has been a great help each time.
You fish for trout in spring as well as black-bass, asp or white fish in summer, pike in autumn or even pike-perch in winter. Do you still have a favorite fish or technique?
Difficult to choose! I find it extremely restrictive to catch the same fish all year round. It's missing out on so much. I much prefer to fish for what bites rather than struggling to catch the only fish I decided to catch.
However, I think that if I had to keep only one it would be the trout. This fish fascinates me, the shape, the colors, the behavior, everything pleases me. It is a species that adapts to everything. It is on every continent, from the smallest stream to the largest river, and even at sea. It is able to endure extreme conditions. I am worried about this species in many places back home. Seeing rivers massacred by pollution or even rivers that have dried up because man has been working to disrupt everything for 50 years drives me crazy.
What is your fondest fishing memory?
They all are! Strangely, this is not the catch of a big fish. I remember much more often my teenage fishing with my friend Gaël than the catch of this or that fish, even if it has unusual measurements.
Our escapades in streams, to fish for trout with the grasshopper, until the expeditions of night with the eel. I don't think I have any bad memories on the matter. We knew less than today, we took advantage and we learned everything. I believe that the more consciousness grows, the more we are unhappy when we love nature.
I still amass “the best memories”, don't believe the opposite, and most of the time these are moments shared on the water with friends. And I intend to accumulate lots more!
A message to pass on to those who would like to discover the world of fishing?
I could write a book on the subject, but to sum it up in a few lines I think I won't get there. No other activity to my knowledge brings so many emotions. Fishing is an excessively stimulating activity, contrary to what you might think as long as you keep the usual cliché of the guy on his folding bed waiting for the touch.
Nothing to do with luck, nor with patience for that matter. It calls for memory, reflection, skill, concentration, knowledge of the environment and fish, observation. And at the same time, it conveys values of sharing and respect which are very nice. Fishing has that elusive part that makes it so charming. Because if hitting a ball with a certain angle and a certain force always produces the same result, it is different in fishing. It is not enough to throw a decoy precisely to trigger an attack. We interact with the living, we propose, the fish dispose!
The sum of experience and knowledge, the investment in short, will help us to offer better, even if this is never a sufficient condition for success. To look cultivated, I will quote Kant "An incorrect proposition is necessarily false, but a correct proposition is not necessarily true"…
This is precisely what is fascinating, doing everything possible to offer correctly, to finally be rewarded, without knowing in advance the size of the reward, while taking advantage of the little authenticity that remains in nature, the wild behavior of our prey.
I encourage everyone to discover fishing, especially in the company of a guide. That's where the link with Rodmaps comes in, because whatever you're looking for deep down, chances are you'll find it in one fishery or another.
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