Circle Fishers, sell and buy fishing equipment safely
Through the eyes of Karim its founder, discover Circle Fishers, the 1st platform to afford quality second-hand fishing equipment at an affordable price and in complete safety! Karim tells us about his site, his genesis and especially 25 years of a devouring passion for fishing, nature and fish.
Hello Karim. For those who do not yet know you, could you briefly introduce yourself?
Hello and thanks again to Rodmaps for this interview. My name is Karim Sanogho, I am 34 years old and I am the founder of site Circle Fishers. I have lived in Montpellier for a few years but I am from Toulouse.
Where did your passion for fishing come from?
I must have been 4 the first time I found myself with a cane in my hand; it was my father who initiated me although he was not passionate about it. We had the Canal du Midi which ran a few hundred meters from our house and I started going there more and more often from primary school; often accompanied by my father and my brother.
We will say that from the age of 8, fishing became a real passion, I went there as often as possible. During the summer holidays it happened to us with my brother to go there almost every day. At the time it was rather catfish and bream that we caught.
What techniques do you practice at the water's edge?
I went through a lot of techniques when I was younger such as coarse fishing, toc, live fishing or even surf casting while on vacation. But today 90% of the time I fish for predators with lures from the shore or in a float-tube.
Nevertheless, for 2 years I have had a renewed interest in fishing for trout with toc and particularly with artificial nymph and I practice a little fly fishing especially to track the chub. I also think that the fake and the fly will take an increasingly important place for me.
Do you have a favorite fishing?
It's really lure fishing that I particularly like. I generally fish for black bass, pike, perch, trout and wolf with all types of lures. However, it is perhaps the topwater fishing that gives me the most pleasure. Especially on the bass or the wolf which can make very violent attacks on the surface.
Also, do you have a favorite fish? If yes, why ?
Difficult to choose between wolf, bass and trout. I am passionate about these three fish which each give me a lot of pleasure.
But in recent years, with the birth of my daughter, I have had less opportunity to go trout fishing, so it is the species that I miss the most at the moment.
It's now been a year since you launched Circle Fishers, a platform for buying and selling used fishing equipment between enthusiasts. Could you tell us a little more about your site and how it works?
Of course. Circle Fishers is a site which allows anglers to safely sell and buy second-hand fishing gear. Unlike traditional platforms for buying and reselling second-hand equipment, the site secures transactions from payment to delivery.
Buyers and sellers are protected thanks to the integrated payment system and delivery tracking. For example, a a buyer cannot order an item if they are not creditworthy, and a seller is paid after the item has been received by the customer. No risk of scams on either side. Besides sellers are rated after orders to reassure future buyers.
On Circle Fishers we find used equipment for lure fishing, carp or for fly fishing and the site is designed so that buyers can quickly find what they are looking for.
We see that the number of ads, sellers and buyers continues to increase on Circle Fishers. Could you tell us what makes your site so special?
Until today, there was no secure site and 100% fishing to sell and buy used equipment. Circle Fishers' innovative concept appeals not only to anyone looking to outfit themselves with quality, affordable fishing gear, but also to avid anglers who have tons of gear in their homes that they no longer use. Putting this material on a 100% Pêche sales platform allows them to sell more quickly with the certainty of receiving their money.
Customer service also does a lot I think. I want buyers, sellers or simple visitors to always have their questions answered as quickly as possible.
What prompted you to create Circle Fishers? Could you tell us about the genesis of the project?
It all started two years ago when I wanted to get back to fly fishing and I was looking to equip myself with a rod and a reel. I had a fairly limited budget but I still wanted to have fun with equipment for fairly confirmed fishermen. I quickly realized that the only way to find quality equipment at a reasonable price was to go through the occasion.
Very interesting offers were on Le Bon Coin or Facebook but very often I was afraid to cross the course and receive material in bad condition. I told myself that the solution would be to go through a platform that would allow me to buy second-hand fishing equipment but in a secure manner. The idea behind Circle Fishers had thus been born.
With Circle Fishers, we often see you speak up and push for so-called eco-responsible fishing. Could you tell us a little more about this conviction that drives you?
I am certainly passionate about fishing but also passionate about fish and nature in general. I attach particular importance to the way in which I impact the environment in which I operate, whether it is at the water's edge or not.
So it's very important to me to share this mindset with people who follow Circle Fishers on social media or who use the site.
In addition, I am convinced that fishermen have a key role to play in the preservation of aquatic environments. We see it for example at the moment with confinement. It is enough that the fishermen are not at the water's edge for industrialists or malicious people to voluntarily reject toxic products and destroy years of efforts to protect and restore communities.
We must therefore fight to not only develop our hobby, but also to ensure that more and more fishermen have a responsible approach to their practice. This is already the case with the no kill explosion, but I think it must go beyond the simple pardon of the fish. The survival of our passion depends on it.
What are you proudest of since the founding of Circle Fishers?
First of all, I'm happy to have moved from the idea stage to a concrete site. But what makes me the most proud and what makes me want to continue is to have feedback, especially from young fishermen who were able to afford equipment that they could not have bought without going through the site.
I hope that Circle Fishers will allow many people to experience the joys of sport fishing.
What are the big projects for Circle Fishers this year?
We will continue to develop the site, improve it and make it known to fishermen. The goal this year would be to reach 5,000 registered and significantly increase the number of ads on the site. It will go through different things but I do not want to skip the steps.
A fishing anecdote to tell us during a fishing session?
I have tons of memories but there is in particular one scene that I remember and that marked me. I must have been 15 and it was during the opening of the trout on a river in the Pyrenees where we often went with my brother and my parents. At the time I was fishing for drift trout with a plug.
That day I had already caught a good fifteen trout with moth or worms and I was almost out of bait. After the sandwich break I put aside a few pieces of ham to try to catch trout with and result, I caught two large rainbow trout, one of which must have been close to two feet from my memory.
I often try to remember this kind of anedocts to tell myself that in fishing as in everyday life, you shouldn't hesitate to think outside the box.
A message to pass on to those who would like to discover buy or sell on Circle Fishers?
First of all, I thank them and I want to tell them that they do not hesitate to contact us if they have any question or remark. We try to make Circle Fishers as easy as possible to use.
Despite everything, you can have your "head in the handlebars" and not realize that things that seem obvious to us are not obvious to some users. You have a phone number and an email address on the site and someone will answer your questions immediately.
Useful links to learn more about Karim and Circle Fishers:
www.facebook.com/circlefishers/
www.instagram.com/circlefishers/
About The Author
Rodmaps
Rodmaps is above all the story of Nicolas and Matthieu, two friends passionate about fishing. Since our childhood, our passion drives us to travel through France and to travel around the world in search of adventure and trophy fish. Through Rodmaps, we want to share our passion for fishing with as many people as possible and make people discover the joys of this sport around us, because yes, fishing is a sport!