Jimmy Maistrello, fishing instructor-guide in Savoie and Haute-Savoie

Discover the portrait of Jimmy Maistrello, a fishing instructor-guide in Savoie and a great lover of fishing in general.

Hello Jimmy, firstly, could you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi to you guys. My name is Jimmy Maistrello, I'm 40 years old and I live in Savoie between the four great Alpine lakes. I have been a fishing guide for more than 15 years now, living in Rhône Alpes for 8 years.

Where did your passion for fishing come from?

Like many, I fell into it when I was young. The whole family fishes in my house, from my grandfather to my mother, my wife, my son. They say blackbirds don't make canaries. I wish to believe.

Today, fishing for you is a way to…?

Fishing is a way for me to live my life to the fullest! I find there sensations that no other sport brings to me. Fishing balances my life, and allows me to express myself at 200%.

It also helps fill the shopping basket at the end of the month. But waking up every day to go to the water's edge becomes easier than going to the factory, and that is the real luxury for me. Live off your passion!

Fishing also brings me a lot in human exchanges. Thanks to this passion, I travel and meet people from all walks of life. Fishing has no barriers, no boundaries, it brings generations together.

Can you tell us about your journey?

I think I had my feet in the water before I could walk.

Since I was 13, I started to help as an animator in a fishing school in my home. At the time, I was a bit ahead of the game and I could help my friends to learn the basics of coarse fishing, as well as other techniques such as toc, carp, lure fishing.

Becoming a fishing guide was therefore a clear path. Yet I waited a long time before taking the plunge. When I was 17, during a carp trip to Spain, I discovered guiding with Claude Valette. A first helping hand, a second, and I put my bags down there for a while to get my teeth into it.

Back in France, my friend Philippe Compain put my nose into the AFCPL competition. I quickly met incredible people there! When you rub shoulders and face guys like Legendre, Even, Samir Kerdjou, you learn even faster! And when these guys become buddies, things move even faster.

Besides, I always care about my first two casting reels. A Shimano and an Abu, offered respectively by Samir and Sylvain. It was during this period that I decided to resume my studies fishing guide in the center of Ahun in Creuse with a guy who has become like a brother Yoann Esquis. It was also during this period that Sylvain made me join Purefishing. If today I am here it is partly thanks to all these guys and I take these lines to thank them again.

What is your favorite fish?

This is the question I am asked most often. The answer is the same, there is none! I take as much pleasure in taking roach with seed or a dry trout, as getting fucked by a goliath or a snook at sea.

For those who do not yet know Savoie and Haute-Savoie, can you tell us a little more about your region? What do you think makes her so exceptional?

Like every corner of France, the terroir, the gastronomy. My Savoie is beautiful, it is varied, it offers you crazy landscapes, incredible hydrographic quality! Lakes, rivers, and a very varied fish wealth. Even if there is always to improve it is all the same a corner of France with not insignificant wealth.

What fishing techniques do you offer at the water's edge?

I try to listen to my trainees to offer them services that suit them. I am therefore quite eclectic in my proposals: fishing for predators in boats, trout in rivers in lakes, coarse fishing, carp fishing. I necessarily work on the dominant species, and I manage my fishing according to the seasons. Even if the basics remain pike, trout, whitefish.

Why did you choose to do this job?

Because in my eyes it's the prettiest job in the world (I'm writing this to you with eyes that shine)

What do you like most about guiding?

The expressions of my interns! Smiles, sometimes tears, joy, hardships too. But in the end, the satisfaction of having done the best for them.

We see you offering a lot of initiation guides and fishing holiday camps dedicated to children and teenagers. What is so special about supervising the youngest for you?

I like to say that they are the future. Working with young people when you are still 15 years old in your head is quite simple and rather compulsory (laughs).

Seriously, I love it! The reactions are natural and spontaneous. Generally, you don't have too much room for error with them, because if they don't like it, you know it straight away. I see them evolve from year to year. I have young people who came to me at 10 and who are now 18 and still going strong. We often chat on the networks, I share a lot with them especially when they are struggling at the water's edge.

I give my best to help them and make them evolve. They will be the fishermen of tomorrow and I must pass on my modest experience so that they too can share it with others.

What are the main qualities to be a good fishing guide?

It's one of the first things I explain at the training center to newcomers. Being a good guide is not just about catching fish. It is above all to be able to transmit information, to have an adapted pedagogy so that when your trainee finds himself alone at the edge of the water, he is able to transcribe and put into practice your explanations.

Demonstrate self-sacrifice. I see too many borderline fishing guides walking past the client to catch a fish for them and that's not the point. Sometimes I take the rod when the fishing is delicate or that the customer asks me. I go behind them and I show them that there are still some fish to catch (it's very funny in the river)

Listening to its trainees to best match your service to their requests.

To be on time ! Be irreproachable in your behavior towards other water users. Always anticipate and have plans to turn around in case of trouble.

The list is really long. Being a good guide cannot be improvised, it takes work.

You, who have just returned from a stay in the United States where you were able to fish in sea and freshwater, what is your view on fishing in France compared to the US? What are the big differences between these two countries?

I only have two trips behind me, so I lack the backing and substance to be able to say concrete words.

In general, I think it is still quite difficult to compare the US to France already by the extent of their hydrographic networks, as well as the quantity of fish present. Then by the rather different mentality even if in the end there are all the same similarities between the fishermen of our two countries.

In the US, fishing is a real business with stores like the bass pro shop, where everything is done so that you spend time there and necessarily that you spend money there. You just have to see the amazing fishing rays that you find in the corner supermarket. I will not make a comparison between the Bass Master and our French competitions (laughs).

In Florida, most people fish, either randomly or on a regular basis. It's still the only place I know where you find yourself at 2am on a pier with more people than in the middle of the day. The fishing license is super accessible, there is a lot of control!!!! and over there I take you to believe that one does not laugh in the face of the guards.

France could be one of the most beautiful destinations in the world if we really change things up. I think that our system has had its day, and that it is no longer at all in tune with our times. A good sweep would do the greatest good. I fight at my level to change mentalities and protect our environments that are so attacked.

The work is considerable and the road long to get there. This is why the younger generation must be ready.

Any future projects you would like to tell us about?

I necessarily have projects. Already to work even more in France and my region because there is really a lot to do there.

Get back to Florida quickly! This is my second time there and I'm getting really addicted to this corner of the US…. I took over the FFPS trout competition in the river last year and this year the officials asked me to give a hand to the friends during the world championship. Another great experience to come since it's in France!

Some people know, I left Purefishing at the start of the year for different reasons. Since then, I have been lucky enough to have been approached by a booming French company, I would also like to thank Gaël Even and Jérôme Riffaud for joining their ranks.

An anecdote to tell us during a guide?

I have so many, I'll end up writing a book!

The latest with my little wife who took her first goliath and her first bone fish the same week. She brought tears to my eyes and I was not the guide. When I talk to you about emotion during a guide, this is what I like to bring to life for my trainees.

Thank you for this interview, and thank you for the work you do to federate and bring together enthusiasts! Long life to Rodmaps

Useful links to get to know Jimmy Maistrello and his profession better:

Learn to fish with a fishing guide

www.savoieguidage.fr/

06.63.79.45.35