Stéphane Legentilhomme, fishing guide instructor in Midi-Pyrénées

Posted On 21 November 2018

Discover the portrait of Stéphane Legentilhomme, fishing guide instructor in Midi-Pyrénées and specialist in trout and predator fishing.

Hello Stéphane, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers before starting?

Hi, I'm 42 years old, I have been living in Ariège since April 2017, but I have lived in a lot of different places. I was born in Loire-Atlantique, which I left at the age of 28, then I lived in Creuse, Manche, Aude, Aisne, then today in Ariège. But I also went through Ireland during 2 big guiding seasons in 2012 and 2013, then more briefly in Spain near Extremadura in 2015, also for guiding. I have been developing my activity in France since June 2015.

Where does your passion for fishing come from?

From childhood, of course, like many fishermen. It's a difficult thing to explain this passion for fishing, I think it's something that lives in us. It must be written somewhere in our genes right ?! Apart from my very early childhood, which I can't remember, I have the feeling that I have always sinned.

My uncle was surely the first to guide me on this path, and so many people afterwards! And even today, I believe that it is the encounters and the quality of these that participate fully in being constantly in discovery and evolution. In this way the flame remains fully lit. There is no shortness of breath, on the contrary, just directions that can branch off.

Today, fishing is synonymous for you ... 

Happiness, escape, absolute tranquility, exchanges, wonderful encounters, nature, water in all its components, diverse and varied fish ... but also competition (for its aspect of perfectionism which pushes people far away. know-how and for its requirement which tends to push chance towards the exit), thirst for learning, continuously ...

Do you have a favorite fish? 

Today it is the trout that fascinates me the most. It may seem like a paradox because it is in the predator fishing that I have guided the most, by far. But fly fishing in particular (I also catch fake) grabs me fully.

In the past I was passionate about coarse and English fishing, I practiced it in competition for a dozen years. What's great is being able to have the same thirst to learn and evolve today in other techniques.

Any fisherman who has the will to progress in his technique (s) knows that we are constantly learning, every day, and whatever our level.

I am not passionate about one particular fish but about a whole series of things that revolve around fish and fishing. I love pikeperch peaches, also those of pike. The perch can be extra. So, roughly speaking, today trout, pikeperch, pike and perch are the 4 species I fish the most.

What fishing techniques do you offer and in which regions in particular?

Mainly fishing for predators with lures in a boat or on foot (rarer), fly trout or toc in the river. In the Ariège department, spilling over into the Aude, Haute-Garonne and Pyrénées-Orientales.

Could you tell us a little more about your fishing sectors and what makes them unique?

Yes, there we have to distinguish 2 main categories. Lakes for predator fishing. With first of all the lake of Montbel which is the one where I guide the most. My activity naturally developed on this lake. It was sort of obvious.

Of course, the fishing can be great fun, but the lake's great asset is also its setting. What calm! Beautiful landscapes. People love to meet on Lake Montbel. It's a little paradise. I have the impression that it is the exact distance from the Toulouse region to make it perfectly accessible for day trips and at the same time sufficiently far away to maintain great peace, far from the crowds. Thus the fishing pressure is quite low there. It is thanks to Lake Montbel that my activity was able to develop in France.

Then I am in the process of extending my suggestions for guidance for some time on other lakes: La Ganguise on the side of Castelnaudary, Lunax (lake of Gimone) on the border between Haute-Garonne and Gers, Caramany in PO. These are good, if not excellent lakes, but further from home. It is more difficult to organize guides there. But they are so worth it!

The second major category is the FIRST category. I live 5 minutes from Foix! In the heart of a fishing area that is just exceptional for trout! It plays a huge role in my salmonid orientation. I should have been born in Ariège. The number of rivers there is incredible, there are everywhere. From the smallest stream to the large and impressive Ariège, there really is something for everyone in all trout fishing techniques. It takes a lifetime to know all of this, not to mention Mountain lakes!

Why did you choose to do this job?

When I was a teenager and I was setting up my lines for coarse fishing competitions, I could already imagine myself doing my job one day, without having any specific ideas in mind. In fact what drives me is the transmission of know-how. I love to bring a fisherman to evolve in his practice. I have long been convinced that fishing can be learned, and that is the guideline of my journey I believe. From year to year, I see some fishermen that I guide evolve and I find that extra. It also pushes me to always be in a process of personal progression. I try to give myself the means to move forward ... at my own pace! So, for example, this year I took part in a fly fishing Masterclass organized by Glenn Delporte with Julien Daguillanes. I try to be myself in a learning process ...

I must add that at the base, one person in particular was like a kind of “mentor” also in this career choice. This is Etienne Picquel, now a guide in New Caledonia for many years. At the time when I wanted to pursue this profession, Étienne was working at the Pontivy fishing house. It dates back to 2003 or 2004 roughly, it's been 14-15 years already! Étienne is an outstanding fisherman, he has that in his blood. He has a style of his own that particularly speaks to me. He is one of the people who have been particularly important in my journey ...

What appeals to you the most today in your job as a fishing guide?


Each day of guidance is a new encounter. Many days also come to consolidate an already established relationship, I have fishermen who come back regularly. This human aspect of things is essential for me. I also really like the idea of developing what ultimately looks like a small craft activity, being in charge of my job in all its components (guidance, communication, management, accounting, etc.).

How do you see the profession of fishing guide guide evolving?

I do not know at all ! Concerning predators, I don't think I could have developed this activity in this way 15 years ago. The craze for lure fishing and all the technical skills necessary to fish well have greatly favored the development of guiding. I have the impression that the use of a guide is becoming commonplace in France. But we do not really have the hindsight on this today, it is in 15 years that we will be able to better measure things.

There is a multitude of initiatives around the world of fishing that are emerging. And Rodmaps is right in there by the way. It is not by chance. I am rather optimistic about the future for the profession of fishing guide. Before really living it, with exceptions, it takes many years of practice and implementation ... it is better to be aware of it, or not

What is your type of clientele? What are they looking for behind your offers?

I don't have a specific type of clientele. The fishermen come either to learn, or to have a good time on the water in peace far from civilization, or to share a moment with friends, family… and often all of this at the same time. The idea of learning, of progressing technically, is quite dominant all the same (more in France than for guides in Ireland or Spain). And that's what makes the job particularly interesting.

How do these people hear about you?

Word of mouth, my website, Facebook, communication brochures are the main vectors of communication. I have to work on other tools to go a little further, much further, in this area. But one thing at a time. In 2018 it is only my third year in France.

You take care of your communication yourself, don't you? Is it at the expense of something else?

Yes, it can be at the expense of something else. But I like that too. I got interested quite early in web development, at the time when you had to write code to design a site. With today's tools, when you have a little mastery of the field, it has all the same become much easier. And I need to take care of it myself, it's an integral part of the artisan side of it for me. The pads also I prefer to design them myself. After that, the thing is that at one point it would take 2 lives to do everything, which is more when you take your time like me.

What qualities do you think are required to be a good guide?

Listening to the person's needs. Why is she there, what has she come looking for, so as to best meet this need. Of course, a good knowledge of its territory is essential. And sufficient technical background to advance someone in a given discipline. Then good overall management so that the activity can be viable over time. And of course the passion for fishing itself, necessarily.

So what is your view on fishing in France compared to Spain or Ireland where you are used to guiding? What are the big differences between these countries?

Very big subject !!! And so wide ...

The strength of Ireland is its wild side, both for rivers and lakes. Example, this year in 2018 the reproduction of pike on Lake Montbel is exceptional. In the 10 years that I have been fishing it I have never seen so many pike on the edges. While last year I haven't seen a single one during the season, as if the pike repro hadn't taken place in 2017 (and the years before it was almost the same)! At the start of 2018, during the pike breeding season, the lake was simply at the right level so that spawning could be possible.

In Ireland this is not the exception, because many lakes are natural lakes, very large expanses, with ramifications via rivers, canals, etc ... We do not play in the same courtyard side environments for this which concerns the lakes. What's more, the Irish are not predators for pike, they don't fish for it! Conversely, in France, we are very slowly emerging from a culture of sampling, and even of excessive sampling.

On the other hand, on the rivers side, in France we have a brilliant hydrographic network. I only know a small part of Ireland, so I cannot judge its entirety. But for now I enjoy trout much more in France than in Ireland. However, one of these four I will set foot in Ireland only for trout, in search of beautiful rivers… because when we have tasted Ireland, normally we go back, and not just for fishing. Ireland is mystical.

In Spain (as far as Extremadura is concerned), the impressive size of the dam lakes is surely there for something in the incredible flock of fish (pike and black bass). I spent only 2.5 months there guiding, so I know less. But roughly speaking, the Spaniards fish for black, the pike are feeding them.

So they do what it takes so that there is plenty of black bass and the pikes manage to proliferate without being bothered other than by the French, who put everything in the water ... It is surely simplistic analysis , but I have the impression that it is not far from being fair.

Do you have any future projects you would like to tell us about?

My guideline is never to talk too much about projects, I find that this is often the best way so that they never see the light of day. I prefer to do and see after what is. But my head is full, even have to be pruned.

What is your fondest fishing memory?

Bhein no, there are necessarily too many there! In more than 35 years of fishing, there are plenty of memories. How to bring out a particular one. I kick in J button… Come on, one all the same… it was the first round of the French junior coarse fishing championship in Moissac in 1994, on this round I had taken a place of 3^th. It was fishing for big catfish (wow, we're a long way from today's trout ...), both a technical and “nag” trick where you had to maintain a rhythm from start to finish. I had picked up in the final standings but I think I had never fished as well in my young life as on this round, and it was partly thanks to the very good advice from Etienne which I was talking about earlier. … It was a moment that remained engraved in my memory.

What is also your fondest memory as a guide?

Sorry, again there is not one that overwhelms the others. I had the chance to guide in Ireland, to link the guides there. In Spain for only 2 and a half months but 6 days a week, and in France for more than 3 years. I also worked for 4 years in the Fishing Federation as a fishing coordinator. It's starting to do a few hundred days, and my miserable memory is overflowing with very nice memories!

A message to pass on to those who would like to discover the world of fishing?

Bhein you have to go there in fact! With a friend, a club, a guide, solo on an adventure ... but be careful, it can become a drug

Discover Stéphane Legentilhomme's guiding offers: