Top European show closes doors after three decades

One of Europe’s top fishing shows, which traditionally heralded the opening of the freshwater season across the region and attracted thousands of visitors and most of the major industry manufacturers, has been consigned to history after more than 30 years.

France’s Carrefour National de la Peche des Loisirs (CNPL) – the Clemont-Ferrand Fishing Show – will not take place next year and its traditional January slot in 2027 has been replaced by a leisure and outdoor activities-themed event.

Confirming the move, a spokesperson for the venue, Clermont Auvergne Events, told Angling International: “We have a booking for 2027, but it seems that the organiser is moving away from fishing activities and replacing it with an event concentrating on leisure and outdoor activities.”

The show has been on a downward spiral for a number of years despite continually attracting healthy attendances – more the 15,000 anglers made the pilgrimage to the event in 2024. However, exhibitor numbers were hampered by the loss of the French representatives of the big guns from the event and a general decline in exhibitor numbers.

Prior to last year’s event the organiser appointed Fred Jullian – described as a true star in world fishing – to its team of consultants in a bid aimed at ‘meeting the expectations of new generations of fishermen and offering an enriched experience for show visitors’.

“With his international expertise and deep understanding of the sector, he will be instrumental in attracting new audiences and strengthening the reach of the event, both in France and abroad,” said a spokesman for the show at the time.

The launch last year of the National Fishing Festival in Nantes by the French industry trade body, GIFAP (Groupement de l’Industrie Française d’Pièces de Pêche) and Exponantes, in partnership with the Confédération Mer et Liberté (CML), was also seen as a credible option to Clermont-Ferrand and hailed as a resounding success.

More than 10,000 visitors attended the event on the banks of the River Erdre where a complete line-up of GIFAP members – including Pure Fishing, Rapala VMC Corporation, Daiwa and Shimano – were among the star-studded line-up of tackle suppliers.

One industry figure texted Angling International when asked about the news: He said: “Clermont-Ferrand is done and dusted – Nantes is the proper alternative show now.”

The second National Fishing Festival is set to take place from April 17 to 19 next year with organisers predicting an exhibition arena that will boast the presence of more than 150 manufacturers, importers and retailers presenting a complete portfolio of the latest tackle, accessories, marine electronics, boats and motors.