Over Herman
Fishing is my passion
Fishing guide Herman Schuurman
I have been fishing for zander for almost fifty years.
It is not just a hobby; fishing is my great passion. Being a professional fishing guide is now part of that. I have been found by the water's edge my entire life. After school, I would stand along the railway ditch catching salamanders or sticklebacks. Soon, I could be found at the local power plant. Zander could be caught well at the outflow of the warm water. I could be found there every free hour, and you could also experiment a lot. We caught a lot with a piece of fish, but I remember we even caught them with a piece of silver foil or an orange peel. I have been fishing for almost 50 years for my friend Glasoog, using every possible technique. Making my passion my profession has been my dream for a very long time, and this dream became a reality three years ago. My great role model is Willem Zandstra; he is my fishing father. Willem is the inventor of the 'Hoempie Ploempie' float and had a sport fishing center in Friesland in the last century. He was a true zander specialist, fishing guide, and authority, but above all, a wonderful host. He knew how to give everyone, young and old, rich and poor, a great time with his humor and hospitality. I was a regular here and took my first steps as a fishing guide here. This included the Shimano specialist weekends, which is how I ended up at Shimano as a Prostaffer. I volunteered for Willem at these fishing camps for many years; it was wonderful work. I still run into people at trade shows and elsewhere in the angling world who were there back then. Some are even very well-known in the industry, which gives me a lot of satisfaction. He who has the youth, has the future. For that reason, I also still teach fishing at primary schools. Competitive fishing is a passion within a passion, and I have learned a lot from it. Before I started competitive fishing, I could only be found in Friesland, with the occasional exception. Through fishing competitions (NK Snoekbaarsvissen, WPC, and Luremasters) and pre-fishing for them, I am familiar with waters in a large part of the Netherlands. The results followed: a large number of first and podium finishes were achieved during the NKSnoekbaars. We consistently finished in the top ten in the competition, with a second place in 2018 as the highlight. We also performed creditably in the Luremasters, securing a second and a fifth place in this internationally strong field of participants. I would like to share my experience with you.