Ahead of this Saturday’s Fish‘O’Mania at Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster we profile the 24 anglers taking part, starting with the first six who qualified for this year’s Grand Final.
(l-r)David Romain, Shaun Cooke, Jason Brown
David Romain
David Romain was the first angler to net his place at this year’s Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final when he won March’s match at Viaduct Fishery. David used his local knowledge of the venue to win with 191lbs from peg 77 on Cary to earn his FishO debut, an achievement he says is his best in match angling. The 36-year-old is a self-employed herdsman from Somerton in Somerset.
Shaun Cooke
Shaun Cooke won at Tunnel Barn Farm to book his place at the Grand Final. He made his FishO debut in 2014, when he finished 9th. The 26-year-old from Manchester has been fishing since he was six and was the only angler to top 100lbs when he netted 117lbs 12oz to qualify from Tunnel Barn in March.
Jason Brown
Midlands angler Jason Brown says qualifying for Fish‘O’Mania for the first time this year is his biggest achievement in 40 years of fishing. The March qualifier at Heronbrook was Jason’s second attempt at qualifying this year after he’d entered the previous match at Tunnel Barn. He won with 199lbs 1oz, over 40lbs clear of the chasing pack. He took most of his fish on dobbed bread and had 30 carp and 19 F1s at the whistle.
(l-r) Daniel Squire, Franek Staniuszko, Steve Ford
Daniel Squire
Daniel Squire was another local angler to take the glory at Viaduct Fishery in the spring and will make his Grand Final debut at Hayfield Lakes. The father of three bagged 197lbs 7oz in qualifying in April from peg 112 of Campbell Lake at Viaduct. The 28-year-old has 11 years of fishing experience and once bagged a mammoth 399lbs in a match.
Franek Staniuszko
Franek Staniuszko has finally put his biggest angling disappointment behind him having been pipped to qualification at Fish‘O’Mania qualifiers in the past. The 53-year-old makes his FishO debut this year, 44 years after first taking up the sport. Franek has numerous other individual and team medals in his collection but a spot in the Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final had always alluded him until he qualified by the narrowest of margins at Lindholme Lakes in April – he netted 155lbs 1oz to edge out Wayne Kearney, who had caught 155lbs exactly.
Steve Ford
Cheltenham’s Steve Ford is making his Fish‘O’Mania debut this year. The 47-year-old is a two-time medallist in the Division One team Nationals, having bagged gold in 2001 and silver in 2003. Ford took 179lbs from Ghost pool at Woodland View Fishery and remarkably, the match was Ford’s first Fish‘O’Mania qualifier for 14 years.
Fish‘O’Mania is live on Sky Sports Action and Sky Sports Mix from midday on Saturday, July 14. Spectator tickets are FREE of charge (£5 car park fee applies) and can be downloaded at: https://fishomania.net/tickets/
