Ahead of Saturday’s Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final at Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster we profile the 24 anglers taking part, concluding with the final six who qualified for this year’s Grand Final.
Andy Bennett (Manchester)
Qualified From: Partridge Lakes (96.67kg) Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: Debut
Four-time Matchman of the Year Andy has reached 12 big money finals and this Saturday will be his Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final debut. The 35-year-old enjoys playing pool and says the competitiveness and unpredictability are his favourite things about fishing.
Gavin Bridge (Chelmsford)
Qualified From: Colemans Cottage (66.9kg) Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: Debut
Essex angler Gavin says the thing he most likes about fishing is the way you have to figure out how to catch in certain conditions. The 59-year-old has only been fishing for seven years and says he feels he is representing the match anglers that turn up every weekend for their local open.
Douglas Jackson (Nottinghamshire)
Qualified From: Lake View Fishery (53.75kg) Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: Debut
Douglas has qualified for the Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final for the first time after winning a tough match at Lake View in June. The Nottinghamshire man has three children and has been angling for 32 years.
Tim Peters (Yorkshire)
Qualified From: The Oaks Lakes (64.55kg) Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: Debut
Tim qualified for his Fish‘O’Mania Grand Final debut after playing to the confitions on a warm day at The Oaks in June. He fished meat both shallow and deep to catch a run of good-sized carp throughout the match, finishing on 65.55kg.
Kristian Jones (Ellesmere Port)
Qualified From: Lindholme Lakes (87.78kg) Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: Debut
Kristian makes his Grand Final debut this Saturday having previously taken part in the Fish’O’Mania Juniors match. He won team gold at the Under-18 World Championship in 2016 and enjoys playing darts.
Markus Billen (Germany)
Qualified From: German Qualifier Previous Fish’O’Mania Finals: 2017 (12th); 2018 (16th)
Germany’s Markus Billen qualified at Carpodrom in Belgium to make it three consecutive Grand Finals. The 48-year-old from Cologne says his biggest disappointment in the sport came when he overlooked one fish in his keepnet to win a 200peg match.
Spectator tickets to attend Fish‘O’Mania are free of charge and available to download at www.fishomania.net. Fish‘O’Mania will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Arena from 11:30am on Saturday, July 13.
