Fish O’ Mania plans for 2017 event

Organisers praise big weights from rejuvenated Arena Lake

ORGANISERS of Fish O’Mania have labelled this year’s final ‘the best ever’ and have already started work on planning the next campaign.

Thousands of people tuned in to watch the action unfold and were treated to arguably the most thrilling final in the history of the tournament.

It wasn’t until the dying stages that the winner became clear, with Andy May just about doing enough to see off a talented field and bag the coveted trophy and £50,000 top prize.

Host venue Cudmore Fisheries had been subject to criticism from some quarters after weights dwindled during the 2014 and 2015 finals, but the Staffordshire complex bounced back in style.

Tournament owners Matchroom Sport were delighted at the event and Media Director Luke Riches told Angling Times: “It was an amazing final that saw the 16 anglers share over 600lb of fish between them – that is more than double what was landed last year.

“The Arena Lake was always going to take time to settle down from draining and restocking, and it has certainly done that now.

“There were four different leaders and the lead changed hands six times. The runner-up spot for £10,000 was not decided until the very last weigh-in... how’s that for drama?”

Champion Andy May was in full agreement that the final will live long in the memory, and he said: “The staff at Cudmore have got the stocking spot-on, and it made for a fantastic match that was alive until the very end.”

Discussions have already been held to decide the format of next year’s tournament, and Luke hinted that changes could be made for 2017.

“We saw the event as a huge success but we have had plenty of feedback from anglers.

“As a result of this we will be looking at tweaking the qualification process to make Fish O’Mania even more exciting,” concluded Luke.