Fish O’ Mania Final
Peter Black, aged just 21, goes 12kg clear of nearest rival
Winning tactics
FISH O’Mania has seen its youngest-ever winner in the event’s 25-year history.
And it was no fluke either... 21-year-old Peter Black bossed the blue-riband event from start to finish and won by a convincing margin from Andy Power, runner-up for the second year in a row.
West Midlands angler Peter, who has only been match fishing for six years, took the lead from the opening weigh-in on the Island Lake at the Maver/ Dynamite Baits Hayfield Lakes complex and never let it slip, finishing with a massive 51-350, more than 12kg clear of Andy.
The win saw Peter, who lives in King’s Norton, pick up a morethan-handy £50,000 cheque and join some famous names on the Fish O’ roll of honour. It all came good for the match department worker in tackle superstore Foster’s of Birmingham, who used that most simple of tactics – pellet shallow on the pole.
“I’d practised a lot in the lead up to the final with my mate and fellow finalist Richie Hull, so when I drew peg 7, which was permanent peg 18, I couldn’t have been happier,” said Peter.
“I’d fished pegs 17 and 18 with Richie a few days earlier and we caught 400lb each.
“On every match I’d been on, pegs 15 to 21 seemed to hold the most fish so I was in the right area and couldn’t have been happier. After drawing it took me all of five minutes to sort my plan – pellet shallow on the long pole and the pellet waggler.”
Hot, still conditions saw lots of carp cruising on the surface and Peter went all-out at 14.5m with banded 6mm pellet, feeding the same. He used the waggler to cast further out if the fish were showing signs of backing off.
“My first weigh put me in front and the next two saw me add 8kg and 9kg – mainly taken shallow, but I also mugged a few cruisers to establish a good lead.
“I kept plugging away, fishing 18ins deep and slapping the rig,” he continued. “At the halfway stage I had 26kg and was well in front, but I lost my way a little after this point. I went on the waggler, caught one but lost two.
“I turned to my bank-runner Adam Rumble and said ‘that’s it, I’m sticking to the pole now’. Then I went back out to 14.5m and caught one immediately!
“I knew I was out in front, but from what I’d seen at Hayfield and knowing how big the fish were, a good run of big carp for someone could see them close the gap so I wasn’t taking anything for granted,” Peter continued.
“I guess the tension relaxed for me a fair bit in the final 10 minutes or so, when it was obvious that I’d won. It’s unbelievable, it really is.
“The chance to win £50,000 doesn’t come along very often and I’ve had a lot of people congratulate me and say how good it is to see a younger angler who isn’t a household name win Fish O’Mania.” Peter’s winning rig consisted of
0.18mm mainline to a hooklink of 0.16mm and a size 16 Guru MWG eyed hook with a 4x12 Preston Innovations Des Shipp Shallow float.
The 2ft 6ins of line between float and pole helped keep the pole-tip away from the fish, stopping them spooking.
Result: 1 Peter Black, 51-350; 2 Andy Power, 39-225; 3 Steve Ford, 36-925; 4 Scott Gollings, 31-150; 5 Steve Openshaw, 28-750; 6 Dave Shires, 24-100; 7 Jason Brown, 20-675; 8 Oliver Scotthorne, 17-725; 9 Ryan Lidgard, 16-825; 10 Richie Hull, 15-225; 11 Jamie Hughes, 14-400; 12 Adam Major, 13-925; 13 Kristof de Busser, 13-875; 14 Shaun Cooke, 13-300; 15 Adam Richards, 12-200; 16 Markus Billen, 10-800; 17 Russ Berryman, 10-400; 18 Dave Romain, 8-400; 19 Andy Dargue, 8-050; 20 Andy Bailey, 7-650; 21 Dale Whelan, 6-425; 22 Nathan Watson, 5-850; 23 Dan Squire, 2-975; 24 Franek Staniuszko, 0-825.