There have been some classic Fish O’Mania finals down the years, but none can match the drama of this year’s event served up at new venue Westwood Lakes, where Kristian Jones came through the field late on to scoop the £50k top prize!
The 23-year-old from Ellesmere Port overhauled early leaders Andy Power and Art Hilmi and fended off the challenge of eventual runner-up Andy Dyson, although it was desperately close, with just 600g separating first and third.
Blakes Bait and RW Floats-backed Kristian ended on 56-750 from peg 10 on Falcon Lake, Andy totalling 56-340 from peg 1 and Art 56-150 off peg 15 – that’s a single one of the lake’s F1s that made the difference. Here, then, is how Kristian’s match unfolded, in his own words...
At the peg
“I’d wanted a peg between nine and 16, so I was happy to draw 10. It was in a corner among other anglers, but I’m convinced the fish at Westwood live in the peg, and you catch what’s there, as opposed to drawing them in from elsewhere.
“The deepest channel at 6m had around 3ft 6ins, a good depth for the lake.”
The first Hour
“I started in the edge for the first 30 minutes and got off to a flyer, catching 8kg of mainly F1s and a couple of carp.
Once the keepnets were taken out for the first weigh-in, I knew that could change things. A 15-minute spell on the shallow line produced nothing, so I went back down the edge and had a few bites.”
Hour two
“The edge remained quite strong and I kept picking fish off here, having the occasional look elsewhere to see if anything had settled. There were fish tight to the far bank that swirled whenever I fed, but it was so shallow and I knew they’d prove difficult, if not impossible, to catch”
Hour three
“Like elsewhere, things started to slow in my peg. The shallow line clearly wasn’t going to kick in but I didn’t want to blow my edge. Knowing the lake, I thought the margins could come good late but pressuring them too soon could ruin it, so I rotated left, right and centre, nicking the odd fish on the short pole, the shallow line and tight to the far bank.”
Hour four
“It was time to see whether the margins could kick in and my first drop-in produced a 7lb fish – bingo! That was a turning point. I was thinking about winning the £2,000 section, as the title didn’t seem a realistic target with the lead that Artur had developed. I had a five-minute spell on the short line but nothing happened, so I decided it was boom or bust down the margins.”
Hour five
“The fish had settled and were of a good size, with carp in the 2lb-4lb bracket coming most drops-in. I knew Andy Dyson had been bagging, but I got my head down.
“With just a minute to go I hooked another fish, and because the fish has to be in the net at the final hooter, I pulled like mad and a 2lb F1 hit the mesh just in time!”
The final weigh-in
“We all thought Artur had won, and I wondered whether I could have nicked second. Suddenly, I heard a lot of gasps and it turned out Arthur had registered under 4kg on his final weigh-in. I’d had over 10kg. Jamie Cook from the Angling Trust came running over and told me I’d done it.
“Once the result was confirmed, I couldn’t believe it. It still hasn’t sunk in, and I’m not sure it will for a very long time yet!”
