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Fish O Mania 2010
2010 Fish 'O' Mania
Neil McKinnon, a 44 year-old contracts manager from Gloucester, has won the Totesport.com Fish 'O'Mania XVII on Saturday 17th July at Cudmore Fisheries, Staffordshire in the most dramatic style as he overturned a six kilo deficit in the last half hour to break Tommy Pickering’s heat and land the £25,000 prize.
McKinnon had not been in front at any stage of the UK’s most prestigious angling competition, but a sensational last half hour saw him sweep to glory.
1989 World Champion Pickering had been well ahead up until the last half hour of the event at Cudmore Fisheries, Stoke, but a late surge from McKinnon, that saw him land six decent sized fish in the closing stages, was enough to win and earn himself a place in Sunday's Fish 'O' Mania Champion of Champions.
It was the biggest ever last half hour comeback in the 17 year history of the event and was witnessed by several thousand watching at the venue and many more live on Sky Sports.
"With an hour to go I just stuck to my plan and fished my heart out and it has worked for me," said McKinnon. "I knew there was a lot of carp there and I had to be patient to find them, but I persevered and persevered and I caught five or six fish in the last half hour and it has made all the difference. What a day! I missed a few bites near the end and I thought that might've cost me but it didn't. Now I might buy a new car or go to Las Vegas. Viva Las Vegas!"
McKinnon was 6.15kg behind with only 30 minutes remaining but then caught 10.25kg compared to nothing from Pickering, who ended on 23.88kg, while McKinnon claimed the victory with a total of 27.98kg.
Despite the disappointment of not winning, Tom Pickering paid tribute to the winner, "Neil fished a great match in the last hour while I couldn't catch anything. He deserved to win it and I'm pleased for him. I will just have to try again. Finishing second you might as well chuck yourself in the water and drown yourself. I'll be smashing up everything in the house tonight, but full credit to Neil."
It was a thrilling day of fishing at the Cudmore Fisheries in Staffordshire with the event broadcast live on Sky Sports 2.
Neil Machin, the 2006 champion, was the early front runner in the race for the £25,000 top prize. Pre-event betting favourite Tommy Pickering, a former World Champion, started badly as he was in last position after the second weigh-in but soon made his way up the leader board.
In the 2.30pm weigh-in, he had moved up to second and with a big fish in the bag was on the verge of moving from last to first inside two hours.
Tom Pickering became the fourth different angler to be in front after Andy North, Rob Wootton and Neil Machin had been leading the competition but McKinnon took control when it mattered the most.
There was an added incentive for all the anglers as the biggest fish of the day would net them £2,500.
Tim Bull, brother of 2008 winner Mick, led that competition with a fish of 3.42kg, slightly ahead of Pickering's ghost carp which weighed in at 3.26kg.
However, that effort was later beaten by Andy Benwell's 5.05kg monster that looked to have won him the money, but there was to be a twist in the tale as Andy North caught a huge 6.08kg carp in the last few moments to claim the £2,500.
FINAL RESULT
1st - Neil McKinnon 27.98kg, 2nd - Tom Pickering 23.88kg, 3rd - Andy Benwell 20.27kg, 4th - Ray Hayward 16.71kg, 5th - Rob Wootton 16.37kg, 6th - Andy North 14.87kg, 7th - Neil Machin 14.75kg, 8th - Tim Bull 13.87kg, 9th – Kieron Rich 12.62kg, 10th – Stuart Ballard, 11.20 kg, 12th Sean Huggins 9.85kg, 13th Luke Bamford 9.25kg, 14th Richard Hoskins 8.07 kg, 15th Ben Emery 5.99kg, 16th Steven Bamford 5.36kg
Biggest Fish – Andy North 6.08 Common carp
Totesport.com Fish ‘O’ Mania XVII – Celebrity Match
Darts – 18.40 kg
Simon Whitlock 6.10 kg
Joe Roberts 8.50 kg
Phil Taylor 2.10 kg
Adrian Lewis 1.70 kg
Boxing – 11.05 kg
Mark Addy 4.60 kg
Tim Witherspoon 2.60 kg
Richie Woodhall 3.40 kg
Spencer Oliver 0.45 kg
Cricket – 9.77 kg
Owais Shah 2.25 kg
Ben Scott 3.50 kg
Dawid Malan 0.70 kg
Mark Eves 3.32 kg
All Stars – 3.70 kg
Cyril Brewster 0.50 kg
Barry Hearn 1.50 kg
Helen Dagnall 0.80 kg
Hollie Dowding 0.90 kg
Totesport.com Fish ‘O’ Mania XVII – Ladies
1. Ann Yates (Doncaster) 37.00 kg
2. Samantha Sim (Steyning) 26.31 kg
3. Denise Hudgell (Reading) 25.36 kg
4. Karen Madeley (Leigh) 19.80 kg
5. Charlotte Gore (Edenbridge) 10.71 kg
6. Deana Wood (Lancing) 5.51 kg
7. Sue Arkell (Reading) 4.18 kg
8. Sophie Davis (Maidstone) ----------
Fish ‘O’ Mania XVII – Juniors
1. Joe Kent (Wakefield) 4.96 kg
2. Jack Smethurst (Basingstoke) 4.92 kg
3. Tom Potter (West Hallam) 4.60 kg
4. Jamie Cowling (Hunslet) 1.95 kg
5. Jake Gallagher (Reading) 1.93 kg
6. Kyle Moore (Bradford) 1.74 kg
7. Matthew Ebbrell (Manchester) 0.84 kg
8. Josh Smith-Trow ( Manchester) ----------
NATHAN Watson has won the Totesport.com Fish'O’ Mania Champion of Champions which was held on Sunday 18th July 2010 at Cudmore Fisheries, Staffordshire.
THE competition featured the 16 men who have won the main Fish 'O' Mania competition and Watson won a dramatic finish as he finished less than 2kg ahead of Matt Hall.
"I started really slowly and I thought it was going to be a bad day," admitted Watson.
"I went on the method feed and started catching and I was pretty steady so I'm delighted with the win. I'm just really lucky that I got a good peg."
This was the second exciting finish in Fish 'O' Mania events inside two days after Neil McKinnon had triumphed over former World Champion Tom Pickering yesterday.
"I feel like Tommy did yesterday," added a disappointed Hall. "I was making a charge at the end but it was not enough. Every time I saw that Nathan had a fish, I knew it was a carp and in my head, I thought I was a bit short and I was. If you’re going to win something you stick to your Plan A or B and you can’t keep changing. I gave it my best shot but fair play to Nathan. Everyone thought that the peg was going to be good, but he fished it really nicely and won the competition."
Like yesterday's thrilling event, the Sunday tournament was live on Sky Sports 2 with a £10,000 prize going to the winner with £1,000 for the biggest fish caught.
Dave Pimlott made an incredible start as he made an early bid for both prizes. He caught nearly 12kg in the first half hour, including a fish of 5.08kg.
Pimlott's early haul helped him stay in front for the second and third weigh-ins. However, he was overtaken at the fourth weigh-in when Matt Hall, the only man to have won the main event twice after successes in 2003 and 2009, moved in front.
Neil McKinnon was the final man to earn his place in the event after winning the main competition on Saturday. But he was not able to repeat his success as he was cut adrift at the back of the pack.
Nathan Watson had started badly but had gradually worked his way up the leader board and at the seventh weigh-in moved into the lead, more than two kilos ahead of second placed Steve Ringer.
Mick Bull, winner in 2008, moved ahead in the race for the biggest fish prize with an effort of 6.06kg, which also put in contention for the main prize.
Another exciting finish was guaranteed as Matt Hall regained the lead with half hour to go but any of five anglers still had a realistic chance of winning.
FINAL RESULT
1. Nathan Watson (Louth) 35.18kg
2. Matt Hall (Awsworth) 33.69kg
3. Dave Pimlott (Manchester) 28.73kg
4. Steve Ringer (Ravensthorpe) 27.41kg
5. Mick Bull (Warwick) 24.44kg
6. Steve Jackson (Bridgwater) 24.41kg
7. Steve Cooke (Retford) 23.05kg
8. Neil Machin (Stoke) 22.33kg
9. Clive Wright (Wolverhampton) 19.38kg
10 Rob Hitchens (Rotherham) 18.46kg
11. Kevin Rowles (Devizes) 17.96kg
12. Marc Jones (Wakefield) 15.92kg
13. Geoff Ringer (Ravensthorpe) 14.94kg
14. Andy Jennings (Wakefield) 11.08kg
15. Ian Turner (Worksop) 9.10kg
16. Neil McKinnon (Gloucester) 3.37kg
Biggest fish – (£1,000) – Mick Bull.
4.30pm - WEIGH-IN 9
1st - Matt Hall 29.72kg, 2nd - Nathan Watson 29.34kg, 3rd - Steve Ringer 25.44kg, 4th - Mick Bull 24.32kg, 5th - Dave Pimlott 23.17kg, 6th - Neil Machin 20.73kg, 7th - Steve Cooke 19.89kg, 8th - Clive Wright 18.24kg, 9th - Steve Jackson 17.77kg, 10th - Rob Hitchens 16.96kg, 11th - Kevin Rowles 14.20kg, 12th - Geoff Ringer 14.04kg, 13th - Marc Jones 13.58kg, 14th - Andy Jennings 11.08kg, 15th - Ian Turner 6.97kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 3.37kg.
4pm - WEIGH-IN 8
1st - Nathan Watson 25.74kg, 2nd - Matt Hall 25.12kg, 3rd - Steve Ringer 22.29kg, 4th - Mick Bull 19.16kg, 5th - Dave Pimlott 18.97kg, 6th - Steve Jackson 17.77kg, 7th - Neil Machin 17.23kg, 8th - Rob Hitchens 13.13kg, 9th - Steve Cooke 13.04kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 12.50kg, 11th - Clive Wright 12.24kg, 12th - Marc Jones 12.11kg, 13th - Kevin Rowles 10.24kg, 14th - Andy Jennings 7.94kg, 15th - Ian Turner 5.83kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 3.37kg.
3.30pm - WEIGH-IN 7
1st - Nathan Watson 23.84kg, 2nd - Steve Ringer 21.64kg, 3rd - Matt Hall 20.37kg, 4th - Dave Pimlott 18.21kg, 5th - Neil Machin 15.15kg, 6th - Steve Jackson 13.53kg, 7th - Rob Hitchens 13.13kg, 8th - Steve Cooke 12.88kg, 9th - Marc Jones 10.20kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 9.66kg, 11th - Kevin Rowles 9.06kg, 12th - Andy Jennings 7.18kg, 13th - Clive Wright 6.54kg, 14th - Mick Bull 4.32kg, 15th - Ian Turner 3.63kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 2.50kg
3pm - WEIGH-IN 6
1st - Matt Hall 19.49kg, 2nd - Nathan Watson 19.18kg, 3rd - Steve Ringer 17.37kg, 4th - Dave Pimlott 16.45kg, 5th - Neil Machin 13.93kg, 6th - Steve Jackson 13.53kg, 7th - Steve Cooke 11.44kg, 8th - Marc Jones 10.38kg, 9th - Geoff Ringer 8.52kg, 10th - Kevin Rowles 8.40kg, 11th - Rob Hitchens 7.89kg, 12th - Andy Jennings 5.37kg, 13th - Clive Wright 4.74kg, 14th - Mick Bull 4.32kg, 15th - Ian Turner 3.08kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 1.28kg.
2.30pm - WEIGH-IN 5
1st - Matt Hall 18.29kg, 2nd - Dave Pimlott 16.07kg, 3rd - Nathan Watson 13.78kg, 4th - Steve Ringer 13.72kg, 5th - Steve Jackson 12.88kg, 6th - Neil Machin 10.85kg, 7th - Steve Cooke 10.84kg, 8th - Marc Jones 9.57kg, 9th - Kevin Rowles 7.08kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 6.26kg, 11th - Rob Hitchens 5.99kg, 12th - Andy Jennings 5.37kg, 13th - Clive Wright 4.74kg, 14th - Mick Bull 3.46kg, 15th - Ian Turner 3.08kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 1.28kg.
2pm - WEIGH-IN 4
1st - Matt Hall 17.43kg, 2nd - Dave Pimlott 15.32kg, 3rd - Steve Ringer 13.72kg, 4th - Neil Machin 10.15kg, 5th - Nathan Watson 9.52kg, 6th - Steve Jackson 8.94kg, 7th - Steve Cooke 7.70kg, 8th - Marc Jones 7.59kg, 9th - Rob Hitchens 5.99kg, 10th - Kevin Rowles 5.08kg, 11th - Clive Wright 4.74kg, 12th - Andy Jennings 4.71kg, 13th - Geoff Ringer 4.54kg, 14th - Ian Turner 3.08kg, 15th - Mick Bull 1.64kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 1.28kg.
1.30pm - WEIGH-IN 3
1st - Dave Pimlott 15.32kg, 2nd - Matt Hall 11.14kg, 3rd - Neil Machin 9.17kg, 4th - Steve Ringer 9.12kg, 5th - Steve Jackson 8.04kg, 6th - Steve Cooke 7.06kg, 7th - Rob Hitchens 5.99kg, 8th - Marc Jones 5.70kg, 9th - Clive Wright 4.64kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 4.54kg, 11th - Andy Jennings 4.15kg, 12th - Kevin Rowles 3.96kg, 13th - Nathan Watson 2.04kg, 14th - Mick Bull 1.64kg, 15th - Neil McKinnon 1.28kg, 16th - Ian Turner 0.82kg.
1pm - WEIGH-IN 2
1st - Dave Pimlott 13.62kg, 2nd - Matt Hall 8.65kg, 3rd - Neil Machin 7.67kg, 4th - Steve Jackson 5.84kg, 5th - Steve Ringer 5.62kg, 6th - Rob Hitchens 5.27kg, 7th - Steve Cooke 5.02kg, 8th - Clive Wright 4.64kg, 9th - Marc Jones 4.50kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 4.02kg, 11th - Andy Jennings 3.55kg, 12th - Nathan Watson 2.04kg, 13th - Mick Bull 1.26kg, 14th - Ian Turner 0.82kg, 15th - Kevin Rowles 0.44kg, 16th - Neil McKinnon 0.26kg.
12.30pm - WEIGH-IN 1
1st - Dave Pimlott 11.98kg, 2nd - Matt Hall 6.35kg, 3rd - Neil Machin 5.06kg, 4th - Rob Hitchens 4.64kg, 5th - Steve Cooke 2.84kg, 6th - Steve Jackson 2.24kg, 7th - Clive Wright 2.23kg, 8th - Andy Jennings 1.90kg, 9th - Marc Jones 1.85kg, 10th - Geoff Ringer 1.51kg, 11th - Steve Ringer 1.43kg, 12th - Mick Bull 1.26kg, 13th - Nathan Watson 0.70kg, 14th - Ian Turner 0.69kg, 15th - Neil McKinnon 0.26kg, 16th - Kevin Rowles 0kg.
PEG LINE-UP
1. Nathan Watson, 2. Kevin Rowles, 3. Steve Jackson, 4. Geoff Ringer, 5. Neil Machin, 6. Clive Wright, 7. Matt Hall, 8. Rob Hitchens, 9. Steve Cooke, 10. Mick Bull, 11. Dave Pimlott, 12. Andy Jennings, 13. Neil McKinnon, 14. Ian Turner, 15. Steve Ringer, 16. Marc Jones.
For a full list of reports and results of the Fish O Mania Qualifiers held in 2010 please click here.
For a full list of competitors for each qualifying venue that was held in 2010 please click here
