Fishing / Chicken Dinner / 17 July 2008 /

The Olympics? The Open? The start of the Premiership season? Yes, all important sporting events but if it's fishing you're into, you'll know that Fish "O" Mania is the big one. Here's what Chicken Dinner make of it all.

If you are one of those people labouring under the impression that any event ending in "mania" is a safe bet to be interesting, this weekend offers an excellent opportunity to test your theory. On Saturday, Fish 'O' Mania brings together the cream of British angling in a televised, man-versus-murky-water battle.

The contestants have five hours in which to penetrate the implacable mind of our underwater forebears and trick them onto the hook with a variety of secret recipes. The catch will be weighed, a champion declared and man's dominion over the waters will be reaffirmed. Of one thing you may be sure: whoever wins, it won't be the fish.

What are the rules of the event?



From 5 April to 2 July, sixteen regional qualifiers were held all around the country, each featuring 130 anglers. The winner of each earned a place at this weekend's Fish 'O' Mania final. It will be a timed event lasting five hours, during which competitors aim to catch the highest aggregate weight of fish (quantity or length of fish is irrelevant).

In normal competitions, the weigh in is carried out at the end, but as this is a live television event, and to crank the drama to an intensity usually only experienced by anglers when they crack open their lunchbox, the catches are thrown on the scales every half an hour. This year's winner will scoop a £25,000 jackpot, enough to keep them in maggots for this life and the next.

Where is it held?



For the past eleven years, Fish 'O' Mania has been held at Hayfield Lakes in Doncaster, but in keeping with the fashion in sport for ever-fancier stadia, this year's match will take place just outside Stoke at the Cudmore Fishery. The sprawling 2,000 acre estate is home to the impressive Arena Lake, custom-made for televised events. Its owner and designer Cyril Brewster promises to make it 'an event to remember'.

Where can you watch it? 



Fish 'O' Mania will be broadcast from 12pm on Saturday 19 July, exclusively on Sky Sports 2. If five hours of staring at a lake on a television sounds a little intense, they will be screening a two-hour edited highlights show shortly after.

Who have historically been the big names in the competition?



The biggest name at this year's tournament is undoubtedly Neil 'Matcho' Machin. The 40-year-old from nearby Stoke-On-Trent won the 2006 tournament by hauling in over 200lbs of his scaly rival, on a day where catches weren't expected to exceed 100lbs. He produces his own line of baits, and holds the record for highest total collected at a Fish 'O' Mania final. One other previous winner, Matt Hall, has made the final 16 this year, while three other previous finalists - reigning UK Champion Jon Arthur, Darren Cox and Dave Swain - will also be battling it out for top spot. The other eleven anglers are making their debuts in the competition.

Who are the main contenders for this year and who is the best bet to win it?



2007 winner Clive Wright didn't make the finals this year, making the aforementioned Neil Machin the current favourite [3.3 to win on Betfair]. It's worth noting, however, that no one has ever won the competition twice. Machin faces a particularly strong field, including professional Angler Andy May [3.95, second favourite], and Fish 'O' Mania debutant Jamie Hughes [14.0], a scaffolder from The Wirral. Not only did Hughes finish top of his Worcestershire qualifier (with a mighty 142lbs), but he boasts an impressive fifteen years of experience fishing at Cudmore, and in theory he should be able to read the water like a pelican.





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