It was third time lucky for Amer Jawad at the 12th Fish o mania Qualifier at Eye Kettleby on Wednesday, where he booked his place in the final in difficult weather conditions.
The weather swung between bright sunshine, strong winds and rain, preceded by heavy showers and thunder storms the night before. This served to make the match even tighter and with all the action coming in the last hour.
This is Amer Jawad’s first Fish ‘O’ Mania final, and Eye Kettleby was only his third Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier. Amer was able to produce the winning weight by using Pellets and worm on the hook as bait.
A delighted Amer stated:
“Due to the conditions with the weather, I knew it wouldn’t be easy to win and it would go right down to the wire. Fishing in the Fish ‘O’ Mania final is one of my ambitions and I am delighted to be going. Although I am very pleased by getting into the final, I am also very nervous as well, as I will be competing against some of the best anglers in the world.”
When Amer was asked about his tactics, he said:
‘I just aimed for low weights and see how I got on, by half way I must have caught up to 20lb, so I knew I was in with a bit of a chance. It only dawned on me when it came to the weighing that I actually had a good chance of winning’.
Amer and runner-up Adam Richards went head to head in the closing stages on Lake 5, with Amer clocking in with a winning weight of 35.93kg, only 3kgs ahead of Adam Richards’s 32.5kg. The winner caught skimmers and carp, his biggest fish being an 8lb carp.
Third Place belonged to Paul Hubbard with a total weight of 30.54kg on Lake 4. Fourth and Fifth place went to Steve Davis with 20.92kg and Stuy Porter with 20kg respectively.
This was the first Fish ‘O’ Mania qualifier to be hosted Eye Kettleby Lakes and there is a strong possibility Eye Kettleby Lakes will be hosting other competitions and matches in the near future.
Winner Amer is pictured with the NFA’s new ‘I’m a Fish ‘O’ Maniac’ t-shirt which is available for only £9.99 by calling the NFA directly on 0115 981 3535.
