Emma Pickering successfully defended her Betway Fish’O’Mania Ladies title as she came from behind in the closing stages to claim the £1,000 first prize. She will be celebrating the win by travelling to Ireland next week to watch her father Tom compete in the Seniors World Championship.
The 28 year-old from Doncaster made it a hat-trick of Fish’O’Mania titles having opened her account in 2008, and a final hour in which she netted over 3.5 kilos of fish was enough to seal the win.
Pickering was trailing in third place from Sophie Hill and Sam Perkins with an hour to go. Fishing on the pole though, she took sufficient carp in the final hour to win by 2.44kg.
“It feels great to win and really good to do it two years in a row. I’m the only person to win it three times now as well so it is a brilliant achievement.
“I stuck to my plan and saw one of the girls catching carp – that was in my game plan anyway. Definitely sticking to your plan is key.
“It was really difficult today – it got tougher as the match went on. The catch rate got slower and slower and it was a bit nerve wracking towards the end.
2014 Betway Fish’O’Mania Ladies XXI – Full Results
1. Emma Pickering (Peg 1) 7.05kg
2. Sophie Hill (4) 4.61kg
2. Samantha Perkins (6) 4.27kg
4. Abi Brewster (5) 2.30kg
5. Jessica Knights (2) 0.61kg
6. Liz Larkin (3) 0.57kg
