Matt Dawes crowned Angling Cymru Welsh coarse champion for 2024 after winning DragonMania

Matt Dawes is the new Angling Cymru Welsh coarse angling champion after winning this year’s DragonMania final at Fachwen Pool in Newtown.

The 30-year-old former FishOMania winner won off peg nine with a total of 52.300 ahead of runner-up Andy Amos and Alan Jones, in third.

Ten competitors, who had qualified at regional events around Wales earlier in the year, were there and hopes were high of some big carp, tench and bream.

Favoured pegs were number one and the higher numbers 8-10.

The weather was overcast, warm, with a fresh/easterly breeze blowing up the lake, but with the forecast of showers – which definitely arrived!

The match started slowly, but Trevor Limb managed two fish in the first half hour and Fred Moore picked up one followed by a bream and a tench.

Alan was the next to catch a couple, but lost another before catching a third.

It must be noted that these are big fish, averaging about 15lbs apiece.

At the halfway stage, Alan was probably ahead of Trevor, Fred and Matt, who had picked up three smaller fish, but fish had started to move in front of Andy and Matt.

The match was slow for all but, as we entered the final two hours, both Andy and Matt had a good run of fish; Andy had three good ones, and Matt had some smaller ones by casting well across and, as time went on, Matt started to pull away, and had a fish on as the all-out was called.

On peg one, Alan had not added to his tally of three and weighed 21kg, Mike Sedgwick had only managed a single roach on peg two.

Ricky Lewis, on three, had two bream a tench and a good roach for 6kg.

Adrian Mann, peg four, tipped back some roach and perch, Laszlo Gabor, peg five, managed a single carp for 4kg, Chris Jones, peg six, failed to catch, while Fred, peg seven, ended up with a carp, three bream and a tech for 15kg.

Andy, peg eight, had three good fish for 25kg, and poor Trevor didn’t manage any more leaving him on 10kg.

That left Matt, on peg nine, who had a great afternoon, regularly picking up fish, and losing a few, to end up with ten fish for 52kg, and a very well-deserved Angling Cymru DragonMania 2024 Welsh Coarse Angling Champion.

Matt pictured with his trophy along with Angling Cymru Coarse Angling Chair, Andy Thompson (left) and Angling Cymru Chairman Keith Warburton (right)

Sections winners were, A section, Alan with 21.550kg and, B section, Andy with 24.200kg

Many thanks must go to Newtown Angling Club, for allowing us to use the lake, to Brian and Liam for pegging it out, weighing in and helping to transport tackle down to the pegs.

Thanks also to the venues and match organisers that hosted the qualifiers, all the anglers that fished them and the final, and hopefully see you all again in 2025.