Matt Dawes crowned DragonMania coarse champion for the second time
Matt Dawes has been crowned DragonMania individual coarse angling champion for the second time in three years after storming to victory in the final at White Springs Fishery in Pontarddulais.
The 32-year-old from Chester, fishing off peg four on the new Canal lake, led the way in the 20-angler final with a total weight of 151lb 1oz to bag the £2,000 winner’s cheque and the trophy.
It also saw Dawes regain the DragonMania title he won in 2024, before missing out by just 4oz to Harry Billing in last year’s final.
Dawes was locked in a battle from the off with local angler James Thomas, who ran him close by netting 143lb 15oz. That fantastic total weight did though secure Thomas one of the four £250 section prizes, along with Rob Jones, Chris Wells and north Walian Jamie Broderick.
“I’m buzzing with that,” said Dawes straight after his victory.
“There were some brilliant local anglers on today, and also from up our way in the north, so to come down here and win – I’m made up with that one.
“To be fair I’ve had a mega day’s fishing. It was a bit frustrating at times because I’ve lost a few fish and I felt that was going to cost me, but I’ve seen a few fish and had a mega day.
“We came down yesterday (Saturday) and we couldn't get on the lake because there was a match on. But I think that has worked out better than fishing, because I’ve seen how it was in match conditions and there were a lot of fish in that little area moving through where I drew today.”
The final brought together a top class field of anglers who had all come through the 20 qualifying matches that were staged at different venues across Wales between April and September.
The locals and regulars to White Springs were expected to challenge and one of those, Thomas, drew favoured end peg 41, and having come into the final straight off a six-day festival at the venue, was looking to make that advantage pay in his fourth DragonMania final. He was also looking to better his previous best third place finish.
Directly opposite Thomas on the end was Anglesey’s Lee Pritchard Roberts (peg 2), who also drew well on his first visit to the venue in what was also his first DragonMania final appearance.
Sat immediately to Roberts’ right was vastly experienced match angler Dawes who seemed happy enough with his draw.
With carp the target, it was a relatively quiet first hour, although Thomas and Dawes were both catching from the off, with some of the others around the Canal finding it a bit of a struggle at times. And, as the hours ticked by beyond the midway point, it became clear it was likely going to be a shoot-out between those two contenders for the main prize.
That was the way it ultimately panned out as all out was called after a six-hour battle. Dawes was second to weigh in, and with Thomas to weigh in last, it meant a nervous wait for the former FishOMania winner to see if his 151lb 1oz was going to be enough to bag him the prize.
It was.
James Thomas put 143lb 150z on the scales which was ultimately just short of the main prize.
Jamie Broderick, Chris Wells and James Woodfine were the other three finalists to go above a ton, with Thomas beating Woodfine to the section prize. With Dawes the outright winner, Broderick bagged a section prize. Rob Jones and Wells the other framers.
Results
Section ‘A’ (pegs 2, 4, 7, 9, 11)
Lee Roberts (2) 52lb
Matt Dawes (4) 151lb 1oz
Jamie Broderick (7) 105lb 6oz
Fred Moore (9) 90lb 4oz
Russ Palmer (11) 73lb 6oz
Section ‘B’ (pegs 13, 15, 17, 19, 21)
Rob Jones (13) 75lb 11oz
Philip Williams (15) 28lb 11oz
Terry Stoker (17) DNW
Dan Bowen (19) DNW
Andrew Price (21) 41lb 10oz
Section ‘C’ (pegs 23, 25, 27, 29, 31)
Rob Palmer (23) 43lb 5oz
Chris Wells (25) 113lb 9oz
Andy Amos (27) 58lb 8oz
Rob White (29) 31lb 12oz
Richard O’Connor (31) 76lb 7oz
Section ‘D’ (pegs 33, 35, 37, 39, 41)
Steve Rogers (33) 52lb 5oz
Dan Wild (35) 35lb 4oz
James Woodfine (37) 103lb 13oz
Hugh Scott (39) 69lb 8oz
James Thomas (41) 143lb 15oz
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