Mark Berg
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| Mark Berg |
With a love of angling that runs deep Mark
Berg is an angler, producer, film maker, and photographer who’s driven
by the thrill of fishing, and the unadulterated joy of sharing it with
people of any age, gender, or profession.
While Mark’s job as the presenter of the Fishing Addiction television
series sees him travel to some of Australia’s most exotic locations
it’s his humble beginnings in southern New South Wales chasing bread and
butter species where he cut his angling teeth and developed his love
for fishing.
Exposed to fishing by his commercial fishing uncle and grandfather at
a very young age, one fish grabbed the 41-year-old Thirroul local’s
attention as a child, whiting. Abundant in Lake Illawarra where he
regularly fished as a child, whiting fueled his angling habit in many
ways, none more so than through the local Chinese restaurant that traded
him money for his whiting. This exchange funded his appetite to go
fishing, and funded his burgeoning appetite for fishing tackle and
fishing magazines.
While Mark’s uncle and grandfather were instrumental in his early
exposure to fishing, one person stands alone as his major influence, Rex
Hunt. Infectious in his love and passion for angling Rex lit a fire
within Mark, a fire that would see him feverishly watch every show, and
analyze and take notes on each segment to make himself a better angler.
Enamored by the fact that each episode was an adventure, it was the
excitement and the thrill of this adventure that Mark dreamed of one day
emulating, a dream that he would eventually realize with his Fishing
Addiction television show.
The exhilaration of the adventure was always there for Mark, even as a
young child there was nothing more exciting to him than trekking down
to his local creek with his fishing rod taped to his BMX. The thrill of
the hunt and anticipation of the adventure, nothing made him happier
than the excitement of catching a big fish.
One fish sticks firmly in his mind and holds pride of place in his
memory. It was the first fish to give him that addictive rush you get
from catching a truly big fish. A prehistoric old bream that fought like
nothing he’d ever caught before infixed in Mark the desire to feel the
angling rush again and again. Thirty years later Mark still fishes for
that same rush. Mark’s fishing has evolved since the early days of
riding his BMX to the local creek, and while it’s become more technical
and advanced in many ways it’s still the thrill of the strike, and new
challenges, locations, and species that excites him the most.
Outwardly expressive of his love for angling many things fuel Mark’s
passion for fishing, and none more so than the pleasure it brings him to
simply be on the water. Beyond this underlying and very pure motivation
it’s his ability to be able to share with viewers the scream of the
reel, the beauty of an exotic location, and the emotion of an angling
moment, that he finds truly satisfying. To be able to capture these
precious moments and deliver them into someone’s lounge room is
something Mark finds incredibly rewarding