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