SALISBURY angler John Gray scored the biggest victory of his career winning the Stafford Moor Spring Festival.

Gray beat 100 of the south's best anglers, and teammate Dave Roper followed him home to land a tremendous success for local anglers.

Stafford Moor's owner Andy Seery - whose family used to own the Whiteacres Complex - has created the country's top match fishery from scratch in just four years and the festival results were incredible, with 21,000 pounds of fish, weighed in over the four days.

Gray collected £1,600 in prize money and prizes and went into the last day of the festival level on four penalty points with five other anglers after a section win on Woodpecker on day one with 154lb of carp to 10lb, another section win on day two on Tanners with 95lb 8oz of carp and a second place on day three with 71lb of carp from Pines.

Gray drew Joseph's on the last day knowing only a section win would be good enough and - fishing long pole and pellet up in the water - took 123lb of carp to 6lb to win his section and grab victory and his bumper payday.

Roper also won his section on the last day and finished with five penalty points to tie with Gray but lost out on a weight countback over the four days.

But he wasn't complaining after collecting £1,200 in prize money for his outstanding performance.

Roper also teamed up with Gray to win the pairs match on the rest day, when Roper took 156lb of carp from Woodpecker while Gray had 84lb of carp from Joseph's. Gray stayed on to fish the open on Sunday and finished a great week by finishing third with 89lb of carp from Tanners.

Conditions for the festival were far from ideal and Stafford Moors' match results will create shockwaves this summer in the match-fishing world when the venue hits top form.

Kings Toyota held an open at Witherington Farm midweek on Barnmoor, Cottage and Selwood with Eastleigh Mosella's Steve Hunt taking 146lb 12oz of carp from peg two on Cottage on floating pole and banded pellet.

Simon Hambidge (Dynamite Baits) finished second from peg three on Barnmoor, just one fish behind with 137lb 12oz, with Carbotec's Lee Woodhouse third with 108lb from peg three on Cottage on pole and paste.

Others: D Hambidge (Dynamite Bait) 62lb 9oz, S Pomery (Poingdestre's) 57lb 6oz, C Egerton (Poingdestre's) 51lb 8oz.

Eastleigh's disabled match angler, Charlie Smith, won Selwood Lake with an impressive 47lb of carp on a mixutre of pole and waggler tactics.

Stoneham's mid-weeker on the bottom lake saw Stuart Halliday take a cracking mixed bag of tench, skimmer and crucians from peg one on the Island to win comfortably fishing pole and pellet. Harry Salkeld finished second from peg seven with 31lb 3oz of mixed fish, and Mick Kenny third, with 25lb 5oz of tench, skimmers and crucians from peg 11.

Others: P Sear 24lb 8oz, K Hatcher 20lb 5oz Wendy Halliday 19lb 6oz.

Salmon Leap AC held a club match at Whinwhistle Fishery which proved tough going. Rob Chapman took 21lb of bream and tench plus silver fish on the pole and corn to get the better of Terry Randall who had 17lb 8oz of mixed fish with Paul Lloyd third with 12lb 14oz and Steve Patrick fourth with 10lb 4oz.

The Greenridge Open saw the venue struggle compared to recent weeks with Homestores Select's Graham Tappenden needing just 39lb 2oz of carp, roach and tench from peg ten on canal one to score yet another victory.

Luke Sears finished second with 32lb 6oz of carp on the long pole and corn from peg 19 on canal two.

Others: M Brown 31lb 14oz, S Hambidge (Dynamite Baits) 31lb 2oz, C White (Eastleigh Mosella) 29lb 12oz.

The Bournemouth Lodge Evening Series on Hordle saw prolific match winner Chris Albiston score another victory. Albiston took 62lb 8oz of carp to 6lb on the pole and corn from open water on willow to get the better of Barry James, who took 57lb 7oz of carp from the reeds on the canal on short pole and paste.

Others: S Manley 50lb 4oz, G Charman 43lb 3oz.

Albiston leads the series with a perfect three section wins from Barry James on four penalty points and Chris Burgess on six points.

Eastleigh Mosella's Dave Self took a party of anglers to the famous Whiteacres complex in Cornwall, with Self winning the Gold match with 132lb of carp from Pollawyn on the long pole and pellet from the high bank to collect £120 in prize money plus a free week's holiday and entry to the Park Dean Masters.

Homestores' Colin Watts finished second in the roving match with 105lb of carp from the high bank on Pollawyn while Wendy Halliday won a small open at Morgan Porth with 35lb of small carp. Simon Barber and Richard Self both had section wins during the trip.