POINGDESTRES skipper Clive Egerton won the eighth Grand Final of The Nigel Turner/Thomsons Wealth Management Sunday Series on Longbridge lake.

The match produced over 1000lbs of fish for an average of 44lb each for the 23 entrants and was fished in excellent weather for a prize list exceeding £2,600.

Egerton fished peg 23 to overtake long-time leader Graham Maton on peg 22 in the last hour to win the 75lb 4oz of carp to 6lb plus 12lb of skimmers using method feeder and maggot to the island.

Egerton picked up prize money of £1,050, one of the best pay outs ever seen locally.

Maton (Cormorants Sillybait) was pipped at the weigh in by just one fish using waggler and pellet to take 68lb 1oz and a payout of £350.

Graham Tappenden (64lb 90z) and Mark Illingworth (64lb 6oz) were third and fourth.

The overall series league was won by Graham Tappenden (Sensas) Homestores Select) on 119 points for £200 from Paul Barnard (Salisbury) with 114 points and £130.

The 21st year of their sponsorship is celebrated on Saturday with the final of The Marshall Rolfe Toyota Clubman Challenge on Tony Beeny's prolific Witherington Farm complex.

Cormorants, Eastleigh, TVAC and Ringwood have fished eight club matches each during the summer and the winner of each heat will represent their club in the final with the Team Championship decided on points.

Last year Eastleigh won a thriller, beating Cormorants by just a point to win the title.

After nearly two years of paying for a water fishing is banned on, the select Merstone Carp Syndicte on The Isle of Wight finally opens for fishing this weekend with expectations high that the venue could throw up a 30lb-plus fish from the off.

Syndicate leader Tim Oatley secured the lease on the five-acre site just over two years ago and has stocked it with 100 prime Fishers Pond strain carp.