PEWSEY AVON ANGLING look certain to retain the Hants, Wilts & Dorset Winter League crown after league leaders Dorset Raiders suffered a disaster, finishing fifth in the latest match.

Raiders now have the seemingly impossible task of gaining two points over Pewsey in the last round at Wytherington Farm in two weeks' time.

On a very patchy and coloured Dorset Stour, there was never going to be a repeat of last week's tremendous bags in the Stour Champion-ships, and Jekyll & Hyde side Ringwood were clear cut winners.

You never know which Ringwood side they are going to turn out. One day it is brilliant, the next day it is mediocre, to say the least. But this was Ringwood at their best, scoring 66 section points, including two section winners.

Pewsey finished second with another top class performance with 61.5 points with Christchurch third with 60 points.

Others: Salisbury 55.5, Raiders 55, Todber 53.5, Eastleigh 53, TVAC 55.5, Andover 47.5 and Downton 39.5.

In the league to date Pewsey lead with 12 penalty points from Dorset Raiders with 14, others Todber and Eastleigh 22, Christchurch 26, Ringwood and TVAC 30, Salisbury 32, Andover 38 and Downton 49.

Individually, all the top weights came from 'A' section at the boats with Dorset Raiders' John Steel taking 12lb 11oz of dace and roach on the stick float and maggot to win comfortably from John Clemence (TVAC) who took 7lb 8oz of similar fish also on maggot.

Others: D Hydes (Andover) 6lb 5oz, R Hayward (Eastleigh) 6lb 2oz, P Barnard (Salisbury) 5lb 13oz, D Stride (TAVC) 4lb 15oz.

Section winners A: J Steel (Raiders) 12lb 11oz, B: R Hayward (Eastleigh) 6lb 2oz, C: S Brown (Salisbury) 2lb 14oz, D: B Davies (Salisbury) 2lb 15oz, E: M Hurst (Ringwood) 3lb 8oz, F: D George (Raiders) 3lb 13oz, G: M Hunt (Todber) 2lb 14oz, H: M Townsend (TAVC) 3lb 5oz, J: D Stride (TAVC) 4lb 15oz, K: S Freeman (Ringwood) 4lb 4oz.

Cormorants' Sweepstakes on the Lower Lake at Broadlands saw Cormorants Team Sillybaits' Steve Rochester score a runaway success with a massive 87lb 10oz of mainly carp in the 5lb to 8lb bracket.

Fishing peg seven with his back to the Test, Rochester caught early on the method feeder before switching late to waggler to make it seven weeks in a row Rochester or his partner in crime Graham Maton have collected the spoils.

Dave Hambridge finished a remote second with 33lb 8oz of carp and bream from peg nine on a mixture of tactics, while veteran Keith Stenson finished third with two good carp for 19lb 11oz on the feeder early in the match. Others: D. Rickwood 18lb 12oz, G. Maton 17lb 4oz.

Kennet Ospreys held a silver fish only match on Longbridge.

This saw some cracking weights with Ray Shepherd of Basingstoke taking 34lb 10oz of skimmer, tench, roach and crucians on chopped worm and cater over worm on the pole from peg 12.

He got the better of Ray Burnbey, who took 31lb 2oz of roach to 2lb 2oz and tench to 5lb.

Others: S Couling 29lb 14oz, T Bowis 27lb 3oz, D. Brown 23lb 12oz, B. Suggens 21lb 14oz.

Sunday's open at Waldens Farms Deacon Lake saw Allie Turner and Gordon Tedd continue their good run on the venue with Turner winning with a mixed bag of 21lb 9oz from Tedd with 19lb 14oz with Mark Brown third with 18lb 8oz.