Martin Butcher, a 46-year-old postman from Cowes, stamped a first class performance on the Allan's Marine Open at Southsea.

He won £1,000 after licking the 200-strong quality field.

Butcher, a member of West Wight AC, was pegged in the fancied A Section where he used ragworm to tempt a trio of flounders during the first hour of the five-hour-long fixture. They weighed 2lb 12.5oz to scoop the top prize, along with section pools, to notch up his first major open victory.

England international Trevor Rooney left it late before tempting a 2lb 1oz plaice to land the £500 runners-up prize.

A 1lb 13oz flounder was enough to net Alan Rogerson from Poole £200 for finishing third.

Generally, action was pretty disappointing with just 36 of the 200 competitors returning fish, comprising just a few small plaice and flounders.

Tony Hatchard was the top performer in B Section with 1lb 6oz, followed by Ady Williams (1lb 1oz) and Ian Reynolds (15.25oz).

As you headed west, so the action took a tumble, with Steve Graham winning C Section with 1lb 1.50oz, ahead of Alan Shrimpton (14.40oz) and Pete Ayres (14oz). In D Section, Lee Rossie needed just 10oz to get the better of Wayne Perrett from Eastleigh and Graham Hollis, with 9.75oz and 8.50oz respectively.

Just two competitors returned fish to the scales in the final section, pegged to the west of the pier, Mick Ashdown getting the better of Ian Golds by 10.50oz to 6.5oz.

Action was poor during the pegged open held at Pagham where just a few small rockling, flounders and sole were recorded.

England international Ian Golds won the A Section with 69 points ahead of Mark Barnett (65) and Mark Dibden (44).

Lee Cullen from Southampton won B Section with 98 points from Doug Dixon (91) and Daniel Mogridge (80).

The four-a-side Neptune League fixture starts on April 14 at Hengistbury Head with fishing from 7.30pm to 10.30pm.

The event is open to any club situated within the Wessex region, but all members must have their own insurance cover. Matches are always held on the second Monday of the month. The May fixture has also been set for Hengistbury while the Milford Shingle Bank will be the setting for the June fixture.

There is just a £10 registration fee to join the league, which is fished purely for the prestige of the club. There are no pools or match fees.

Members of Bournemouth & District SAA will be stewarding the first match, with competitors leaving the main car park at 6.45pm.

New teams must be registered before they leave the car park. Scales will be on the beach so that species such as smoothhound and wrasse can be weighed and returned alive at the point of capture.

Further details from Simon Barber (01202 668244).

The Chesil Spring pegged open at Cogden will be staged on May 25 with fishing from 11am to 5pm when plaice are expected to dominate proceedings.

The crew from Wessex Angling Centre will be organising and sponsoring the event, which will be held in four zones. There will be numerous cash prizes.

Tickets inclusive of pools have been set at £15 and are strictly pre-book.

Full details and pre-book facilities from Wessex Angling Centre (01202 668244).