A TEMPO angler was named the overall winner as the 2017 Fermanagh Classic Fishing Festival reached a thrilling finale on the shores of Lough Erne on Friday.

Fermanagh names were prominent on the list of this year’s best competitors, with three of the top six anglers coming from the host Lakeland County.

Tempo man Keith Murphy’s great catch of 36.4kgs on Cleenish Bridge catapulted him into top place on the leaderboard, with a total over the three days of 53.89kgs.

Keith, who was persuaded to enter the Classic by his friend and fellow angler Phil McCaffrey, netted the winner’s cheque of £5,000 and the coveted crystal chalice.

In second place overall was Doncaster angler, Tom Pickering, a previous winner of the Classic, whose total catch of 41.54kgs earned him £2,000 and the runner’s up crystal trophy.

Third place was taken by another Fermanagh angler, Enniskillen’s Tony Green with a total of 40.72kgs, which landed him £1,500 and a crystal sports trophy.

Fourth overall was Craig Brown, from Ross-on-Wye in England, whose 40.57kgs was enough to secure him £1,000 and a Belleek trophy.

Filling out the top six were Richy Roberts, from Llanidloes, with 38.8kgs and another local angler Paul Eyres, from Enniskillen, with 38.51kgs.

Meanwhile, the winners of the team event, the Waterways Ireland Masters, were ‘The Team With No Name’, with ‘Dads & Lads’ second and ‘Two Postman Pats and a Couple of Sprats’ in third place.

Making up ‘The Team With No Name’ were Enniskillen’s Tony Green and Mark Harris, along with Ewan Weed, from Omagh, and Darren Davis, from Hayes.

The awards were presented at a special gala farewell dinner and prize night held in the Enniskillen Hotel on Friday, following the conclusion of another successful competition.

The Classic was sponsored for the 15th year by Waterways Ireland, and is organised by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, in conjunction with the Inland Fisheries Division of the Department of Agriculture.