Maryland East Division

Potomac River Recap

On April 29th, 2006, 50 teams from the Maryland – East and Delaware divisions of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail competed in a combo event on the famous tidal waterways of the Lower Potomac River. Even though the Potomac is still ranked as one of the top 10 destinations in the U.S. for quality bass fishing, the fishery is definitely starting to show the dramatic effects of all the tournament pressure as total weights and winning weights are on a steady down spiral. Add to this what seems to be a “locked in” population of snakeheads (We had a 7.84lb and a 3.55lber brought to the DNR at this event) which are top of the line predators that grow to three foot in three years all the while populating extremely prolifically and you can imagine how some teams of anglers left scratching their hands after not boating a single 15+ inch bass. As is always the case in any tournament event with this many quality anglers, someone always figures them out and those that did found a few spawning fish caught on jigs and soft plastics as well as post-spawn bass caught on rattle traps over the grass. In total, the entire field managed just 72 largemouth bass which weighed a total of 196.17 pounds making for an almost 2 3/4 pound average per fish.

Winning the guaranteed $1000.00 first prize via their 5 fish bag at 16.55 was John Heck and Chris Duffy. Fishing the event under the combo provision was Ken Martin and John Jeddry who placed 2nd with 16.26 pounds. Perennial favorites, Greg and David Wilder won just over $500.00 via their 3rd place sack at 14.44 pounds. Right behind them in 4th place was another strong contending team on these waters, Raymond Jachimski and Wayne Marchini while Brent Thackston and Don Carter rounded out the top 5 teams with their 13.20 pound weight. Earning the final check was Steve Patrick and Tim Kowalewski from New Jersey with their 6th place bag of 5 largemouth bass weighing in at 12.56 pounds. Finishing one out of the money but taking the early lead in the “Rookie Team of the Year” was Mike Phillips and Lester Davis Jr. while last years point champions, Eric and Brian McNulty finished 8th. On the strength of the days second biggest bass at 4.08 pounds, Don Hamer and Dan Martin finished 9th while newcomer team Chad Scroggs and Arthur Fettrow rounded out the top ten. The biggest bass of the day, a nice hawg at 5.72 pounds, was weighed in by the father / son team of William and Jack Flood, earning them $180.00!

Special thanks to our great hosts at Marbury Baptist church who have always been our most loyal supporters in the ministry arena. As is always the case with any Fishers’ of Men event, we were excited about the opportunity to gather together for an awesome night of fellowship, pre-tournament planning, door prizes and powerful testimony. Filling in for pastor Tim Bean, who our collective prayers go out to on the passing of his brother-in-law and seeing as there have been so many new teams and members and family this year, our divisional director decided to share his personal testimony of how he turned from God at an early age only to have God accept him back at 26. He challenged those who do not know Christ as their living God, he challenged those who have known him but “fallen off the wagon” and he challenged those who know Jesus as their Savior to take that next step of faith, to strengthen the relationship, to build on their God given spiritual strengths to help others to know him and seek him further! 1 individual accepted that challenge and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior while 12 others rose to the challenge to do more with their faith, so much so that they rededicated themselves to a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives!

There are four events left in the 2006 schedule for the MD - EAST division schedule AND that means you still have plenty of time to make the big East Regional Championships which you do not want to miss this year as their will be over $35,000 in cash and prizes awarded including a brand new Triton / Mercury bass boat package. I cannot emphasize how important it is to make this event and all you have to do to be eligible is to have fished in at least 3 of the 5 MD-EAST tournaments.

Tidal Susquehanna Flats - May 20th, 2006
Nanticoke River – June 17th, 2006 (Please note change of launch location to Broad Creek facility)
Conowingo Reservoir – July 8th, 2006
Upper Chesapeake Bay – August 5th, 2006

(For more information, make sure to visit http://www.sfvu.com/fishersofmen/MarylandEast2006.htm or http://www.fomntt.com or call the FOM Area Tournament Director at 410-256-2966 or e-mail him at igodwin@fomntt.com )

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our national sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Strike King Lure Company, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods, Solar Bat, SOSpenders, Diamond Cut Jeans, Gary Yamamoto, Spike-It, Marshall’s Marine, Castrol, Motor Guide, Keel Shield, Shakespeare, Stanley Jigs, Lowrance, River Bottom Lures, Dual Pro Chargers, Jones Chevrolet, T&H Marine, Keep Alive Oxygen Infuser, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Jacob’s Glass, FishingWorld.com, X-Tools, Buckeye Lures, All-Terrain Tackle, Hot Rods Marine Care, Bass RX and Hooah Energy Bars and Drinks.

The Maryland - East division is blessed to have the following regional divisional sponsors:

Sport Fishing Ventures Unlimited and its non-profit charitable giving foundation, Fishing Dreams Unlimited where every FOM Member in the nation gets “members only” treatment, discounts and special exclusive items and apparel ( http://sfvu.com/sfvustore/FOMdiscount.htm ). Call Bill at one of the nations largest and finest independent tackle dealers, Anglers Paradise (877-702-2500) and if you present your FOM membership card at checkout or give it over the phone, you will get 15% off everything in the store! Call Chad at Halls Marine (570-546-2310) for your new Triton bass boat, whether it is fiberglass or aluminum. These guys rank as one of the nations premier dealerships and when you meet and talk with Chad and his staff, you will immediately know why! Ask him for the special Fishers’ of Men discount on your next Triton boat purchase.

We also want to thank Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits, Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes, Randy at RoboWorm Finesse Handpoured Soft Plastics, Sam at Penetrator Slick Coated Tungsten Weights, Scott at Hammerhead Hair Jigs, Eric at Scent-Tec, the makers of “Speedy Reel” and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels and Cracker Barrel restaurants, all of which help support your division locally. Finally, thanks to Bev and Sharon at Prize Webworks for their assistance in making our website such a great tool for you, the members!