Maryland West Division

Mount Storm Lake Recap

On April 2nd, 2005 we had 28 teams, an increase of 4 times since our inaugural event in 2004, from the Maryland - West division of The Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail start the 2005 year off on Mt. Storm Lake near Davis, West Virginia. Offering a chance to get an early start to the season, this power plant lake situated at the very top of the Appalachian mountains offers some phenomenal mixed bag fishing. True to it's name, anglers incurred dense fog driving in to the ramp as well as heavy rain in the morning but the fishing proved as hot as the 60 degree water temperature as almost every team recorded a 5 fish limit.

Averaging just over 7.03 pounds per team, 130 twelve inch plus bass were weighed in, 73 largemouth and 57 smallmouth. Most teams reported catching fish primarily on slower presentations of jigs, tubes and soft plastics with many teams reporting having caught their initial limit within an hour or two of launch.

The winning team of Terry and Brad Weese (see photos below) powered their way to an 11.45 pound bag while also weighing in the big bass for the tournament with a 3.84 "hawg". Their 5 fish limit rewarded them with a nice payday of over $1000.00 without even having entered the Bonus Bucks pool! Second place went to the team of Brian Kirk and Brian Shatzer (photo unavailable) with a mixed bag of bass which included the 2nd biggest bass at 3.03 pounds. Finishing in third place with 8.73 pounds was Daniel Mincin and Dave Solties while fourth place went to the team of Kenny Mills and Bruce Shives. Rounding out the top five finishers and check recipients was the team of Todd Rifenbery and Ron Hose with 8.54 pounds.

The next tournament of the circuit season for the Maryland - West division will be on April 30th, 2005 on Cheat Lake launching out of Sunset Marina. All the information for this event can be found at our national website www.FOMNTT.com under the Schedules tab.

Special thanks to Alpine Lodge and the Sawmill Restaurant for providing our Friday evening pre-tournament meeting place as well as food. All the teams enjoyed grilled pork chops, scalloped potatoes, assorted vegetables and a great salad bar. 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 food, fellowship, pre-tournament planning, door prizes and powerful testimony. Much to our enjoyment, we were blessed with a surprise visit from VP of Operations for Fishers of Men Ministries, Bobby Eads who provided us with a great kick-off message. 4 individuals were motivated enough to proclaim a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives!

We would like to recognize the special efforts of Kristin Edwards from Dominion Power as well as the courteous and quick speed of their security team in getting us in and out of the facility. We would also like to give thanks to all our volunteers without whom we could never put on the professionally and well organized events that we do.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our primary national sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Strike King Lure Company, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods and Presnell Plantation Services.

The Maryland - West division is blessed to have the following regional divisional sponsors: Call Brian or Craig at one of the nations largest and finest independent tackle dealers, Woodlands World (866-472-6969) and if you present your FOM membership card at checkout, you will get 15% off everything (except firearms and related optics). 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. A special note of thanks to Jim Herr of Herr's Snacks as well as Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes and Lizards, Tom at RoboWorm Finesse Handpours, Sam at Penetrater Slick Coated Tungsten Weights and Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits.

I would also like to thank our other National Sponsors which include: Gary Yamamoto, Spike-It, Marshall's Marine, Castrol, V&M Plastics, Motor Guide, Keel Shield, Solar Bat, Stanley Jigs, Lowrance, The Original Fish Formula, Dual Pro Chargers, Keep Alive Oxygen Infusor, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Jacob's Glass, FishingWorld.com, X-Tools, The Spot Remover, All-Terrain Tackle, Hot Rods Marine Care and Bass Rx.