Mid-Atlantic Division

Deep Creek Lake Recap

On June 16th, 2007, we had 28 teams from the Mid-Atlantic division make the 3 hour drive to the mountains of Western Maryland to compete on beautiful Deep Creek Lake. Far from the comfort zone of familiar tidal waters, this clear natural lake proved to be a great test of overall fishing skills as all but two teams managed to catch at least one 12+ inch largemouth or smallmouth bass. Despite conditions proving to be tough with the fish having endured a week worth of “opening season” fishing pressure as well as being heavy into the post-spawn, eleven limits were brought to the scales. Averaging just over 5 pounds per team, 94 bucketmouths and bronzebacks were weighed in for a total of just over 141 pounds.

Claiming 1st place and the corresponding $1148.00 via an impressive bag weighing in at 12.69 pounds was the always consistent Brent Thackston and Don Carter. They also had the biggest largemouth of the tournament at 3.92 pounds. By virtue of their 2nd place finish at 10.20 pounds, Greg and David Wilder took the lead in the divisional points race as well. John Smith and Jim Cammarata used their 3rd place finish to move up the leader board in the “Rookies of the Year” race while Josh Kreider and Jeff Fleischut used their almost 9 pound sack to earn the 4th place slot. Father and son team, William and Jack Flood used a beautiful bag of all smallmouth weighing in at 8.74 pounds to claim the final checks at $360.00, which included money for the biggest bronzeback of the tournament at 2.28 pounds. Finishing in the unenviable position of “one out of the money” was Bob Engelbert and Steve Rowlands with their 6th place bag of bass weighing 7.36 pounds.

Special thanks to the Pastor Wally Weeks and his entire staff from Pleasant View Baptist Church for hosting our pre-tournament dinner meeting. Tracy definitely made us believers in the “5 loaves and 2 fishes” story as she somehow managed to feed the overwhelming crowd of 171 guests with lasagna and homemade desserts for everyone. 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. With the assistant director Robbie Shrout, from the North Appalachian division acting as emcee, it was “Members Night” as we heard powerful personal testimony of what the saving grace of Jesus Christ has meant to them as well as how the Fishers of Men organization has allowed them to stay on the right path and rededicate their efforts to serving him! 1 person asked Jesus into their heart as a 1 st time profession of faith while 10 individuals were motivated enough to proclaim a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives!

There are just two events left in the 2007 schedule for this division before we make the determination as to who will represent North Appalachian at the big East Regional Championships on the Pasquotank River system outside Elizabeth City, North Carolina in October. Teams will be vying for over $35,000 in cash and prize awards including a brand new Triton / Mercury bass boat package.

Upper Chesapeake Bay – North – July 21st, 2007
Upper Chesapeake Bay – South – August 25th, 2007

(For more information, make sure to visit http://www.sfvu.com/fishersofmen 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 personally thank our assistant directors, Robbie Shrout and Dave Joy, our divisional chaplains DJ Rogers and Jack Whisted as well as our team of volunteers, Johnny Munday, Donna Dewitt and Becky Harvey for their tireless help. A huge thanks to Billy Ragan as well as Tracy Riley for stepping in to help our staff with the live release of all those bass. Another big thanks to Patty at the State Park for use of the facility.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our primary national sponsors: Triton Boats www.tritonboats.com (from my personal testimony, the finest boats ever made!), Mercury Outboards www.mercurymarine.com, Strike King Lure Company www.strikeking.com and Shakespeare.

We would like to thank our divisional sponsors for their support, Sport Fishing Ventures Unlimited and its non-profit charitable giving foundation, Fishing Dreams Unlimited where every FOM Member in the nation gets “members only” special treatment, great discounts and access to exclusive product and apparel from Christian manufacturers. ( http://sfvu.com/store/FOMdiscount.htm ). Call Justin at Bills Outdoor Center and if you present your FOM membership card at checkout, you will get an extra 10% off everything in his store. A special note of thanks to Brad Finch with Finch Services, your source for your next John Deere product as well as Jim Herr of Herr’s Snacks. All of these great local Christian businessman lead by example as they help support our ministry and I would ask that you consider supporting them with your next purchase. In addition, special thanks to Sharon and Bev from Prize Webworks for the great job they do with our website and Nancy from Nandel Graphics for the beautiful custom apparel and hats.

We also want to thank Trey at Kistler Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes and Soft Plastics, Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits, Randy at RoboWorm Finesse Handpoured Soft Plastics, Sam at Penetrator Slick Coated Tungsten Weights, George at McCoy Line, Steve at All-Terrain Jigs, Eric at Scent-Tec, Keith at Hammerhead Hair Jigs, Kerry at TTI-Blakemore and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels and Cracker Barrel restaurants, all of which help support your division locally.

 We would also like to thank our other National Sponsors which include: Lowrance, Sospenders, Keelshield, Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Yamamoto, Marshall’s Marine, Kistler Rods, Spike-It Bait Company Motor Guide, Stanley Jigs, Dual Pro Chargers, Deka Marine Master Batteries, All-Terrain Tackle, Jacob’s Glass, Buckeye Lures, Poor Boys Baits, Bass Rx and Keep Alive Oxygen Infusors.