Mid-Atlantic Division

Tidal Susquehanna Flats Recap

On April 14th, 2007 we had 45 teams launch out of Tydings Marina which sits in historic Havre de Grace, Maryland. This area, also known as the Tidal Susquehanna Flats, is now considered one of the finest bass fisheries in America where past FOM events have taken 20lb bags to get a check and as much as 27lbs to win. On a regular basis, the Upper Chesapeake Bay waters draw 15-20 tournament trails a month to compete on this vast bonanza of excellent largemouth bass fishing.

With severe post cold front conditions greeting these members as they fished their first Mid-Atlantic division tournament, God graced us with a reprieve Saturday morning as we did not have the tremendous 30-50 MPH winds that these angler faced on their practice day Friday. Many teams struggled with finding the quality fish they had found in practice prior to the off-limits cut-off with water temperatures dropping as much as 10-15 degrees in a week.

In total, 81 largemouth bass at 15 inches or better were caught for a total weight of 275.60 pounds. Only 3 teams managed a 5 bass limit while just over a 1/4 of the field could not manage to catch a keeper. In interviewing teams in the top 10, no significant patterns or locations were the key as teams caught fish from as far south as Middle River to as far as the Eastern Shore rivers with most being caught on reaction bites from crankbaits as well as jigs and soft plastics fished slow on the half to low outgoing tides.

The winning team of brothers, Eric and Brian McNulty, took home 1st place with a huge sack at 24.26 pounds. In total, with 1st place winnings from the regular payout, bonus bucks and having the biggest bass of the event at 6.73 pounds, they took home $1630.00. Claiming 2nd place with 18.59 pounds was Paul Wiley and Jon Crans from Pennsylvania – many of you remember Paul who unfortunately sunk his boat at the 2006 Regional Championships on Lake Erie. Showing the determination of a true winner, he was even more excited to be back this year and is obviously backing it up with fish in the boat. Perennial Upper Bay stalwarts and 2006 Divisional points champions, Greg and David Wilder, took 3rd place with the only other 5 fish limit at 16.48 pounds. Fishing Solo and taking the early lead in the points race amongst “rookie” teams was Roy Bolling with 16.15 pounds while Don Kausch and Rod Benny rounded out the top 5 with 15.46 pounds.

Sixth place went to the team of Matthew Deese and Brian McNutt with a 4 fish sack anchored by the 2nd biggest bass of the tournament at 6.22 pounds. In total, they walked away with $574.00 for their days work. Brian McDermott and Mike Gambill took 7th place while Wayne and Dominic Marchini placed 8th. Claiming the final check for 9th place with their 3 bass weighing 10.57 pounds was Donald Muir and Bill Ledley while 2006 PA – East divisional champions Randy Follmer and Ken Ansbach finished in 10th place, one out of the money.

The next tournament of the circuit season for the Mid-Atlantic division will be on May 5th, 2007 at the Potomac River. All the information for this event can be found on our national website www.FOMNTT.com under the Schedules tab.

A special thanks to Jack Whisted, our divisional chaplain and all his staff and help at Towne Baptist in Joppatowne as they were our host for our Friday night meal and meeting. All the teams enjoyed an awesome meal of spaghetti with meat sauce, rolls, salad as well as a bounty of delicious desserts. 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 138 individuals in attendance and so many teams new to FOM, divisional director, Ian Godwin, took the time to explain what being a “Fisher of Men” was all about as he delivered a poignant message filled with personal history, humorous anecdotes and a heartfelt laying out of the simplicity of steps in how to become a true winner in the “tournament of eternal life”. Unlike all of us, Jesus has NEVER missed one at the “boat”, netting ALL those willing to accept him as the light, the truth and the way! 11 individuals felt the same as they were moved to make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. 16 more were motivated enough to proclaim a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives! These may just seem like numbers to some but to know the stories behind these decisions is to know the power of what we provide here thru the grace of God as he allows us to provide you the FOM tournament events and a place to bring family, friends and the lost to a safe and accepting environment, no matter their current walk with their faith.

We would like to personally thank our new assistant director, Dave Joy, as well as our team of volunteers for this event, John Munday, Larry Thomas and Tim Chadwick. Another big thanks to Gere Frailey, Harbormaster for Tydings Marina, for making use of his facility such a flawless success.

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, 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/store/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, you will get 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, Pat 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.