Mid-Atlantic Division

FOMNTT Fishing Tournment

Tidal Susquehanna Flats Recap

On May 15th, 2010, eighteen teams from the Mid-Atlantic division of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail competed on the scenic waterways of the Tidal Susquehanna River, in beautiful Havre de Grace, Maryland. This fishery, an estuary convergence of 7 major rivers as part of the Upper Chesapeake Bay, as evidenced by the number of major tournament trails now fishing it, consistently ranks as one of the top 10 destinations in the U.S. for quality bass fishing, in both numbers and size and although it sometimes shows the effects from the immense tournament pressure it receives, it still continues to pump out quality fish!

Our field of talented anglers managed to catch just 40 fifteen inch plus largemouth bass and 4 smallmouth bass for a total weight of just over 116 pounds! With many being the “buck” bass, due to the fact that we had just missed the major spawn of females the week before, despite the moon phase and tides being right for this weekend, a 2.6 pound average still remains extremely respectable. Over a third of the field managed 5 fish limits with most reporting catching plenty of twelve to fourteen inch “throwbacks”, a tough thing to do when most weigh over 2 pounds! With ideal tides, teams reporting catching fish both north and south, but also stated it was extremely hit and miss, with keeper bass tough to come by, evidenced by another third of the field zeroing. Fish were being caught in typical spring fashion, on everything from rattletraps and spinnerbaits over the grass to jigs and soft plastics around docks and wood. Some teams even reported catching bass by “sight fishing” pods of just hatched bass fry.

Taking 1st place and just under $900 prize money was the team of Paul Reter and Michael Woodruff, whom after a long hiatus from tournament fishing, obviously showed everyone they still have what it takes as they bagged 5 largemouth for just over 15 pounds. The always tough father and son team of Tom and Jimmy Rufenacht used their 14.80 pounds to take 2nd place as well as an early share of a 3 way tie for the divisional overall points race while Jim Steiner, absent his junior son, finished 3rd with 14.67 pounds. Jim also claimed the 2nd biggest bass of the day at 4.30 pounds. Finishing just out of the money, with just over 14 pounds was Ryan Park and his dad, filling in for the other son of the team, Kevin, a finish that still has them in a tie for the overall points race. Claiming the 5th position at just under 13 ½ pounds was New Jersey FOM Director Jim Shinn and his new partner, Elvin Martes. They also are part of the 3-way log jam atop the divisional points race, making the next tournament on the non-tidal waters of the Conowingo Reservoir one to watch! Claiming the prize money for the biggest bass of the tournament at 4.65 pounds was the father and son Billings team while the team of Jim and Carol Everhart, despite zeroing today, still remain atop the lead in the Guy / Gal race!

Special thanks to the great folks at Tydings Marina, our hosts and launch location. After going thru pre-tournament planning, Ian Godwin, our tournament director, shared that this will be his last season as a tournament director for the Mid-Atlantic team series division. After 10 years of serving the Fishers of Men ministries, it is time to let someone else much more capable lead this division in the coming years. He used the opportunity to share a message from Jimmy Houston’s book, “The Reel Line” about how God looks to you to trust him in prayer and in the subsequent answers he gives, no matter whether those answers meet your wishes or humanly desires. Prayers entrusted to God faithfully are always answered, in his time and to his ultimate mission for what he has planned for your life. Our job is to first, seek him in prayer in ALL things and then to trust in his plan for our lives!

There are three events left in the 2010 schedule for the Mid-Atlantic division 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 $50,000 in cash and prizes awarded including a brand new Triton / Mercury bass boat package. I cannot emphasize how important it is to make these next events and all you have to do to be eligible is to have fished in at least 3 of the 5 Mid-Atlantic 2010 tournaments.

Conowingo Reservoir – June 19th, 2010
Nanticoke River – August 14th, 2010
Upper Chesapeake Bay – September 25th, 2010

(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@sfvu.com)

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the fine companies that make Fishers of Men possible; Primary: Triton Boats, Mercury, Strike King Lure Company, Markel American Insurance, Abu Garcia, Power-Pole, Nester Hosiery. Presenting; Marshall’s Marine of Lake City SC, Keelshield, Solar Bat, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits, Berkley, Lowrance. Official: Buckeye Lures, Jacobs Glass, Outdoor Specialty Products (Rejuvenate), Dual Pro Chargers, MotorGuide, Full Grace Gospel Church, Mizmo Bait Company, Stanley Jigs, Spike-It, Logan Fire Apparatus, T&H Marine, and Keep Alive Oxygen Infusers.

The Mid-Atlantic Team Series division is blessed to have the following divisional sponsors, The SFVU Business Group and its non-profit charitable giving foundation, Fishing Dreams Unlimited as well as www.SFVU.com where every FOM Member in the nation gets “members only” discounts and special exclusive items! ( http://sfvu.com/shop/FOMdiscount.htm ). We also want to thank Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Jimmy at Mizmo Tubes, Randy at RoboWorm, Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits, Andy at JC’s Lures and Tungsten Weights, Mike and Steve at McCoy Line, Kerry at the TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group, Drew at Maximum Series Handpoured Soft Plastics, Rob at Luckycraft, Steve at All Terrain Tackle Jigs, Kent at NetBait, Larry at Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels, Chic-Fil-a and Cracker Barrel restaurants, all of which help support your division locally. A special note of appreciation to Brad Finch with Finch Services, your source for your next John Deere product as well as Jim Herr of Herr’s Snacks. In addition, special thanks to Sharon and Bev from Prize Webworks for the great job they do with our website and Barbara from In-Stitches for the beautiful custom apparel and hats. All of these great Christian businessmen and women lead by example as they help support our ministry and I would ask that you consider supporting them with your next purchase.

Finally, no tournament circuit can make it without great volunteers. We were blessed to have Rob Hager, loyal servant of this ministry for the past ten years as well as his son help out along with Dan Downer.

If you are a loyal follower of this division of the Fishers of Men National tournament trail and would like to see it continue on for years to come, please prayerfully consider stepping up as the new tournament director for the 2011 circuit season? If you are interested, please contact Ian Godwin locally or Bobby Eads from the National office.