North Appalachian Division

Lake Erie Recap

On July 7th, 2007 we had 29 teams drive in from Western Maryland, Southern Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia to take on the challenge of getting back at Lake Erie’s big smallmouth as they fished the 4th of five circuit events for the North Appalachian division of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail. Many of these teams first and only experience on the big water was back in the fall of 2006 as they endured unfortunate tough weather conditions during the Regional Championships so expectations and concerns were high for this return trip. I am proud of those that made the decision to come, Erie did not disappoint and many left feeling much better about what we have always said, this fishery ranks as one of the top 5 in the nation!

Launching out of Presque Isle Bay, a protected, pristine, peninsula state park which in itself offers an extraordinary largemouth fishery, teams were presented with ideal conditions in both water and wind conditions. With thoughts from the past lingering in their minds, many teams chose to stay in the bay and go after the usually plentiful largemouth but that would prove to be a tougher go with the post cold front conditions as just 43 “greenies” were weighed in. With the wind giving just the right drift at 2-3 footers, teams seeking the “brownies” were rewarded with 44 bronzebacks and the considerably better sack weights. Eight teams from the field recorded 5 fish limits at 15 inches while the total field brought in a total weight of 244.49 pounds of bass, an incredible average of just under 3 pounds per bass, considering the post-spawn period. Most of the smallmouths were reported being caught on the myriad of humps and shoal flats out on the main lake in the 22-28 foot range with dragged tubes and dropshots the primary weapon of choice. The largemouth in the bay came primarily out of the expansive milfoil beds on flipped creature baits and deadsticked soft plastics.

Traveling in from the Morgantown, West Virginia, Brian Campbell and Carl Sickles secured the $1172.00 1st place cash with a sack of bronzebacks weighing in at 20.54 pounds. Due to his brother Ernie being out of town at another tournament event, Ken Pate utilized the legal substitution rule and had his daughter help fill-in, initially just so the team could legally possess a 5 fish limit but wouldn’t you know, with no tournament or Lake Erie experience and out of a small 9.9 HP boat, she managed to catch 3 of their 5 best smallmouth and earned them a 2nd place finish with their almost 19 pound sack! Dan Mincin and David Solties continue to march up the points race standings as they finished 3rd with an impressive mixed bag weighing in at 17.49 pounds while Donald Hoover and Patrick Twigg improved their chances of claiming the “Rookies of the Year” title with their 4th place weight of 16.78 pounds. Cashing in on their 5 bronzebacks weighing in at 15.65 pounds, the team of Chuck and Brian Harvey claimed the final check with their 5th place finish.

Placing in that horrible place of “One out of the Money” in 6th place but earning their way back in to a tie for the coveted Points Championship race was Bruce Shives and Kenneth Mills while Todd Giarth picked his wife Gretchen as a legal sub fill-in for his missing partner, Rex Johnsonbaugh and she proceeded to catch the tournaments largest smallmouth at 5.13 pounds, anchoring their teams 7th place finish. Mike Merchant and Butch Swink finished in 8th place with 13.43 pounds while Danny Adams and Aron Wagner fell back into a tie for the Points Race at 771 with their 9th place finish. On the strength of the day’s biggest largemouth at 3.69 pounds, Mark Rose Sr. and Mark Rose Jr. rounded out the top ten.

Special thanks to Ryan from Sarah’s Restaurant, a great little place just off Peninsula Drive who graciously hosted our pre-tournament dinner meeting. The crowd of 77 guests filled the 50’s style diner and were fed awesome grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with heaping baskets of old style fries and classic soda pops! 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. We were blessed to have John Scincak, newly appointed regional director for the Fishers of Men Southeast Region, as our guest speaker. Knowing the struggles this division has had with finding churches to support our ministry, he shared about the critical necessity for all members to find a good Bible believing church and then to grow in their faith as they work to bring on more members in this area of the country. Two individuals made rededications!

With just one event left at Raystown Lake in August before the conclusion of the 2007 regular circuit season, the determination as to who will represent North Appalachian at the big East Regional Championships on the Albemarle Sound / Pasquotank River system outside Elizabeth City, North Carolina in October is up for grabs. Anyone who has fished 4 of the 5 events still finds themselves having a legitimate chance as the race is as tight as possible?

We would like to personally thank John Oliver from the Erie Visitors Bureaus, Ranger Peck from the PA DCNR as well as Milton Brown from the PA-Central Legacy division for stepping in to help for our missing assistant director, Robbie Shrout. And as always, we could not do what we do without our divisional chaplain DJ Rogers as well as our team of volunteers, Donna Dewitt and Becky Harvey.

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. S pecial 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, Steve at All-Terrain Jigs, 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.