North Appalachian Division

Tygart Lake Recap

On May 17th, 2008, 32 teams from the North Appalachian division of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail competed on Tygart Lake, just outside Grafton, West Virginia. This watershed control reservoir had just experienced an almost 30 foot flood rise from the previous week’s torrential rains, making it challenging on fish and fishermen alike. Launch morning found water levels at near summer pool, having been dumped out at a rate of almost a foot an hour during the previous days, offering significant current options for teams to work with as they searched for scattered smallmouth as well as a few select flooded backwaters for others to go after the more elusive largemouth of this mountain lake.

As is always the case, our field of top notch anglers managed to figure the conditions out as all but 4 managed to catch at least one 12+ inch keeper bass while 9 teams weighed in 5 bass limits. The entire field caught 89 bass for a 113.51 pound total with 67 being smallmouth and 22 being largemouth, a much better ratio than most teams had banked on. Fish were reported being caught on just about every lure type, slow and fast, in the 60 degree water temperatures with some teams getting all their fish in one or two key locations prior to the heavier afternoon winds while others reported scattered success all day up and down the lake.  

Back in the winner’s circle after a tough 2007 season, Brian Kirk and Brian Shatzer, with 5 bronzebacks weighing in at 7.80 pounds, claimed the first place prize money of $1500.00, their earnings sweetened by a $500.00 bonus for taking their victory in a Triton bass boat!

Ron Dewitt and Tracy Riley Jr. just missed out on earning their 1st Triton Gold Points money as they settled for the 2nd place runners-up spot with a nice mixed bag weighing in at 7.42 pounds while Shawn Skobel and Gary Crayton showed everyone they are serious about winning the 2008 divisional points race as they moved atop that leaderboard with their 3rd place finish, capped off with the biggest smallmouth of the tournament at 2.16 pounds and a nice $680.00 payday. On the merits of their 4th place weight of 6.59 pounds for just 4 fish, Matt and Tim Ross take the early lead in the Adult/Junior race. Their sack had the biggest largemouth of the tournament for 3.82 pounds, earning them a total of $440.00!  Targeting primarily largemouth, Brent Bowsher and Kevin Bourne earned 5th place with 6.51 pounds while the Rookie and Adult / Junior team of JC Christopher and Jayme Claypool took the final check with their 6th place weight of 6.16 pounds!

Placing in the unenviable position of “One out of the Money” in 7th place was Eric Swearengen and Richard Maxwell while Brad Bressler and Brian Spencer used their 8th place weight of 5.92 pounds to move atop the  points race for “Rookie Team of the Year”. In 9th place with 5.83 pounds were Tim Macknair and Larry Freeman while the SFVU pro team of Chris Johnson and Mark Garner rounded out the top 10 finishers with a bag of 5 smallmouths weighing in at 5.42 pounds.

Special thanks to Pastor Jeff Johnson and all the folks at Blueville Church of Christ for providing our meeting place as well as potluck dinner and 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 fellowship, pre-tournament planning, door prizes and powerful testimony.  Seeing as there have been so many new teams and members and family this year, our divisional director decided to share his personal testimony, keying in on the importance of securing Gods “insurance plan” for your life just like we all buy coverage for our tow vehicles and boats. Using current examples within this very division as well as experiences from his past 9 years of volunteering with Fishers of Men Ministries, Ian Godwin laid out the plan to safeguard the lives of those present for eternity utilizing the “insurance policy” God gives all of us freely who will simply trust in him, walk on faith and accept his precious son as their savior! One individual accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord while 9 others rose to the challenge to do more with their faith, so much so that they rededicated themselves to a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives!

There are just three events left in the 2008 schedule for the North Appalachian division AND that means you still have time to make the big East Regional Championships which you do not want to miss this year! There will be over $50,000 in cash and prizes awarded including a brand new Triton / Mercury bass boat package plus your shot at making the National Championships!

Next on the schedule is the Mon River launching out of Pricketts Fort on June 7th, 2008, then it is on to scenic Deep Creek Lake on June 28th and finally we end the divisional season on the Youghiogheny Reservoir on July 26th.

(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 take this opportunity to thank our national sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Shakespeare, Pflueger Reels, X-Tools, Strike King Lure Company, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods, Solar Bat, SOSpenders, Gary Yamamoto, Marshall’s Marine, Lowrance, Keel Shield, Berkley, Motor Guide, Stanley Jigs, Mizmo Bait Company, Dual Pro Chargers, Buckeye Lures, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Jacob’s Glass, All Star Rods, Poor Boys Baits, Rejuvenade and Keep Alive Oxygen Infuser.

The North Appalachian division is blessed to have the following sponsors, The SFVU Business Group and its non-profit charitable giving foundation, Fishing Dreams Unlimited. www.FISHERMENSHEAVEN.com where every FOM Member in the nation gets “members only” treatment, discounts and special exclusive items and apparel (http://www.fishermensheaven.com/store/FOMdiscount.htm). We also want to thank Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes, Randy at RoboWorm Finesse Handpoured Soft Plastics, Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits, Sam at Penetrator Slick Coated Tungsten Weights, Mike and Steve at McCoy Line, Kerry at the TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group, Eric at Scent-Tec, the makers of “Speedy Reel” and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels and Cracker Barrel restaurants, all of which help support your division locally. A big thanks to Nancy from Nandel Graphics who not only provides us great apparel but always pitches in with serving at the meal. No tournament circuit can make it without great volunteers so I want to pass on my gratitude to Andy Lee who accepted the responsibility of being the assistant director this year as well as Donna Dewitt and Becky Harvey who always do such a great job at weigh-in with our paperwork. Finally, thanks to Bev and Sharon at Prize Webworks for their assistance in making our website such a great tool for you, the members!