SFVU - Fishers of Men

The next tournament of the circuit season for the Pennsylvania – West division will be on June 25th, 2005 on famed Lake Erie launching out of beautiful Presque Isle State Park. All the information for this event can be found at our national website www.FOMNTT.com under the Schedules tab or for more detailed information, at http://www.sfvu.com by double clicking on the FOM logo, then hitting the PA-West button.

Special thanks to Pastor Maggie Foreman and all the staff at Trinity Methodist in Fairchance, Pennsylvania for providing our Friday evening pre-tournament meeting place as well as food. All the teams enjoyed an awesome buckwheat pancake dinner, complete with sausage and fried potatoes. 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. Much to the enjoyment of everyone, we spared no expense as we had evangelist Chris Wells from Wellspoken Ministries visit us from South Carolina. His message combined the humor of his life as the worlds greatest “bass pro wanna-be” with his ministry of sharing the everlasting saving grace of Jesus Christ. 4 individuals were so moved by the message that they were motivated to proclaim a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives!

We would like to recognize the special efforts of Jay Barber for assistance in securing our meeting site as well as Frank from WV DNR for assistance in obtaining our permit. We would also like to give thanks to all our volunteers without whom we could never put on the professionally and well organized events that we do.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our primary national sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Strike King Lure Company, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods and Presnell Plantation Services.

The Pennsylvania - West division is blessed to have the following regional divisional sponsors: Call Brian or Craig at one of the nations largest and finest independent tackle dealers, Woodlands World (866-472-6969) and if you present your FOM membership card at checkout, you will get 15% off everything (except firearms and related optics). Call Chad at Halls Marine (570-546-2310) for your new Triton bass boat, whether it is fiberglass or aluminum. These guys rank as one of the nations premier dealerships and when you meet and talk with Chad and his staff, you will immediately know why! Ask him for the special Fishers’ of Men discount on your next Triton boat purchase. A special note of thanks to Jim Herr of Herr’s Snacks as well as Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes and Lizards, Tom at RoboWorm Finesse Handpours, Sam at Penetrater Slick Coated Tungsten Weights, Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels.

I would also like to thank our other National Sponsors which include: Gary Yamamoto, Spike-It, Marshall’s Marine, Castrol, V&M Plastics, Motor Guide, Keel Shield, Solar Bat, Stanley Jigs, Lowrance, The Original Fish Formula, Dual Pro Chargers, Keep Alive Oxygen Infusor, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Jacob’s Glass, FishingWorld.com, X-Tools, The Spot Remover, All-Terrain Tackle, Hot Rods Marine Care and Bass Rx.


Cheat Lake Recap

On April 30 th ,2005 we had 13 teams travel the distance to Cheat Lake just outside of Morgantown, West Virginia to fish the first of 5 circuit events for the Pennsylvania – West division of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail. Due to tough closed season circumstances and a tight schedule, tournament anglers from all over Pennsylvania often have to travel to outlying states to fish events, making adaptability and quick versatility premium characteristics for successful tournament circuit members! This body of water, while pristine in surrounding appearance, proved to be a tough option as highly fluctuating water levels and temperatures put the bite off for most anglers as no team produced a 5 fish limit of 12+ inch bass. Averaging just 1.48 pounds per team with 5 struggling to catch a single bass, 15 largemouth and 4 smallies were weighed in, with most teams reporting having caught their fish deeper on deadsticked soft plastics in 15-20 foot of water. Ernie and Ken Pate, brothers and 2004 division points champions, kicked off the 2005 season right where they left off, using the benefit of 4 largemouth at 4.95 pounds to claim 1 st place and over $700.00 of prize money. Claiming 2 nd place with 3 fish at 3.86 pounds including the 2 nd biggest bass of the day was the team of Graydon Bonser and Bob Bittinger. 3 rd place went to Mike Miller and Darin Winters from MD - West, fishing the event “combo” style while the father / son adult / junior team of Rick and Ricky Maga finished 4 th on the strength of just one bass, a 2.42 pound largemouth that claimed Big Bass honors for the day! Rounding out the top 5 and taking early Rookie of the Year honors was another father / son participant, the Montgomery team. Louis Palmer and Mary Castelli barely edged out Tom and LeeAnn Weaverling to take the early lead in the Adult Guy / Gal honors.


1st Place - Pate & Pate	2nd Place - Bosner & Bittinger	4th Place - Maga & Maga

(click on picture to enlarge picture)
The next tournament of the circuit season for the Pennsylvania – West division will be on June 25th, 2005 on famed Lake Erie launching out of beautiful Presque Isle State Park. All the information for this event can be found at our national website www.FOMNTT.com under the Schedules tab or for more detailed information, at http://www.sfvu.com by double clicking on the FOM logo, then hitting the PA-West button. Special thanks to Pastor Maggie Foreman and all the staff at Trinity Methodist in Fairchance, Pennsylvania for providing our Friday evening pre-tournament meeting place as well as food. All the teams enjoyed an awesome buckwheat pancake dinner, complete with sausage and fried potatoes. 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. Much to the enjoyment of everyone, we spared no expense as we had evangelist Chris Wells from Wellspoken Ministries visit us from South Carolina. His message combined the humor of his life as the worlds greatest “bass pro wanna-be” with his ministry of sharing the everlasting saving grace of Jesus Christ. 4 individuals were so moved by the message that they were motivated to proclaim a renewed commitment to return to God and follow Jesus in all areas of their lives! We would like to recognize the special efforts of Jay Barber for assistance in securing our meeting site as well as Frank from WV DNR for assistance in obtaining our permit. We would also like to give thanks to all our volunteers without whom we could never put on the professionally and well organized events that we do. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our primary national sponsors: Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Strike King Lure Company, Kistler Custom Fishing Rods and Presnell Plantation Services. The Pennsylvania - West division is blessed to have the following regional divisional sponsors: Call Brian or Craig at one of the nations largest and finest independent tackle dealers, Woodlands World (866-472-6969) and if you present your FOM membership card at checkout, you will get 15% off everything (except firearms and related optics). Call Chad at Halls Marine (570-546-2310) for your new Triton bass boat, whether it is fiberglass or aluminum. These guys rank as one of the nations premier dealerships and when you meet and talk with Chad and his staff, you will immediately know why! Ask him for the special Fishers’ of Men discount on your next Triton boat purchase. A special note of thanks to Jim Herr of Herr’s Snacks as well as Trey at Kistler Custom Rods, Gary at Solar Bat Polarized Sunglasses, Troy at Mizmo Tubes and Lizards, Tom at RoboWorm Finesse Handpours, Sam at Penetrater Slick Coated Tungsten Weights, Joe at Secret Weapon Spinnerbaits and Buzzbaits and the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels. I would also like to thank our other National Sponsors which include: Gary Yamamoto, Spike-It, Marshall’s Marine, Castrol, V&M Plastics, Motor Guide, Keel Shield, Solar Bat, Stanley Jigs, Lowrance, The Original Fish Formula, Dual Pro Chargers, Keep Alive Oxygen Infusor, Deka Marine Master Batteries, Jacob’s Glass, FishingWorld.com, X-Tools, The Spot Remover, All-Terrain Tackle, Hot Rods Marine Care and Bass Rx.