Pennsylvania West Division

Lake Erie Recap

On June 25 th ,2005 we had 15 teams take on the challenge of Lake Erie’s big smallmouth as they fished the 2nd of 5 circuit events for the Pennsylvania – West division of The Fishers’ of Men National Tournament Trail. 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 over ½ the field recording 5 fish limits at 15 inches, the total field brought in 31 “brownie’s” and 18 “greenie’s” for a total weight of 153.50 pounds of bass. Most of the smallmouth were reported being caught on the myriad of humps and shoal flats out on the main lake in the 16-22 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 Maryland – East division, Dan Martin and Don Hamer proved local favorites don’t always win as they secured the $722.00 1st place cash with a sack of bronzebacks weighing in at just over 20 pounds. Taking 2nd place on the strength of the big bass of the tournament at 4.56 pounds, Mark Keene and John Keene Jr. used their 18.54 pounds of smallmouth to pocket a quick $450.00. Earning the last check with their solid 3rd place weight of 18 pounds on the nose was newcomers, Tim and Michael Dezort. Placing one out of the money but retaining an early lead in the coveted Points Championship race was brothers, Ernie and Ken Pate, fresh off their winning a boat at the 2005 FOM National Championships. Rounding out the top 5 positions with another consistent 5 fish limit was John Keene Sr. and Dan Reich. Stephen Brown and John Kawecki earned a little spending cash by securing the second biggest bass of the event at 4.39 pounds, just edging out 4 or 5 other smallmouth by 1/100ths of an ounce.

The next tournament of the circuit season for the Pennsylvania – West division will be on July 23 rd, 2005 on Shenango Reservoir. 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 Fishing Dreams Unlimited, the non-profit charitable giving foundation for Sport Fishing Ventures Unlimited which provided our meal right on the isle with great pizza and wings from world famous Valerios. 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 were blessed to have Tom Meadows from the Kentucky – North division provide a straight forward, no fluff, right to the point message of the gospel of Jesus Christ and our options as humans with the free will to choose eternal life or eternal damnation. 12 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 Donovan Smith, FOM – EAST Regional Director who drove the distance to share with the teams his insight, leadership and vision for Fishers of Men. He announced the airing of the new FOM TV show as well as the regional location for 2005 as Kerr Reservoir. 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, the National Promotions Team at Choice Hotels as well as Cracker Barrel restaurants.