Matthew and Fisher Whittaker Win Lake Chesdin

Congratulations to Matthew and Fisher Whittaker who caught 4 largemouth bass weighing in at 12.37 lbs to include catching the Big Fish (4.84 lbs) capturing the first place title for the first event of the 2024 season held on Lake Chesdin. 

Lake Chesdin was very stained with the water temperature at 54 degrees, today’s weather was 62 degrees and sunny then turning to partly cloudy at weigh-in.  They reported catching their fish slow rolling spinnerbaits mid-lake around old grass and Lilly pads in five feet of water or less. Matthew caught the big bass of the day on a spinnerbait that was won during the message.  He stated that on the 10^th cast the largemouth engulfed the bait Both anglers concluded by saying thank you to the Fishers of Men VA-East legacy division and the committee for a great event.  2nd place went to the Randy and Jayson Beasley team with a weight of (12.31 lbs.), The third-place team of Nathan Pulley and Zachary Bodsford landed (10.35 lbs.). Thirteen teams participated and several teams reported multiple missed opportunities in landing bass.

The pre-tournament meeting was held at the Church of Christ in Colonial Heights. Forty-six fishermen, family and Church members attended the meeting, where they were served complimentary and delicious meal of Chicken, BBQ and all the fixins and dessert.  Pastor Daniel Roberts message on discernment vs discretion touched many hearts with three rededicated their life to Christ.  The committee, anglers and I want to thank Pastor Roberts who also serves as out divisional Chaplin for opening their doors and accepting us with outreached arms and warm hearts.  A special thank you to the Church of Christ Hospitality Committee who provided the fabulous meal.  Our heartfelt thank you extended to all for a wonderful, blessed night.   Many hands helped make this event successful.  

Congratulations to our participating anglers, their families and guest who won over $350 in door prizes. Throughout the season the VA East Legacy Division will raffle off over $1000 plus in retail value of merchandise from our division sponsors at our events.  In addition, the team of Ruggerio and Kelly became eligible to win 1 JB Custom rod (Just Out of the Money Consolation Prize).  Several additional teams are eligible to win 1 JB Custom rod (The One That Got Away Consolation Prize).  The winner will be chosen by a random drawing at our next event.  Remember teams must be at the next meeting/event to obtain divisional incentives through our sponsors. 

The next tournament of the season will be held April 27, 2024 followed by the pre-tournament meeting / event on April 26, 2024 on the James River.  All the information for this event can be found on the national website (www.fomntt.com) on our VA East divisional page. 

Director Jim Sutton will pay 1 entry fee to include bonus bucks for the team that brings the most new members at the James River meeting/tournament.   Along time friend and particpant of Fishers of Men Keith Estes will pay 1 entry fee for the 2025 season to the team bringing the most new members throughout the 2024 season. 

When making your next purchase please consider our Divisional Sponsors which includes: Richmond Marine Center, JB Custom Rods, Fishin’ Va Guide Service, Fulk’s Custom Cranks, Captain Garys’ Marine Care Products, and Deep Creek Lures

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our National Sponsors that make Fishers of Men possible; Abu Garcia, BassCat Boats, Berkley, FireFly Outdoor & Marine, Frogg Toggs, Jacobs Glass, Mercury, Power-Pole, Realtree Fishing, Fenwick, T&H Marine, and X2 Power.

Serving with care, God Bless!

Jim Sutton

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	27599	Matthew Whittaker Fisher Whittaker	4	4.84	12.37	0	12.37	200
2	23084	Randy Beasley Jayson Beasley	5	0	12.31	0	12.31	199
3	32105	Nathan Pulley Zachary Bodsford	5	0	10.35	0	10.35	198
4	23497	Allen Colgin Marilyn Gibson	4	4.39	9.52	0	9.52	197
5	32104	James Ruggerio Andrew Kelly	3	6.57	6.57	0	6.57	196
6	32107	Donald Estes Luke Owen	2	3.11	5.54	0	5.54	195
7	32106	Brad Baber Jr. Logan Baber	1	2.84	2.84	0	2.84	194
8	24561	Daniel Roberts Asher Roberts	1	2.79	2.79	0	2.79	193
9	27602	Walter Emerson Walter Emerson	0	0	0	0	0	192
10	30716	cosby Woolfolk matthew Woolfolk	0	0	0	0	0	142
11	32102	Robert Moore Clay Moore	0	0	0	0	0	142
12	32103	Jason Brooks Lucas Brooks	0	0	0	0	0	142
Ist Place Matthew & Fisher Whittaker 2nd Place Randy & Jayson Beasley 3rd Place Zachary Bodsford & Nathan Pulley