Tournament #5 was held out of Elk Neck State Park on Saturday June 11th. The weather was overcast with some light rain during the day. Water temps were in the upper 70’s with the bass being in a post spawn state and just transitioning to summer patterns.

     The team of Tommy Turner and George Fortner dropped 19.01 lbs on the scales to win the tournament. They caught fish on several patterns during the day and really had a handle on the fish’s mood for the day! These two have many years of experience on the Upper Bay and on area waters. Paul Wiley and Jon Crans weighed 5 fish at 18.30 lbs for a solid 2nd place and received the big fish award for a 4.63 bass. Third place was Tom and Jimmy Rufenacht with 16.54 lbs and the team of Jim Shinn and Rob Hager weighed in a 16.04 lb limit for 4th place.

     For the season, Tom and Jimmy Rufenacht captured the points championship and a birth to the 2023 Fishers of Men National Championship to be held at Lake Hartwell in April of 2023. Tom and Jimmy become the first team to win the Maryland series championship four times. Three teams have been multi time winners of the trail: Brian and Eric McNulty 2 times, Buzz and Buzz Billings 2 times and Greg and Dave Wilder 3 times.

    Second place in the 2022 series goes to Tommy Turner and George Fortner ahead of third place team Jim Shinn and Rob Hager. The fourth position goes to Paul Wiley and Jon Crans Team 3:16. All teams that have fished a total of 3 events this year qualify for the Division Championship to be held at Kerr Reservoir on September 16-17. The details are listed on the main website and registration will open soon. Teams will register through a link on the main page when available.

     Thank you goes to Maple View Baptist Church for providing the facility for the Friday night meeting. Tom Rufenacht delivered the message from Ephesians 2:7 …that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ. When you examine the “why” behind God’s wonderful grace, He is looking forward to spending eternity with each of us and has an inheritance (that is guaranteed and incorruptible) awaiting His children.

      Thank you to all the support staff - especially Ted Quatman who hauled equipment, and set up for and helped with each tournament. Thank you to Joseph Fears, Jimmy Rufenacht, and Jami Rufenacht for making each event run smoothly. I also appreciate my 3 year old granddaughter Abby for pulling all of our door prize and raffle tickets for the year! I would like to thank our local sponsors FishermensHeaven.com and Stanford Lures for supporting the division.

     Thank you to the Fishers of Men National sponsors Basscat boats, Mercury, Realtree Fishing, Power Pole, Firefly, Spiderwire Durabraid, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Jacobs Glass, T&H Marine, X2 Power, and Frogg Toggs for supporting Fishers of Men National Tournament Trail.

     Plans are ongoing for the 2023 Maryland division season. Please let Tom know about your preferences for bodies of water for next season and your ideas for the trail in the upcoming years. I appreciate the support of each of you!

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	28905	Thomas Turner George Fortner	5	3.96	19.01	0	19.01	200
2	28873	Paul Wiley Jon Crans	5	4.63	18.3	0	18.3	199
3	13432	Tom Rufenacht James Rufenacht	5	0	16.54	0	16.54	198
4	28890	Jim Shinn Rob Hager	5	0	16.04	0	16.04	197
5	28865	Robert Wolf John Dell	4	0	9.93	0.25	9.68	146
6	28874	Jeffrey Choi Matthew Yuengling	3	0	7.96	0	7.96	195
7	28970	Mickey McCleary Butch Brooks	2	0	5.08	0	5.08	194
8	28969	Jeffrey Pelkey Colton Pelkey	1	2.88	2.88	0	2.88	143
9	14172	Elvin Martes William Gartner	1	1.92	1.92	0	1.92	142
Tournament Winners Tommy Turner and George Fortner with a 19.01 lb. sack! Second place and Big Fish goes to Paul Wiley and Jon Crans with 18.30 lbs. Tom and Jimmy with 16.54 lbs for 3rd Jim Shinn and Rob Hager in 4th place with 16.04 lbs! Jeff Choi and Matt Yuengling with a few nice ones! Butch Brooks and Mickey McCleary always have bass and a smile! Colton Pelkey with a 2.88 lb. largemouth The happy winners complete with checks and plaques! Tom rocking the new director's jersey delivering the message on Friday night. The Results! Lots of Family at the final tournament! Thanks for your support!