The North Carolina East Fishers of Men Firefly Weeknight Series held their fourth tournament of the 2025 season on Yoepium River, Friday, May 16, 2025. The weather started sunny and hot with temperatures in the low 90’s with a moderate breeze out of the South West at 10-15 mph but the threat of severe storms were predicted to arrive around weigh-in time.  Eleven teams participated in the tournament and all teams attended the pre-tournament meeting.

The meeting was started with a prayer and our Chaplain Kenneth Wallace providing the message titled “Follow Me and I will make you Fishers of Men”. He read the scripture out of Mathew 4: vs 18-20 (ESV).

Kenneth started by discussing the call to cast a different net. He spoke about Jesus calling Peter and Andrew who were fishermen and gave it eternal purpose. He didn’t ask them, but said “Follow Me and I will make you Fishers of Men”. Jesus used ordinary men to cast nets into the hearts of people. Jesus began with “Follow Me” which was a call to surrender themselves and follow the one who calls us. The Greek word for follow (akoloutheo) implies continuous action. It’s not a one-time decision but a lifestyle of surrender. Luke 9: vs 23 (NIV) mentions that anyone who wants to be a disciple of Jesus must deny themselves and take up their cross daily. Kenneth mentions that we cannot fish for others if we are still clinging tour old nets. Peter and Andrew left their nets –immediately. That kind of obedience is the starting point of effective ministry. Next, Kenneth mentions the transformation “I will make you”. The transformation is not self-made, Jesus says “I will make you fishers of men”. Jesus does not call the equipped-He equips the called. Just as he did with Peter and Andrew, He takes our natural gifts and gives them supernatural impacts. God does the shaping. Our job is to keep following. The mission; Fishing for souls. What does it mean to be “fishers of men”?  Fishing requires Patience, Persistence, Strategy and Practice. Kenneth stated that in spiritual terms, fishing for men means sharing the Gospel, living out our faith and loving people enough to tell them about Jesus. The urgency; Now is the time for us to fish. Peter and Andrew responded immediately! Kenneth ends with stating that we live in a world that is spiritually starving. People are searching for hope, peace, identity and truth. Jesus has placed a net in our hands that we must cast! He ends with a prayer asking that our lives may be a vessel that may bring many to know Jesus.

After reviewing the rules highlights, our fishermen set out on the Yoepium River in search of the winning catch. The fishermen found the bite to extremely tough with the afternoon sun and breezy conditions.  There were 20 fish weighed for a total 34.3 pounds.  19 of the fish were released back into the water for 95% release. The average number of fish per team was 1, average weight per team 3.12 pounds and the average fish weight was 1.72 pounds.

When the teams came to the scale, Kirk and Trent Nixon, brought a five fish limit to the scales that weighed 10.31 pounds with a 3.11 pound kicker fish to secure first place for the tournament. They took home $315.00 dollars for first place and $55 dollars for the big fish. Second place went to the team of Justin Chamblee and Josh Powell with a five fish limit that weighed 7.77 pounds. They took home $70.00 dollars for their efforts. Third place went to Darren Saunders and Jason Smith with a four fish that weighed 5.94 pounds. There were only two places paid due to the number of boats entered in the tournament. Under the threatening skies with thunder storms close, we gave our 2024 Champions Chris Meads and Zach Meads their award plaques.

We would like to thank all those who helped with making this tournament a success, especially Kenneth Wallace, Gary Sawyer, Eric Ball and Isaiah Seigh as well as all our fishermen who helped with set-up and take down of the scales and equipment.   We also would like to thank all the Fishers of Men sponsors; Bass Cat, Mercury, Realtree Fishing, Power Pole, Firefly Outdoor and Marine, Abu Garcia, Berkley, Spiderwire, TH Marine and X2Power.

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	30981	Kirk Nixon trent nixon	5	3.11	10.39	0	10.39	200
2	32787	Justin Chamblee Josh Powell	5	0	7.77	0	7.77	199
3	36083	Darren Saunders Jason Smith	4	0	5.94	0	5.94	198
4	35650	Craig Simmons Gill Burke	2	2.86	3.92	0	3.92	197
5	30973	Chris Meads Zachery Meads	2	0	3.21	0	3.21	196
6	32785	Gary Sawyer Eric Ball	1	2.02	2.02	0	2.02	195
7	30954	Patrick Seigh Isaiah Seigh	1	1.08	1.33	0.25	1.08	194
8	30953	Kenneth Wallace Jason Samson	0	0	0	0	0	193
9	32786	Alan Meads Gerald Murray	0	0	0	0	0	193
10	36080	Yaheese Lynch McKenzie Lynch	0	0	0	0	0	193
11	36082	David Freeman Michael Hoggard	0	0	0	0	0	193
First Place: Kirk and Trent Nixon weighing five fish for 10.31pounds that included the big fish for the tournament that weighed 3.11 pounds. They won $315.00 dollars for 1st place and $55.00 dollars for big fish. Second Place: Justin Chamblee and Josh Powell weighing a five fish limit for 7.77 pounds. They won $70.00 dollars for their 2nd place finish. Our Chaplain Kenneth Wallace gave the message before the blast off that was titled " Follow ME and I will make you Fishers of Men " Our Fishermen were blessed by the great message Kenneth provided Another photo of our fishermen receiving the message Chris and Zach Meads receive their awards for being the 2024 Points Champions