FOM Maryland Team Tournament #5

The Maryland Division launched Tournament #5 under beautiful post frontal skies with rising barometer, 80 degrees, and a 10-15mph W-NW wind forecasted for the day. 19 teams did a great job of getting into the water on a tough dark ramp in a timely way for a successful 5:15am launch! Thank you all for your cooperation throughout the year getting our launches under way under challenging conditions.             

               The team of Thomas Benett and Glenn Juisti won their second tournament of the 2026 season with a weight of 14.85 lbs. Glenn caught the Reeltree Monster Bass of the event with a 3.84 largemouth. They took home a nice payday of $1,225.80. Jacob Sponheimer fishing with substitute Anthony DeMarco jumped in at the last minute and weighed 14.52lbs for a strong 2^nd place finish. Paul Wiley and Jon Crans continued their string of strong Conowingo finishes with 11.75 lbs. for 3^rd place. 4^th place went to Shawn Skobel and Gary Crayton with a solid 11.53lbs. Shawn Ramey and Evan Roache placed 5^th with 11.42lbs. The Adult/Jr. team of Ralph Bradley III and Hunter Bradley finished in 6^th position with 11.26lbs. Points leaders by 1 point coming into the event Tom Rufenacht and Jimmy Rufenacht finished 7^th with 11.15lbs. Mickey McCleary fishing with grandson Jacob rounded out the top 8 with 10.27lbs. The biggest Smallmouth prize of a new Fin-X Jerkbait rod went to the team of Shawn Ramey and Evan Roache.

               The points race came down to the wire with a photo finish! Shawn Ramey and Evan Roache squeaked out a season win by one point over leaders coming in Tom Rufenacht and Jimmy Rufenacht. A last-minute stop at the end of the day provided the cull that boosted them into the points lead. Tom and Jimmy who finished just .38lbs behind had a solid 2.5lb smallmouth come out of the water 2 feet and threw the hook during the event that would have made the difference! Shawn and Evan are deserving 2026 Points Champions. They are excellent fishermen, they put in the work, and they are the first to volunteer and support! Congratulations on your first FOM-MD Points Championship!

               But the teams that finished 3^rd and 4^th in the points were also in contention until the final moments! 3^rd place went to last year’s champions Paul Wiley and Jon Crans just 2 points behind the Rufenacht’s. The super strong team of Shawn Skobel and Gary Crayton finished 4^th for the year just 1 point behind Paul and Jon. Just to give you an idea of how close these teams are, Ramey/Roache weighed 11.42, Rufenacht/Rufenacht weighed 11.15, Paul and Jon weighed 11.75, and Shawn and Gary weighed 11.53!!! You could throw a blanket over them! The top 4 teams were separated by 4 points in the end!

Thank you to Buzz and Marie Billings and the Victorious Faith Fellowship for a wonderful tournament dinner! They made it look easy! The food was wonderful and the fellowship among the fishermen was great. Our Chaplain Paul Wiley delivered a challenging message to the anglers regarding sharing the change that Jesus has made in their lives. He also announced a generous offer to cover the District Championship entry fee/bonus buck fees for any team that qualifies and is interested in fishing at the event. See the bottom of this page for a list of district qualifiers.

We would also like to thank our local sponsors: Fishermens-Heaven.store, John Fillmore and Budget Motors, Native Tungsten, and Missile baits has also provided a 35% off code for FOM-MD members.

Fishers of Men would like to thank all our National Sponsors and Advertisers for their support and encourage you to look at their products:  Falcon Bass Boats, Mercury Marine, Berkley, Abu Garcia, Fenwick, Realtree Fishing, Power-Pole, T&H Marine, Fish 419 Performance Gear & Frogg Toggs.

District Qualifiers:

Shawn Ramey/Evan Roache - 2026 Champions/National Qualifiers/Can fish any Dtistrict

Tom/Jimmy Rufenacht - any District

Paul Wiley/Jon Crans - any District

Shawn Skobel/Gary Crayton - any District

Ian Godwin/Rob Hager - any District

Jacob VanDevander - Dylan Otte - any District

Robert Budinko/Sean Budinko - Top Adult Jr. - any Dtistrict

David Hamm/Danielle Ham -  Top Male/Female - any District

Thomas Bennett/Glenn Juisti - any District

Jeff Pelkey/Collin McSorley - any District

Robert Wolf/John Dell

Sean Peddicord/Lonell Merchant

James Johnson/William Johnson

Mickey McCleary/Roland Bosley

Jacob Sponheimer/Brandon Baker

Daniel Downer/Terry Roberson

William Gartner/Elvin Martes

Ralph Bradley/Hunter Bradley - Adult Jr.

Jim Shinn/Colin Shinn

Randy Gabel/Joel Gabel

Place	Team	Members	# Fish	Big Fish	Gross	Penalty	Net Wt	Points
1	39150	Thomas Bennett GLENN JUISTI	5	3.84	14.85	0	14.85	200
2	39199	Jacob Sponheimer Brandon Baker	5	3.35	14.52	0	14.52	149
3	30396	Paul Wiley Jon Crans	5	0	11.75	0	11.75	198
4	35719	Shawn Skobel Gary Crayton	5	0	11.53	0	11.53	197
5	32128	Shawn Ramey James Roache	5	2.84	11.42	0	11.42	196
6	39148	Ralph Bradley III Hunter Bradley	5	0	11.76	0.5	11.26	195
7	30388	Tom Rufenacht James Rufenacht	5	2.95	11.15	0	11.15	194
8	39149	Mickey McCleary Roland Bosley	5	2.06	10.27	0	10.27	193
9	39166	Jeffrey Pelkey Collin McSorley	5	0	10.04	0	10.04	142
10	35721	Randy Gabel Joel Gabel	5	0	9.95	0	9.95	141
11	35717	Sean Peddicord Lonell Merchant	5	0	9.9	0	9.9	190
12	39154	Ian Godwin Rob Hager	5	1.6	9.29	0	9.29	189
13	30392	Jacob VanDeVander Dylan Otte	5	0	8.59	0	8.59	188
14	39341	Jim Shinn Colin Shinn	5	2.37	8.58	0	8.58	187
15	35730	William Gartner Elvin Martes	5	2.37	8.35	0	8.35	186
16	39733	Herb Weichmann	5	0	8.22	0	8.22	135
17	36211	David Hamm Danielle Hamm	5	0	7.35	0	7.35	184
18	39152	robert budinko sean budinko	5	0	6.17	0	6.17	183
19	39165	Daniel Downer Sr. TERRY ROBERSON	0	0	0	0	0	182
Tournament winners Thomas Bennett/Glenn Juisti with 14.85lbs, and the Realtree Monster Bass with a 3.84lb largemouth! Jacob Sponheimer with sub Anthony Demarco and 14.52lbs of Conowingo bass for second place! 3rd place went to Paul Wiley and Jon Crans with 11.75lbs! Always a threat, Shawn Skobel and Gary Crayton put together 11.53lbs for 4th Your 2026 Points Champions Shawn and Evan with their 11.42lbs for 5th for the day. The Adult/Jr. team of Ralph Bradley III and Hunter Bradley placed 6th with 11.26lbs. Tom and Jimmy placed 7th with 11.15lbs. Mickey McCleary and Grandson Jacob weighed a limit for 10.27 lbs to finish 8th. Chaplain Paul Wiley delivers a challenging heartfelt message to a room full of fishermen! All appeals must be filed with the boss....Sophie! Shawn Roache with a new rod for the largest smallmouth 2.84lbs. courtesy of Fin-X rods. Thank you Randy and Joel Fishermens-Heaven.store provided a new rod and reel combo to DJ and Danielle Hamm - Thank you, Ian! Here is Jacob Vandevander being presented with a new rod courtesy of Fishermens-Heaven.store! Thank you, Ian!