Smith and Kirby Grind Out Big Win on Cherokee
October 24, 2020- Morristown, TN: A warm, fall morning with occasional rain showers met 167 boats on Cherokee Lake Saturday for the 4th stop of the 2020 Morristown Marine Team Trail out of our home base in Morristown. The wet forecast and really poor fishing made it a tough day for the majority of anglers today. We all knew it wouldn’t take much to cash a check, and boy were we right! Only 71 teams weighed any fish of the 167 total registrants. Of those, only 22 boats had a full 5 fish limit…that is only 13% of the anglers who caught a full limit. In total, 227 fish hit the scales and were released alive and well back into the waters of Cherokee Lake for a grand total of 519.56 lbs. of largemouth, smallmouth, and spots caught and weighed Saturday. Our payout totaled $40,610.00 across 30 places. The cut weight was 7.5 lbs.
Mike Smith and Tyler Kirby, both of Jacksboro, TN, won the day with a great bag of 16.28 lbs. anchored by a giant smallmouth weighing 4.35 lbs. This smallmouth was long and had some shoulders to it but was still very skinny. That fish could easily go 6 lbs. with a belly on it. Mike and Tyler said they found some shallow fish down the lake but had to grind them out. They said they only caught 7 or 8 fish all day… but they were the right ones. Mike and Tyler collected checks for 1st place ($10,000), Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth ($820), and Humminbird/MinnKota ($250) for a total of $11,070. Congratulations Mike and Tyler!
Coming in a close 2nd place was Sam Meade (Coeburn, VA) and Josh Osborne (Bristol, VA) with a weight of 15.90 lbs. They said they found some schooling fish early and committed to topwater all day long. Sam and Josh will receive $3,000 for 2nd place. Congrats, guys!
3rd place went to Michael Conn of Mooresburg, TN and Daniel Conn of Rutledge, TN with 14.50 lbs. The Conn’s won 3rd place overall and Highest Finishing Skeeter. They will receive $5,000.00 for their efforts on Saturday. Good job, guys!
4th place belonged to Josh Roark of Bean Station, TN and Allen Smith of Rutledge, TN with a total weight of 14.42 lbs. Josh and Allen won 4th overall, 2nd Highest Finishing Skeeter, 1st Morristown Marine New Boat, 1st Gray Fox Insurance and 2nd Humminbird/MinnKota. They will get a check for will get $4,150.00 for their day of fishing. Nice work, guys!
Rounding out the top 5 was Bobby Chambers of Newport, TN and Tim Smiley of White Pine, TN weighing in a bag totaling 14.21 lbs. Bobby and Tim won 5th overall, 3rd Highest Finishing Skeeter and 2nd Morristown Marine New Boat for a total of $2,750 for their time on the water Saturday. Congratulations, Bobby & Tim!
See the full list of results here
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to David Ramey (Kingsport, TN) and Trevor Sexton (Rogersville, TN) with a very nice Cherokee Lake Largemouth weighing 4.20 lbs. David and Trevor will receive a check for $820.00 for their big largemouth. Nice catch!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth belongs to the overall winners, Mike Smith and Tyler Kirby both of Jacksboro, TN, with a huge 4.35 lb. brownie. Mike and Tyler will get $820.00 added to their winnings for their big smallmouth. Congrats, guys!
Highest Finishing Humminbird/MinnKota payout went to:
1) Mike Smith/Tyler Kirby: 16.28 lbs. $250.00
2) Josh Roark/Allen Smith: 14.42 lbs. $150.00
A great example of how it pays to run The One Boat Network! Humminbird: Simply. Clearly. Better.
Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout looked like this:
1) Josh Roark/Allen Smith: 14.42 lbs. $250.00
2) Benny Roberts/Todd Nidiffer: 13.23 lbs. $250.00
See Randy Heatherly and the gang at Gray Fox Insurance in LaFollette, TN and get in on the payback! Congrats, guys, and thank you for choosing Gray Fox for your insurance needs!
The Morristown Marine New Boat Bucks went to:
1) Josh Roark/Allen Smith: 14.42 lbs. $1,000.00
2) Bobby Chambers/Tim Smiley: 14.21 lbs. $750.00
We appreciate you guys choosing Morristown Marine for your new boat purchase and this payout is how we show our appreciation. Thank you and Congratulations!
The Morristown Marine Pre-owned Boat Bucks went to:
1) Matt Goins/Clint Dyer: 4.40 lbs. $500.00
2) Brandon Hartgrove/Steve Robinson: 3.45 lbs. $250.00
We love our pre-owned customers, too. We want everyone to find a new-to-you boat at Morristown Marine and we appreciate you guys choosing us! Thank you and congratulations!
Highest Finishing Skeeter Payout:
1) Michael Conn/Daniel Conn: 14.50 lbs. $3,000.00
2) Josh Roark/Allen Smith: 14.42 lbs. $1,500.00
3) Bobby Chambers/Tim Smiley: 14.21 lbs. $1,000.00
4) Perry Dewees/Paul Napier: 13.85 lbs. $800.00
5) Jeremy Gordon/Phillip Gordon: 13.75 lbs. $700.00
6) Benny Roberts/Todd Nidiffer: 13.23 lbs. $500.00
7) Jimmy Crum/Steve Redmond: 12.09 lbs. $250.00
8) John Smith/Tyler Faulkner: 11.61 lbs. $200.00
9) Brian Everett/Mark Trent: 9.15 lbs. $150.00
10) Josh Cupp/Tony Morton: 8.50 lbs. $100.00
It pays you back to fish out of a Skeeter. Skeeter Boats: Eat.Sleep.Fish.
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to Frank Parker at Cherokee Park for allowing us to use the access area at Boat Launch Road. Also, Anne Ross and the Morristown Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development for sponsoring our event. Another big thank you to the Hamblen County Sherriff’s Office for helping us out with traffic control and making a few extra rounds through 25E Bridge Ramp, Hamblen County Dock ramp and the Boat Launch Rd. ramp during the day Saturday. Not only are you guys everyday heroes, but you took time out of your busy schedule to help keep our angler’s vehicles and trailers safe. We truly appreciate what all you guys do!
We would also like to thank Skeeter, Yamaha, Humminbird, MinnKota, Power Pole, Visit Morristown Tourism, Gray Fox Insurance, Old Stage Printing, Shotcrete, Volunteer Trenching, Jimmy Taylor Plumbing, B&H Sales, Citizens Bank, Lake View Dock, Cumberland Gap Spring Water, L&M Sales & Service, ValueRX Pharmacy and Hammrtech for sponsoring the 2020 Morristown Marine Team Trail!
We will be on Norris Lake out of Anderson County Park in a few short weeks on November 14, 2020, as we continue on to the last regular-season stop for 2020. In the meantime, stay safe, practice social distancing, and get out there on the water! And don’t forget to GO VOTE!!!!
Please don’t forget to complete the Economic Impact Report as well. This can be completed in less than 1 minute and is vital information for our sponsors and Chamber! http://bit.ly/econcherokee