Spivey and Manning Crowned Classic Champs
October 23-24, 2021-Jefferson City, TN: The last stop of the 2021 Morristown Marine Team Trail blasted off in Jefferson City, TN at Cherokee Lake Dam with a field of 166 boats. Anglers found a heavy pre-dawn fog creeping over the dam into the lake channel with a cool, crisp 55 degree warm and humid October morning. After a 1-hour fog delay, the anglers had an hour added back to the end of their day. Day 2 dawned unseasonably warm, but more crisp and no fog, thankfully! The fishing has been brutally tough and did not change throughout the weekend. Catching a limit was a tall task for both days, even though both days presented very different conditions. In all, 455 bass hit the scales for a total weight of 1,013.49 lbs. Of the 166-boat field, 98 teams weighed at least one fish. Only 10 teams weighed a 10 fish, 2-day limit. The total payout for the 2021 Morristown Marine Team Trail Classic was $65,180.00 across 26 places and all contingency money.
Adam Spivey of Jonesville, VA and Tim Manning of Whitesburg, TN took home 1st Place with a 2-day, 10 fish total weight of 27.23 lbs. Adam and Tim said they spent most of the weekend rotating through a handful of mid-lake spots, throwing a variety of topwater baits, jigs and crankbaits. Adam and Tim took home checks for 1st place ($30,000.00), Highest Finishing Skeeter($3,000.00), Morristown Marine New Bucks($1,000.00) and 1st Place Humminbird/MinnKota Money($250.00), for a total of $34,250.00!! Congrats to Adam and Tim for a great performance this weekend.
Close in second place was Brian Harvey and Mark Mauldin, both of Knoxville, TN with a 2-day total of 10 bass that weighed 25.21 lbs. Brian and Mark had solid Day 1 with 12.54 lbs and followed that with a very consistent 12.67 Day 2 weight. Brian and Mark will cash a $5,000.00 for their efforts this weekend. Great job, guys!
Closing the weekend in 3rd place was our Day 1 Leaders, Travis O’Quinn of Charlotte, NC and Shannon O’Quinn of Gray, TN. Travis and Shannon had the biggest bag of the tournament on Day 1 with 15.08 lb sack with a GIANT 5.45 lb largemouth that ended up being the Citizens Bank Big Largemouth of the tournament. Day 2 was harder on Travis and Shannon, but the brothers found a way to stay in the top 3 by bringing 9.78 lbs to the scales and cashing checks for 3rd place($3,500), Big Largemouth($765), 2nd Highest Finishing Skeeter($1,500.00), and 2nd place Humminbird/MinnKota($150.00) for a total payout of $5,915.00. Way to go Travis and Shannon!
4th place overall went to Mark Ownby and Wandell Lusk with a 2-day total of 24.67 lbs. Mark and Wandell fought boat problems and mechanical issues throughout Day 1, but stayed focused long enough to end Day 1 in contention. They hammered it out on Day 2 and brought in 10.46 lbs to seal a top 5 finish. Mark and Wandell won 4th place($2,000.00). Congrats Mark and Wandell!
Rounding out the Top 5 was Jeremy Gordon of Rutledge, TN and Phillip Gordon of Middlesboro, KY with a 10 bass, 2-day total of 24.60 lbs. The Gordon brothers had solid bags both days and were in contention from the start. Jeremy and Phillip will cash checks for 5th place($1,000.00), 3rd Highest Finishing Skeeter($1,000.00), and Morristown Marine New Bucks($750.00) for a total payout of $2,750.00. Great job, guys!
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to the 3rd place team of Travis and Shannon O’Quinn with an absolute GIANT 5.45 greenfish that looked like it could’ve weighed 7 lbs. Great catch, Travis and Shannon!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth went to the team of Dalton Price of Seymour, TN and Seth LaFollette of Sevierville, TN weighing in a chunk brown fish of 4.53lb. Nice fish, guys!
The two teams winning the Gray Insurance Group Bonus were Josh Roark and Allen Smith (23.80 lbs.) and Keith McDeerman and Von Dilbeck (21.75 lbs). These teams received an extra $250 each, just for choosing Gray Insurance Agency out of LaFollette, TN. Give Gray Insurance and Randy Heatherly a call and get in on the payout!
Two teams cashed a check for highest finishing Humminbird/Minnkota. The tournament winners, Adam Spivey and Tim Manning (27.23 lbs.) cashed a check for $250.00 and the 3rd place team of Travis O’Quinn and Shannon O’Quinn (24.86 lbs) for $150.00. It pays to run THE one-boat network.
Morristown Marine Bucks paid out to Adam Spivey and Tim Manning (27.23 lbs) for Highest Finishing New Boat from Morristown Marine to the tune of $1,000.00 and to Jeremy Gordon and Phillip Gordon (24.60 lbs) for $750.00 on 2nd Highest Finishing New Boat from Morristown Marine. Highest finishing Pre-owned Boat from Morristown Marine went to Matt Goins and Clint Dyer (17.62 lbs) for $500 and to Brandon Hartgrove and Steve Robinson (3.44 lbs) for $250. We appreciate each of you choosing to purchase your boat at Morristown Marine. Thank You!!
Thursday October 21st marked our annual Team Trail Banquet dinner where we honor the anglers who chose to fish our trail that year and award our top finishing anglers for the year. The top 3 are noted below. Congratulations to each of you and thank you for fishing the Morristown Marine Team Trail.
Points Champion is the Team of Joe Slagle (Bristol, TN) and Garrett Clark (Kingsport, TN) total points 1,433 with an average weight across 5 tournaments of 14.57lbs. Joe and Garrett will cash a check for $1,000.00 for their consistency and hard work this season.
Second in Points: Jeff Lewis (East Bernstadt, KY) Freddy Adkins (East Bernstadt, KY) total points 1,397 with an average weight across 5 tournaments of 13.65lbs. Jeff and Freddy will cash a check for $750.00.
Third in Points: Rufus Johnson (Strawberry Plains, TN) and Craig Brewer (Strawberry Plains, TN) total points 1,334 with an average weight across 5 tournaments of 13.21 lbs. Rufus and Craig will cash a check for $500.00.
In addition to a great BBQ meal provided by Holy Smoke BBQ out of New Market, TN, we reviewed some incredible stats from 2021, looked at what’s coming for 2022 and talked about the 2022 MMTT Schedule. We look forward to seeing all of you again next year.
Morristown Marine would also like to thank Skeeter and Yamaha as well as Humminbird and MinnKota for their support and partnership, A big thank you to Jefferson County and Field of Dreams for hosting us this weekend and providing a great place to have our dinner banquet. Thank you to Gray Fox Insurance Agency, Citizen’s Bank, Cumberland Gap Spring Water, Old Stage Printing, Volunteer Trenching, Power Pole, Lakeview Dock, Taylor Plumbing, Smokey Mountain Fiberglass, Shotcrete, Ridge Realty, B&H Sales, Valu RX Drugs, Rainey Battery, L&M Sales. Without our sponsors, our tournaments would not be what they are today. Please show your appreciation by choosing to do business with these sponsors.
Amanda and I want to send a special thanks to the team of folks that make these tournaments possible. Mitch Martino, Shannon Glass, Bradley & Samantha Walker, Cody and Kacie Shipley, Shawna Slagle, and Kevin Connor. Thank you, to each one of you, for countless hours of work and devotion to make this thing go!
With the 2021 regular season in the books, keep an eye out for a couple of key items in the coming weeks: We will be finalizing sponsorships and contingency payouts for 2022 and releasing the 2022 rules, highlighting any changes. Also starting soon will be the 2021/2022 Morristown Marine Winter Series …and I am very excited about opportunities for our anglers to experience some new waters at different times of year! Lots of items in the works, so be sure you keep track of us on FaceBook, Instagram and our website. See you all in a few short months on Cherokee Lake March 5th, 2022!
** All checks will be available for pick-up at the store on Monday and Tuesday. Remaining checks will be mailed Wednesday to the address we have on file for you. We are beginning to utilize email for logistics information and economic impact reports. Please check your email and look for emails from Morristown Marine Team Trail.
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