Tolbert & Tolbert Crush South Holston with Monster Bag 

May 15, 2021-Bristol, TN: The fifth stop of the 2021 Morristown Marine Team Trail blasted off in Bristol, TN at South Holston Lake with a field of 214 boats.  Anglers were greeted with a clear, 40 degree blast off on an abnormally chilly mid-May morning. Overall, the fishing was tough. Catching fish wasn’t difficult, but the big smallmouth were hard to find and the shad spawn is just days away. All this with the cool weather had the fish in an odd situation. In all, 545 bass hit the scales for a total weight of 1,407.90 lbs. Of the 214-boat field, 118 teams weighed at least one fish. 92 teams weighed a 5 fish limit. The total payout for the South Holston tournament was $45,115.00 across 36 places and all contingency money.  

David Tolbert and Mike Tolbert both of Bristol, TN took home 1st Place with a 19.46 lb bag anchored by a big largemouth weighing in at 5.65lbs. First place paid $10,000.00 along with the   Citizens Bank Big Largemouth payout of $1,000. The total winnings for their hard work $11,000!! David and Mike have a had a stellar month up on South Holston. Congrats guys! 

Following them in 2nd place was Curtis Ramey of Honaker, VA and Randall Lee of Nora, VA with 17.66 lbs. Curtis and Randall will collect a check for $3,000.00  Way to go, Curtis and Randall!  

3rd place went to Wayne Coppage of Telford, TN and Lewis Hulse of Jonesborough TN with a 5 fish total of 17.28 lbs. Wayne & Lewis’ bag won them a check for $2,500.00. Congrats Wayne and Lewis! 

4th place belonged to Brad Warfield of Bean Station, TN and Tristan Warfield of Bean Station, TN with a total weight of 17.02 lbs on a 5 fish limit. Good job, guys! Brad and Tristan cashed a check for $2,000.00 for their day of fishing.  

Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Greg McDavid of Blountville, TN and Justin Williams of Pennington Gap, VA with a 5 fish weight of 16.87 lbs. Greg and Justin collected a 5th place check for $1,000.00. Congrats, Greg and Justin!  

The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth went to the team of Gary Hobbs and Matthew Hobbs of Blountville, TN weighing in a smallie of 4.30lb. Nice fish, guys!  

The two teams winning the Gray Insurance Group Bonus were David Russell and Herbert Griffith (15.76 lbs.) and Josh Roark and Allen Smith (12.82  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 team of Bobby Chambers and Tim Smiley (16.44 lbs.) cashed a check for $250.00 and the team of Brad Ratliff and Clay Winebarger (16.07 lbs) for $150.00. It pays to run a one-boat network.  

Morristown Marine Bucks paid out to Bobby Chambers and Tim Smiley (16.44 lbs) for Highest Finishing New Boat from Morristown Marine to the tune of $1,000.00 and to Jeremy Gordon and Phillip Gordon (13.64 lbs) for $750.00 on 2nd Highest Finishing New Boat from Morristown Marine. Highest finishing Pre-owned Boat from Morristown Marine went to Brandon Hartgrove and Steve Robinson (12.6  lbs) for $500 and to A.J. Ison and Hank Rogers (11.12 lbs) for $250. We appreciate each of you choosing to purchase your boat at Morristown Marine. Thank You!!  

South Holston wrapped up the 2021 MMTT regular season and the final points standings will be posted very soon. The top three teams for 2021 are as follows: 

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 to be paid out at the Classic Dinner Banquet on October 21, 2021. 

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 to be paid out at the Classic Dinner Banquet on October 21, 2021.  

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 to be paid out at the Classic Dinner Banquet on October 21, 2021.  

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 Sullivan County and Observation Knob Park for hosting us and providing a great place to hve this tournament. Also, a big shout out to the 421 Volunteer Fire Dept for filling up the holding tanks at weigh in. 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 and 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!  

The 2021 regular season is now complete. Keep an eye out for a couple of key items in the coming weeks: BASS Team Champs qualifiers will be announced next week, as well as 2021 Classic Qualifiers and the full points standings for 2021. Also coming soon will be the 2021/2022 Morristown Marine Winter Series Schedule…and I am very excited about some changes to it!  I am currently working on the 2022 MMTT schedule and hope to have it finalized in the coming months. Details for the Classic Banquet and 2-day Super Classic on Cherokee Lake will be coming as well. Lots of items in the works, so be sure you keep track of us on FaceBook, Instagram and our website.  See you all in October!  

** 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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