Drinnon & Christian Conquer Chocolate Milk Cherokee
March 4, 2023-Morristown, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail kicked off 2023 with a record-breaking field Saturday morning. 268 teams registered for the tournament, and 264 of those teams took to the muddy waters to compete. The recent storms and heavy rains made for some tough fishing but there were still a lot of fish caught and weighed with 190 of those teams weighing at least one fish for a grand total of 1,903.07 lbs. weighed in! 106 teams had a five fish limit with a total of 764 fish weighed and 762 fish released alive to be caught again another day. Blast off took 1 hour and 19 minutes, averaging 3.3 boats per minute and weigh-in took 2 hours and 5 minutes, averaging 1.52 bags per minute. These numbers are an incredible testament to what a great group of anglers you guys are. While the previous couple of days weather wasn’t good, Saturday couldn’t have been better with highs in the 60’s and overnight lows in the upper 40’s. We certainly appreciate everyone fishing with us and creating such a great trail! Our total payout for the tournament was $51,585.00 across 45 places and all contingency programs.
The team of Bobby Drinnon and Stacy Christian took home the win with a total weight of 18.08 lbs. Bobby and Stacy told us they embraced the muddy water and just fished what they typically fish on both ends of the lake. Bobby and Stacy took home 1st place check for $10,000.00!! Congrats guys on a great day of fishing!
Coming in a close 2nd was the team of JR Henard and Travis Carpenter with a total weight of 17.46 lbs. JR & Travis took home a check for $5,000.00 for their great finish. Congrats JR & Travis!
3rd place belongs to Kenneth Owens and Adam Spivey with a 17.35 lb. bag of nice brown fish. Kenneth and Adam will cash checks for 3rd place, Highest Finishing Skeeter, and 1st Morristown Marine New Bucks and 1st Gray Fox Insurance for a total payday of $7,250.00. Way to go guys!!
4th place went to Casey Majni and Corey Brooks with a total weight of 16.96 lbs. Casey and Corey will receive checks for 4th place, 2nd Highest Finishing Skeeter, 1st Humminbird/MinnKota, and 2nd Morristown Marine New Bucks for a total payday of $5,000.00. Great job, Casey and Corey!!
Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Mark Ownby and Wandell Lusk. Mark and Wandell weighed 5 bass for 16.94 lbs and will cash checks for 5th place, 3rd Highest Finishing Skeeter, and 2nd Humminbird/MinnKota for a total payout of $3,150.00. Good job guys!
Check out the full results here: bit.ly/3423_Cherokee1
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to Cawood/West with a TOAD greenie tipping the scales at 5.78 lbs. They will add $1,330.00 to their winnings for catching this giant! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout ended in a tie with the teams of Vineyard/Fields and Conn/Lee sharing the $1,330.00 pot for each weighing a monster 4.33 lb smallie. Both teams will receive a check for $665.00 each. Nice catch, guys!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Casey Majni & Corey Brooks, 16.96 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Mark Ownby & Wandell Lusk, 16.94 lbs. $150 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
Humminbird: Simply. Clearly. Better. Check out how to get in on the One Boat Network at https://www.minnkotamotors.com/ and get paid for running the best equipment on the water.
Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to Ownes/Spivey with 17.35 lbs for $250.00 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to McDeerman/Dilbeck with 13.98 lbs. Their choice to insure with Gray Fox Insurance paid them back $250.00 Saturday. Get in touch with Randy Heatherly and the gang at Gray Fox Insurance in LaFollette, TN and get in on the payback!
The Morristown Marine Bucks program paid out as follows:
Morristown Marine New Bucks:
1st: Kenneth Owens and Adam Spivey, 17.35 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: Casey Majni & Corey Brooks, 24.56 lbs. $750.00 Bonus.
The Morristown Marine New Bucks pays back those who purchased a brand-new boat from us in 2020, 2021 or 2022. This is just our way of saying “Thank You” for choosing your new boat from us.
Morristown Marine Pre-Owned Bucks:
1st: Bryston Wilson & Eric Houston, 4.38 lbs. $500 Bonus.
2nd: Todd Etherton & Josh Etherton, 3.82 lbs. $250 Bonus
Thank you both for choosing to spend your hard-earned dollars at Morristown Marine. All you have to do is purchase a certified pre-owned boat from Morristown Marine to qualify for this payout.
Highest Finishing Skeeter Bonus:
- Owens/Spivey: 17.35 lbs, $3,000.00
- Majni/Brooks: 16.96 lbs, $1,500.00
- Ownby/Lusk: 16.94 lbs, $1,000.00
- Dewees/Napier: 16.13 lbs, $800.00
- Hamilton/Ball: 15.95 lbs, $700.00
- Baker/Baker: 15.88 lbs, $500.00
- Wacker/Dyer: 15.66 lbs, $250.00
- Crum/Redmond: 15.01 lbs, $200.00
- Noble/Hunt: 14.57 lbs, $150.00
- Davis/Gilliam: 14.29 lbs, $100.00
New for 2023 will be a gift certificate for both anglers in the amount of $25 each from Tom’s Sporting Goods. This will go to the first team in a Skeeter Boat out of the money. Congratulations to the team of Vineyard/Fields on this bonus payout.
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Humminbird, MinnKota, Morristown Chamber of Commerce/Visit Morristown, Gray Fox Insurance, Old Stage Printing, Volunteer Trenching, Jimmy Taylor Plumbing, Lake View Dock, Citizens Bank, Cumberland Gap Spring Water, Jerry’s Bait Shop, Value RX Pharmacy, Jefferson County, Campbell County, The Roane Alliance/City of Rockwood, GH&C, Toms Sporting Goods, AZ Rags and Smoky Mountain Fiberglass for sponsoring the 2023 Morristown Marine Team Trail. If not for the help of these sponsors, this tournament trail could not exist. Thank you all so much for your support of our anglers.
We want to thank our staff and crew for another great event. Most people don’t realize the behind-the-scenes work that goes on to create and operate a tournament of this size. Lastly, we want to thank you, the anglers, for coming out in record numbers to fish with us. There are a number of tournament trails these days and we sincerely appreciate you choosing to fish with us. Next stop: South Holston Lake in beautiful Bristol, TN on March 18! See you then!
Please be sure to complete the Economic Impact Report so we can continue sharing information with our chambers. https://bit.ly/CherokeeEcon3423
