Gordon and Gordon Net a Toad for a Giant Win
April 5, 2025-Dandridge, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail completed stop #3 of the 2025 season Saturday on Douglas Lake out of Dandridge Dock. 201 teams registered for the event and 187 went through blast off just outside of the awesome Dandridge Dock to compete for a share of the $43,975.00 payout across 34 places and all contingencies. The weather had been unseasonably hot all week, and Saturday was no exception with highs in the mid 80’s, but a heavy cold front coming in for the following week. The day started off great with temps in the mid 60’s and no wind with some intermittent cloud cover. As the day moved on the clouds fell away and a stiff breeze picked up. We’d heard the fish had been eating all week, but good fish were hard to find. At the end of the day, 112 teams weighed a 5 fish limit, and 138 teams weighed at least 1 fish. A total of 642 fish hit the scales weighing 1,527.46 lbs. Thats a 2.38 lb average fish! 639 fish went back into the water alive and well. (Thank you to all our anglers for their continued support of proper fish care and preservation of our natural resources.) Blast off started at 7:30 am and boat 250 blasted off at 8:10 am, taking 40 minutes and averaging 4.6 boats per minute. The scales opened at 2:55 and closed at 4:35, taking an hour and 40 minutes, averaging 1.38 bags per minute weighed. We appreciate you guys following the protocols we have put in place to make weigh-ins and blast offs run smooth and efficiently. As a reminder, if you want to weigh a big fish, please leave a cull tag on that fish and let us know as soon as you get to the scales that you want to weigh a big fish. This makes that process SO much faster and easier.
Jeremy Gordon and Philip Gordon took home the win with a GIANT bag weighing 17.68 lbs anchored by a massive green fish weighing 6.00 lbs. Jeremy and Philip said they caught fish all day but kept a 13 lb limit for most of the tournament. They added the big largemouth late in the day to push their bag to the top. They’ll cash a check for $10,000.00 for 1st place, $985 for Big Fish, and $250.00 for Highest finishing Humminbird/Minnkota users. Congrats on a great bag! Click here to see the post-tourney interview with Jeremy and Philip.
Following up in 2nd place was the team of Tim Manning and Michael Knapp with a bag weighing 15.72 lbs. Tim and Michael will cash checks for $2,500 for second place and $3,000.00 for 1st Highest Finishing Skeeter. It pays to fish out of a Skeeter Boat!
3rd place went to Alex Hutson and Gunter O’Dell with 15.07 lbs. Alex and Gunter will get $2,000.00 for their overall 3rd place finish and additional $985 for bringing in a GIANT small mouth weighing in at 5.05 lbs.
In 4th place was Hunter Hamilton and Ty Ball with a 15.02 lb limit. Hunter and Ty won a total of $1,500 for their efforts along with $150 for 2nd highest finishing Humminbird/Minnkota finish. Congrats, guys!
Rounding out the top 5 was Josh Lee with a limit weighing 14.91 lbs. Josh will take home $1,000.00 for 5th Place and $1,500.00for 2nd Highest Finishing Skeeter for a total payday of $2,500.00. Congrats on a great finish!
Check out the full results here: LINK
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to Jeremy Gordon and Philip Gordon with a giant green fish tipping the scales at 6.00 lbs. They will get a check for $985.00 for catching that one! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout went to Alex Hutson and Gunter O’Dell weighing an absolute tank of a brown fish at 5.05 lb. Nice catch, and way to put $985.00 on top of your winnings!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Gordon/Gordon, 17.68 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Hamilton/Ball 15.02 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 Conn/Lee with 14.34 lbs for $250.00. 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to Everett/Wolfe with 13.38 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 Programs
Morristown Marine New Bucks:
1st: Smith/Lewis, 12.94 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: Boyd/Crawford, 11.10 lbs. $750 Bonus.
The Morristown Marine New Bucks pays back those who purchased a brand-new boat from us in 2022, 2023 or 2024. This is just our way of saying “Thank You” for choosing your new boat from us.
Morristown Marine Pre-Owned Bucks:
1st: Diamond/Burns, 9.08 lbs. $500 Bonus
2nd: Meade/Meade, 6.09 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. As you guys can see, there is money to be won on the #mmtt in a pre-owned boat!
Highest Finishing Skeeter Bonus:
- Manning/Knapp: 15.72lbs, $3,000.00
- J.Lee: 14.91lbs, $1,500.00
- Osborne/Brown: 14.57 lbs, $1,000.00
- Wacker/Dyer: 14.44 lbs, $800.00
- Bishop/Matherly: 14.26 lbs, $700.00
- Crisp/Jordan: 14.41 lbs, $500.00
- Mosely/Dykes: 13.61 lbs, $250.00
- Hyatt/Hyatt: 13.56 lbs, $200.00
- Warren/Cully: 13.47 lbs, $125.00 (tie)
- Adams/Phillips: 13.47 lbs, $125.00 (tie)
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to: Jefferson County Tourism, Carson-Newman Fishing Team, Dandridge Volunteer Fire Department, TVA, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Humminbird, MinnKota, Gray Fox Insurance, Dick’s House of Sport-Knoxville, Rainey Battery Company, Old Stage Printing, Volunteer Trenching, Visit Morristown, Cumberland Gap Spring Water, Jerry’s Bait Shop, for sponsoring this event and the 2025 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.
A huge shout-out to Carson Newman on their support with parking Saturday morning. Also, thanks to TVA, TWRA, and Jefferson County for their support during the week planning and risk mitigation for this tournament to go as smoothly as possible. Our hearts are still with those that suffered great loss during the flooding of Helene. While navigating the hiccups that came with running this tournament on Douglas, that pales in comparison to what others have lost. Please continue to support the Helene clean-up efforts and be mindful of those working on the water while you and your family are out enjoying Douglas Lake.
We want to thank our staff and crew for another great tournament. Most people don’t realize the behind-the-scenes work that goes on to create and operate a tournament of this size. From several hours before blast-off until several hours after weigh-in closes, the crew is working tirelessly to bring it all together. Lastly, we want to thank you, the anglers, for coming out 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: Norris Lake in Campbell County on April 19, 2025 at Lonas Young Park (White Bridge) . See you then!
Be sure to complete the Economic Impact Survey: LINK