Gordon & Gordon Lock In A Big Win

Phillip and Jeremy Gordon made the run to Chickamauga and whacked a 33 lb sack to win the Morristown Marine Team Trail event on Watts Bar Lake. Aside from heavy rains before dawn and a pop up storm or two, the weather was nice with warm temps and plenty of cloud cover. We had a total of 227 boats and 158 weighed fish, with 143 of those teams weighing a 5 fish limit. Our anglers brought  758 total fish to the scales and 743 of them were released to be caught another day. Total combined weight of all fish brought to the scales was 2,088.88 lbs. We paid out 37 places and a total of $47,305.00.

Phillip and Jeremy Gordon of Middlesboro, KY and Rutledge, TN topped the field by a total of  11.97 lbs and nailed a giant 10.30 lb largemouth that earned them big fish honors as well. After the tournament, the Gordon’s said they locked through to Chickamauga and got on a spot they had located earlier in the week that held some big fish. They were concerned about their odds of getting on that honey hole, as they had a late blast off number and there were a couple of other large tournaments going on Chickamauga that day. Jeremy said “we caught a couple of decent fish right off , and then it just got crazy. One of the best tournament days I’ve ever had”. The big fish came for them around noon and they culled fish most of the day, never really leaving their secret spot. In addition to the $10,000.00 first place, the Gordons also took home $3,000.00 for Highest Finishing Skeeter, $200 for Enigma Fishing Bonus, $1,005.00 for Big Largemouth for a total payday of $14,205.00.

Coming in second was Brian Hatfield and Justin Freeman of Spring City, TN and Dayton, TN with a very nice 21.75 lb bag. These gentlemen represented the local crowd well with some very nice fish, anchored by a 3.86 lb smallmouth that was just shy of getting Big Smallmouth honors. Brian and Justin cashed a check for $3,550.00 for their efforts.

Third place went to Sam Meade and Josh Osborne of Coeburn, VA and Bristol, VA with 21.67 lbs. Sam and Josh cashed a check for $2,550.00 for their day of fishing.

In fourth place was Preston Shuffler and Jalen Shuffler of Greeneville, TN with 20.51 lbs anchored by a monster 5.57 lb LM. Preston and Jalen took home $1,550.00.

Rounding out the top 5 was Dan Runyan and Michael Powers of  Kingston, TN with a 19.80 lb bag that earned them a check for $1,050.00

The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth award went to Phillip and Jeremy Gordon with a behemoth 10.30 lb Chickamauga Largemouth. Congrats!!

The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth award went to Jeffery Gilbert and Justin Mathis both of Lebanon, VA with a 3.98 lb smallmouth. Congratulations!

Highest Finishing Gray Insurance payout went to Alan Parsons and Brian St John for having a policy with Gray Insurance Group out of LaFollette, TN. 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Insurance went to Josh Roark and Allen Smith. Both teams took home a check for $250, simply for having insurance with Randy Heatherly at Gray Insurance Group in LaFollette, TN. Give them a call and get in on some of this contingency money!

Phillip and Jeremy Gordon Also cashed in on the Enigma Fishing Bonus by using registered Enigma products in their big victory. They received a check for $200. First out of the money Enigma winner was Benny Roberts. Benny will get a brand new Enigma fishing rod and Enigma Fishing hat for their use of Enigma products. Enigma Fishing: Cast.Catch.Repeat.

The Morristown Marine Bonus Bucks program paid out 4 places on Watts Bar. The Highest Finishing New boat from Morristown Marine went to Josh Roark for his 25th place finish. Josh received a check for an additional $1,500.00 2nd Highest Finishing Morristown Marine new boat went to Jimmy Taylor. For finishing 41st, Jimmy will get a check for $1,000.00…..just for choosing Morristown Marine for their new boat purchase. Highest Finishing Pre-owned boat from Morristown Marine went to Bobby Chambers. Bobby finished 92nd and will receive a check for $500.00. 2nd Highest Finishing Pre-owned boat from Morristown Marine went to Wes Hicks for finishing 158th. Wes will get a check for $250. Again, simply for choosing to buy from Morristown Marine.

Highest Finishing Skeeter Bonus:

1) Gordon/Gordon – $3,000.00
2) Lawson/Fickey – $1,500.00
3) Roark/Smith – $1,000.00
4) Brooks/Orr – $800.00
5) Rigg/Stough – $700.00
6) Roberts/Nidiffer – $500.00
7) Taylor/Bittle – $250.00
8) Fuller/Bullins – $200.00
9) McDeerman/Dilbeck – $150.00
10) Harrill/Fugate – $100.00

We would like to thank Yamaha, Skeeter, Roane County Tourism & the city of Rockwood, Jerry’s Bait Shop, Citizens Bank, Gray Insurance Agency, B&M Tire, Old Stage Printing, B&H Sales, Taylor Battery/Deka, Cumberland Gap Spring Water for sponsoring our trail. A very special thanks to Jerry’s Bait Shop for having us on-site Friday for registrations. Jerry and Donna are great people and run a first-class bait shop with a heart-felt, family atmosphere. I can’t wait to come back next year! Also especially want to thank the City of Rockwood Parks & Rec for helping us direct traffic Saturday morning and keeping the grounds of the park in such great shape. The Rockwood Fire Department helped us out a ton by coming by to fill up our aerator tanks, so we owe them a special thank you beyond the sacrifices they already make for the service they provide daily to the community. Last but not least, I want to thank The Pizza Station in Rockwood for all the great pizza provided at weigh in. I know an order for 125 large pizzas is a handful and we appreciate you being able to accommodate us and get our anglers fed!

After a short summer interim, we will resume tournament action on October 19, 2019 as we visit our friends in Jefferson County for our Douglas Lake event. Registration will begin on Monday, October 14 at 8:30am at Morristown Marine in person or by phone.Type your paragraph here.