Whitaker & Morgan make a BIG cull for the WIN on Douglas
March 16, 2024-Jefferson County, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail made stop #2 of the 2024 MMTT on beautiful Douglas Lake today. 227 teams registered for the tournament, and 221 of those teams hit the water at daybreak to compete for their share of the $47,920.00 payout across 38 places and all contingencies. The fishing had been tough this week due to the constantly changing water levels as TVA tries to regulate the rainy spring we’ve had and that is forecast. Saturday’s weather could not have been ordered up more perfectly as it was a nice 50-degree at blast off with a slight southeasterly wind with temps warming into the mid 60s as the partly cloudy blue skies lit up and warmed that water! It seemed the later flights caught more fish with the majority of the 5 fish limits coming late in the weigh-in. In total, 126 of the participating teams weighed at least one fish for a grand total of 523 fish weighing 1,209.99 lbs hit the scales Saturday afternoon. Of those 126 teams, 76 boats weighed a 5 fish limit. For the second straight tournament, every fish that was weighed was alive and well and released back into the lake to be caught again. Blast off started at 7:40 and boat 250 was called through at 8:38, taking 58 minutes, averaging 3.8 boats per minute. The scales opened at 2:50 and closed at 4:30, weighing 126 bags in 1 hour and 40 minutes, averaging 1.26 bags per minute weighed.
The team of Gunner Whitaker and Gage Morgan grabbed a big win with a total weight of 17.15 lbs anchored by the Big Largemouth of the day, a 5.97 lb behemoth of a greenhead. Gunner and Gage said they had about 12 lbs and in the last hour culled up fishing one specific point in Muddy Creek where they found some shad pulled up shallow with feeding fish under them. They took home the $10,000.00 1st place, as well as $1,125.00 for Big Largemouth and another $250 for 1st Humminbird/MinnKota money! Total payday for Gunner and Gage was $11,375.00! Congrats guys! Click LINK to see the post-tourney interview with Gunner and Gage.
Following up in 2nd place was the team of Eddie Ball and Jim Neece, Sr with a 16.06 lb bag. Eddie and Jim took home a $3,000.00 check for 2nd place overall. Great job, guys!
Trailing closely in 3rd place was Ronnie Carey and Jamie Goodin with a total weight of 15.65 lbs. Ronnie and Jamie took home the check for 3rd place for a total payday of $2,250.00. Congrats, Ronnie and Jamie!
4th place went to Jeremy and Philip Gordon with a total weight of 15.32 lbs. Jeremy and Philip will receive checks for 4th place, 1st Highest Finishing Skeeter, 1st Morristown Marine New Bucks and 2nd Highest Finishing Humminbird/MinnKota for a total payday of $5,650.00. Great job, Jeremy and Philip!
Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Mike Smith and Curtis Brandenburg with a total weight of 15.20 lbs. Mike and Curtis will cash a check for $1,000.00 for their work on Saturday. Way to go, guys!
Check out the full results here: LINK
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to Whitaker/Morgan with a monster largemouth tipping the scales at 5.97 lbs. They will add $1,125.00 to their winnings for catching this giant! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout went to Owens/Spivey weighing a monster 3.75 lb smallie. Nice catch, guys, and way to put another $1,125.00 into the bank!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Whitaker/Morgan, 17.15 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Gordon/Gordon 15.32 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 Harvey/Harvey with 14.14 lbs for $250.00 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to Owens/Spivey with 13.20 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: Gordon/Gordon 15.32 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: Julian/Neece, 14.54 lbs. $750 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: Diamond/Burns, 11.71 lbs. $500 Bonus
2nd: Davis/Foshie, 10.81 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:
1. Gordon/Gordon: 15.32 lbs, $3,000.00
2. Julian/Neece: 14.54 lbs, $1,250.00
2. Wacker/Dyer: 14.54 lbs, $1,250.00
3. Warren/Gill: 14.23 lbs, $800.00
4. Bowen/Barker: 13.80 lbs, $700.00
5. Ramsey/Harmon: 13.39 lbs, $500.00
6. Owens/Spivey: 13.20 lbs, $250.00
7. Smith/Lewis: 13.17 lbs, $200.00
8. Hamilton/Ball: 12.44 lbs, $150.00
9. Bryan/Bryan: 12.20 lbs, $100.00
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Humminbird, MinnKota, Morristown Chamber of Commerce/Visit Morristown, Gray Fox Insurance, Dick’s House of Sport-Knoxville, Old Stage Printing, Volunteer Trenching, Jimmy Taylor Plumbing, Lake View Dock, Citizens Bank, Cumberland Gap Spring Water, Jerry’s Bait Shop, Jefferson County, Campbell County, The Roane Alliance/City of Rockwood, AZ Rags and Smoky Mountain Fiberglass for sponsoring the 2024 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 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 beautiful Campbell County, TN on April 6! See you then!
Be sure to complete the Economic Impact Survey: LINK
