OSBORNE AND BROWN SAIL AWAY ON CHEROKEE
March 1, 2025-Morristown, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail kicked off the 2025 edition Saturday on a gusty Cherokee Lake in Morristown. 211 teams registered for the event and 207 went through blast off just outside of Cherokee Park to compete for a share of the $44,990.00 payout across 35 places and all contingencies. The weather wasn’t great, but at least it wasn’t raining, as has been the norm for the MMTT! A steady WNW wind blowing at 10-15 met us at blast off and continued throughout the day, with increased gusts and white cap waves. Aside from the wind, it was sunny and fairly warm, with temperatures climbing into the upper 50’s by weigh in. We heard mixed reports from anglers all week, with the consensus being that the fish weren’t everywhere or anywhere in particular. Very scattered out and hard to pattern, but some solid practice bags were being reported by mid-week. At the end of the day, 52 teams weighed a 5 fish limit, and 117 teams weighed at least 1 fish. A total of 426 fish hit the scales weighing 912.25 lbs. and every single one of them 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 6:50 am and boat 250 blasted off at 7:40 am, taking 50 minutes and averaging 4.1 boats per minute. The scales opened at 2:45 and closed at 4:20, taking an hour and 35 minutes, averaging 1.2 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.
Josh Osborne and Austin Brown took home a big win with a total weight of 14.44 lbs anchored by a nice smallmouth at 3.46 lbs. Josh and Austin said they caught most of their fish shallow on a variety of crankbaits and a chatterbait. They’ll cash checks for $10,000.00 (1St place), $3,000.00 (Highest Finishing Skeeter) for a total of $13,000.00! Congrats on a great bag! Click LINK to see the post-tourney interview with Josh and Austin.
Following up in 2nd place was the team of Victor Alford and Bryson Dotson with a bag weighing 14.25 lbs. Victor and Bryson said they caught most of their fish deeper on bait balls down the lake. Their hard work in the wind will cash them a check for $2,500.00 for second place and $1,500.00 for 2nd Highest Finishing Skeeter. Way to go!
3rd place went to the team of Cody Dison and Cody Snyder with 13.88 lbs. Cody and Cody will snag a cool $2,000.00 for their day of fishing. Great job, guys!
In 4th place was Gary Pilkenton and Clifford Bunch with a 13.85 lb limit. Gary and Clifford won a total of $1,750.00 for their efforts. $1,500.00 for 4th place and an additional $250.00 for Gray Fox Insurance money. Congrats, guys!
Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Jeff Russell and Jeff Lindsey with a limit weighing 13.79 lbs. Jeff and Jeff will take home $1,000.00 for 5th Place and $1,000.00 for 3rd Highest Finishing Skeeter earning $2,000.00 total for their day of fishing. Way to go, guys!
Check out the full results here: LINK
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to Gavin Daniels and Colby Nelson with a green fish tipping the scales at 4.34 lbs. They will get a check for $1,045.00 for catching that one! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout went to Randy Brown and Stephen Loveday weighing a chunky brown fish for 3.65 lb smallie. Nice catch, and way to put $1,045.00 into the bank!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Alford/Dotson, 14.25 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Hamilton/Ball 13.32 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 Pilkenton/Bunch with 13.85 lbs for $250.00. 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to McDeerman/Dilbeck with 13.44 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: Miracle/Wolfenbarger, 9.46 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: Smith/Lewis, 9.32 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, 4.25 lbs. $500 Bonus
2nd: Kennedy/Zajac, 3.66 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:
- Osborne/Brown: 14.44lbs, $3,000.00
- Alford/Dotson: 14.25lbs, $1,500.00
- Russell/Lindsey: 13.79 lbs, $1,000.00
- Hamilton/Ball: 13.32 lbs, $900.00
- Napier/Keaton: 12.87 lbs, $700.00
- Ledford/Barton: 12.84 lbs, $500.00
- Crum/Redmond: 12.74 lbs, $250.00
- Seaton/Lusk: 12.58 lbs, $200.00
- Roark/Price: 12.52 lbs, $150.00
- Dortch/Brock: 11.88 lbs, $100.00
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to: Anne Ross (Visit Morristown) Hamblen County Park, The City of Morristown, East Hamblen Volunteer Fire Dept, Hamblen County Sherrif’s Office , Skeeter Boats, Yamaha, Humminbird, MinnKota, Gray Fox Insurance, Dick’s House of Sport-Knoxville, Rainey Battery Company, Old Stage Printing, Volunteer Trenching, Lake View Dock, Citizens Bank, 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.
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. 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: South Holston Lake, Bristol and Sullivan County, TN on March 15, 2025 at Observation Knob Park. See you then!
All Checks will be mailed on Monday 3/3/2025 to the boater.
Be sure to complete the Economic Impact Survey: LINK