McDeerman and Dilbeck Cash in On Cherokee
March 2, 2024-Morristown, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail kicked off 2024 on beautiful Cherokee Lake today. 235 teams registered for the tournament, and 231 of those teams took to the chilly waters to compete. The recent rains, water level fluctuations and cold temperatures made for some fairly tough fishing but there were still a few fish caught and weighed with 125 of those teams weighing at least one fish for a grand total of 1,054.08 lbs weighed. 61 teams had a five-fish limit with 479 fish weighed and 479 fish released alive to be caught again another day. Blast off took 52 minutes, averaging 4.4 boats per minute and weigh-in took 95 minutes, averaging 1.31 bags per minute. Saturday’s weather wasn’t great in every aspect, with light rain and cloudy skies, but warmer weather in the 40s, getting up into the 60s with some cloud cover and intermittent sunshine later in the day. We certainly appreciate everyone fishing with us and creating such a great trail! Our total payout for the tournament was $47,670.00 across 39 places and all contingency programs.
The team of Keith McDeerman and Von Dilbeck took home the win with a total weight of 14.92 lbs. Keith and Von told us they used a variety of baits in the mid and lower sections of the lake. They took home 1st place check for $10,000.00 as well as Highest Finishing Gray Fox insurance For $250.00. Congrats guys on a great day of fishing! Click here to listen to this team’s highlights of the day.
Coming in a close 2nd was the team of John Napier and Jason Keaton with a total weight of 14.44 lbs. John and Jason took home checks for 2nd place ($3,500.00) and 1st Humminbird/MinnKota ($250.00) Congrats John and Jason!
3rd place belongs to Derek Blake and Dale Pelfrey with a 14.39 lbs. Derek and Dale will take home a check for 3rd place ($2,500.00) and 2nd Humminbird/MinnKota ($150) and Big Smallmouth ($1,175.00) with a chunker weighing 4.11 lbs. Way to go guys!
4th place went to Jeremy and Philip Gordon with a total weight of 14.31 lbs. Jeremy and Philip will receive checks for 4th place, 1st Highest Finishing Skeeter, and 1st Morristown Marine New Bucks for a total payday of $5,500.00. Great job, Jeremy and Philip!!
Rounding out the top 5 was the team of Tony Street and Kevin Powers. Tony and Kevin weighed 5 bass for 13.89 lbs and will cash a check 5th place ($1,000.00). Good job guys!
Check out the full results here: LINK
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to Sweet/Moyers with a TOAD green fish tipping the scales at 4.81 lbs. They will add $1,175.00 to their winnings for catching this giant! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout went to Blake/Pelfrey weighing a monster 4.11 lb smallie. Nice catch, guys, and way to put another $1,175.00 into the bank!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Napier/Keaton, 14.44 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Blake/Pelfrey 13.39 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 Mcdeerman/Dilbeck with 14.92 lbs for $250.00 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to House/Hutson with 13.00 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 14.31 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: O’Quinn/O’Quinn, 24.56 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: Meade/Meade, 4.25 lbs. $500 Bonus.
2nd: No Qualifiers. $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:
- Gordon/Gordon: 14.31 lbs, $3,000.00
- Wacker/Dyer: 13.39 lbs, $1,500.00
- O’Quinn/O’Quinn: 13.24 lbs, $1,000.00
- Dewees/Napier: 12.83 lbs, $800.00
- Hamilton/Ball: 13.24 lbs, $700.00
- Woods/Dinkler: 12.16 lbs, $500.00
- Osborne/Brown: 12.13 lbs, $250.00
- Roark/Smith: 11.81 lbs, $200.00
- Smith/Lewis: 11.60 lbs, $150.00
- Hembree/Prater: 11.24 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: Douglas Lake in beautiful Dandridge, TN on March 16th. See you then!
Be sure to complete the Economic Impact Survey: https://bit.ly/econ_3424
