Napier and Keaton Bag a Giant Smallie for the Win
May 11, 2024-Bristol, TN: The Morristown Marine Team Trail made its final stop of the 2024 MMTT regular season on beautiful South Holston Lake in Sullivan County today. 208 teams registered for the tournament, and just under 175 boats hit the water to compete for a share of the $44,690.00 payout across 35 places and all contingencies. The weather forecast called for high, bluebird skies and cooler weather, and it was all that plus a steady to gusty northwest wind. The fishing had been hit or miss this week with anglers reporting a mix of late spawners, an early topwater bite and several post spawn patterns all producing fish. Big ones weren’t easy to find, but several teams had solid fish. 96 teams had a five fish limit and 119 teams weighed at least one fish. In total, 555 fish hit the scales weighing 1,405.25 lbs. All but 4 of those fish went back into South Holston alive and well. Blast off started at 6:35 am and boat 250 was called at 7:32 am, taking 57 minutes. The scales opened at 2:35 pm and closed at 4:15 pm, taking an hour and 40 minutes.
John Napier and Jason Keaton took home a big win with a total weight of 18.96 lbs anchored by an absolute monster of a smallmouth at 5.85 lbs, which also took the Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth. John and Jason said they caught most of their fish in the 10-15 ft range on main and secondary points dragging a worm and ned rig, with a few others flipping. They’ll cash checks for $10,000.00 (1St place), $950.00 (Big SM) and $250.00 (1st HB/MK) for a total of $11,200.00! Congrats on a great bag! Click here to see the post-tourney interview with John and Jason.
Following up in 2nd place was the team of Greg McDavid and Justin Williams with a bag weighing 17.75 lbs. Greg and Justin will cash a check for $2,500.00 for second place. Way to go!
3rd place went to the team of Kyle Smith and Bobby Drinnon with 16.28 lbs. Kyle and Bobby will snag a cool $2,000.00 for their day of fishing. Great job, guys!
In 4th place was JR Henard and Craig Powers with a 15.84 lb limit. JR and Craig’s bag was anchored by a TOAD largemouth that tipped the scales at 4.85 lbs and took home the Citizens Bank Big Largemouth! JR and Craig won a total of $2,450.00 for their efforts. Congrats, guys!
Rounding out the top 5 was the team of John Smith and Damon Lewis with a limit weighing 15.62 lbs. John and Damon will take home a cool $5,150.00 for their day of fishing. $1,000.00 for 5th place overall, $3,000.00 for Highest Finishing Skeeter, $1,000.00 for Morristown Marine New Bucks, and $150 for 2nd Highest Finishing Humminbird/MinnKota. Way to go, guys!
Check out the full results here: SoHo Results with Payouts
The Citizens Bank Big Largemouth went to JR Henard and Craig Powers with a toad tipping the scales at 4.85 lbs. They will add $950.00 to their winnings for catching this one! Congrats!
The Citizens Bank Big Smallmouth payout went to John Napier and Jason Keaton weighing a monster 5.85 lb smallie. Nice catch, and way to put $950.00 into the bank!
Highest Finishing Minn Kota and Humminbird Bonus paid out this weekend as follows:
1st: Napier/Keaton, 18.96 lbs. $250 Humminbird/MinnKota Bonus
2nd: Smith/Lewis 15.62 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/Mauldin with 14.81 lbs for $250.00. 2nd Highest Finishing Gray Fox Insurance payout went to Byington/White with 12.97 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: Smith/Lewis, 15.10 lbs. $1,000.00 Bonus.
2nd: Gordon/Gordon, 14.93 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: Meade/Meade, 7.39 lbs. $500 Bonus
2nd: Watson/Watson, 3.94 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:
- Smith/Lewis: 15.62lbs, $3,000.00
- Thompson/Carmon: 15.08lbs, $1,500.00
- Gordon/Gordon: 14.93 lbs, $1,000.00
- Bishop/Matherly: 13.87 lbs, $900.00
- Hamilton/Ball: 13.83 lbs, $700.00
- Majni/Majni: 13.76 lbs, $500.00
- O’Quinn/O’Quinn: 13.35 lbs, $250.00
- Greene/Southerland: 13.31 lbs, $200.00
- Powell/Coffman: 13.14 lbs, $150.00
- Brown/Brown: 13.04 lbs, $100.00
Morristown Marine would like to give a special thanks to: Observation Knob Park, Sullivan County, Sullivan Co Sherrif’s Office , 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 and another season in the books. 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: 2024 Classic: Douglas Lake, Dandridge and Jefferson County, TN on October 26 & 27 at Dandridge Free Launch. Don’t forget about the Annual Dinner Banquet at the Field of Dreams in Dandridge on Thursday October 24!! See you then!
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