Knox County UNITE (Unlawful Narcotics Intervention Treatment and Education) hosted its 19th Annual Buddy Bass Fishing Tournament on March 22 at Laurel Lake’s Grove Marina.
The morning began with 5 a.m. check-ins with cool temperatures and a beautiful sunrise. More than 80 registrants enjoyed a beautiful day of fishing while supporting Knox County UNITE.
The Knox County UNITE mission is to implement youth activities and education in hopes of keeping youth from misusing drugs.
This year the tournament honored two of the regular UNITE Tournament fishermen, Paul Norvell and Mike House, who unfortunately passed away since the last tournament, by recognizing a 25th and a 30th place.
As a fun gesture, T & J Storage of Mt. Vernon donated a monetary prize for last place.
“The Friday evening Rules Dinner was a huge success with lots of good food and door prizes sponsored by Calvin Gouge, Manager of Tracker Boat Corbin. Calvin, his family, and his work family made sure everything was smooth and enjoyable by all. They even provided donuts and honey buns for the fishermen on Saturday morning,” Knox County UNITE wrote in a release.
As always, fishing enthusiast Rex Huff assisted with the entire tournament and has been a huge asset for all 19 years.
The winners of the day were Clay Bales and Jorden Jones in first place, Cole Hicks and Nick Yeager in second place, and Dylan Adams and Ryan Phillips in third place.
Cole Hicks and Nick Yeager caught the biggest smallmouth bass of the day.
Clay Barles and Jaden Jones caught the biggest largemouth bass of the day.
Dalton Fisher and Grant Miller caught the largest big trash fish of the day.
Last place honors went to Will Hart and Eric Hart, George Lewis and Don French, and Kevin Spurlock and Morrsie Caldwell.
