DANDRIDGE, Tenn. — All it takes is reviewing B.A.S.S. tournament history of Jefferson County, Tennessee, to confirm it is indeed home to two bass fishing towns.
Since 1981, Dandridge and Jefferson City have at least 10 B.A.S.S. events between them. Those include literally every available format known to the organization. From high school and college to Elite Series and the B.A.S.S. Nation it’s been here, including five recent Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens. Another is underway this week in Dandridge.
Dandridge, on the shoreline of Douglas Lake, shares its tournament town distinction with neighboring Jefferson City, where the town is situated near Cherokee Lake.
All the above begs the question. Why so many tournaments and what make this place so special?
The answer is twofold. Tourists and tournament anglers come here for the ideal combination of outdoor scenery, great fishing, local hospitality and plenty of things to do. Undeniably, there is nowhere else like what is found in this part of east Tennessee.
“Because of our proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park we attract the same visitor in one,” said Adele Sensing, director of tourism for the Jefferson County Economic Development Alliance.
“Visitors can go fishing on Douglas Lake in the morning and within a 45-minute drive be hiking a mountain trail and seeing the fantastic views from the vistas,” she added.
Hiking, fishing and just about any other outdoor activity are ways of life here. Tourism indeed fuels the local economy, and it has since Dandridge was established in 1783.
You might say that tournaments have helped bring the town full circle back to its tourism roots.
Tavern town
Dandridge, the second oldest town in Tennessee, was originally on the route to the Western frontier. About a day’s stage coach or horseback ride from the previous starting point of the day made it a popular overnight destination. Settlers spent the night at the many inns and taverns sprouting up in the downtown. Many are still in use today, including the Hickman Tavern, circa 1820, which is now the Dandridge Town Hall.
Dandridge took its name from Martha Dandridge Washington, the original first lady of the United States. The lake is named for Douglas Bluff, a cliff overlooking the dam site prior to construction in 1943.
The dam jumpstarted the growth of Dandridge, much like the early settlers did during the late 1700s.
TVA town
Even by Depression standards, the Tennessee Valley was economically dismal in 1933. Electricity in rural areas was a luxury. Unemployment was high. The hardscrabble lifestyle was taking its toll.
That all changed when the federal government created the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to modernize the region. The area covered a wide swath of the Tennessee River from its headwaters near Knoxville, south into northern Alabama, and north to the Kentucky border.
The lights came on as dams were constructed. World War II was part of the reason. TVA engaged in one of the largest hydropower programs ever taken at the time. By early 1942 there were 12 hydroelectric power plants in operation. Those powered the Alcoa factories making aluminum parts for building military airplanes.
The building spree created the need for 28,000 jobs with many of those in east Tennessee. Within easy driving distance of Dandridge and Jefferson City are now at least nine TVA dams. Those include Cherokee, built on a crash schedule in 16 months and finished in 1941. Douglas came up quicker, built in just a year and finished in 1943.
When not working, men did what men do. They went fishing. Word got out about the great fishing, plenty of places to wet a line, and the tourism industry was kick started by an unlikely source.
Bass tournaments came next and the publicity helped put the lakes in the national spotlight. It continued shining on Cherokee and Douglas. Both have made the list for the 100 Best Bass Lakes as named by Bassmaster.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited in the nation. Add the lakes, origins of country music, and the harmonic blend is ideal for long, and frequent visits by tourists.
Tournament town
Dandridge now has an even more appealing draw for tournaments. The centerpiece is Dandridge Dock, dedicated in August.
The dock is part of a practically made-for-tournaments facility with 110 pull-through parking spaces for trailers and vehicles. The 22-slip public dock includes a 530-foot long handicapped accessible walkway, with abundant docking for staging boats for weigh-in and takeoff. At the end of the dock is a massive platform spanning 58 feet by 60 feet for events, fishing and watching the sun set against the Great Smoky Mountains.
When not in use by tournaments the dock and facility will invite residents and visitors to a summer weekend movie series and even Saturday morning yoga sessions. The facility is conveniently located directly across the lake from the downtown.
Partial funding for the nearly $600,000 dock and parking came from a state approved increase of the hotel occupancy tax. Future plans call for adding more parking and walking trails.
“We reinvest the lodging tax back into the community,” said Sensing.
In her role, Sensing continues seeing a three-way churn of economic impacts from the tournament visits and publicity.
“The numbers prove it,” she added.
Tournament anglers often visit early to pre-fish, and scout the lake prior to the competition, spending up to a week on lodging, food, fuel and related expenses. Then, they return for the tournament week and oftentimes bring family, adding to the economic multiplier.
The publicity brings in the third and highly valuable visitor.
“I see evidence all of the time of non-tournament anglers who visit here as tourists,” she continued. “They come here wanting to experience what they saw on the Bassmaster website and TV show.”
When a tournament comes to Dandridge it’s an all-out effort by city employees, businesses and volunteers. It takes about 30 volunteers to keep things running smoothly.
“The reason why it works so well is that most of our residents, including city employees, are fishermen,” explained Sensing. “They truly want everyone to have a good time and come back.”
Hometown pride and southern hospitality shine during tournament week. Stepping up are the department of public works, police, city government, business leaders and the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.
Even while on the job you will find the volunteers eager to chat. The conversations go beyond the best places to eat. Fishing talk is frequent. Fishermen talking to fishermen about the sport they love, and in a town where bass fishing is part of life.
