Cherry In Familiar Spot As Final Day Looms

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

When Hank Cherry won last year's Bassmaster Classic at Alabama's Lake Guntersville, he started the final day with a 4-13 lead over his closest pursuer. Now, 15 months later and several states to the west, he'll begin day 3 of the subsequent Classic with a 4-12 advantage.

The burly North Carolinian caught a 17-10 stringer on weather-delayed day 2 at Lake Ray Roberts in Texas to take over the top slot with a 37-14 total. If he retains even the last ounce of that edge, he'll join Rick Clunn, Kevin VanDam and Jordan Lee as winners of back-to-back Classics.

"I'm not worried about the pressure – if I lose, I'm not going to cry," he said. "I'll pass it on to the next guy and we'll see what he can do with it. I've played in a lot of big games and I expect to win, but if I don't I'll go hard at it again next year at Hartwell (the South Carolina Lake that will host the 2022 Classic).

"The main thing is to keep your head down, catch five and make them beat you."

B.A.S.S. Nation entrant Justin Kerr jumped from 22nd place to 2nd with a day-best 19-12 bag that contained only four fish. He has a 33-02 aggregate.

Day-1 leader Steve Kennedy weighed four fish for 9-11 and dropped to 3rd with a 32-11 total. Bassmaster Opens competitor Chris Jones is 4th with 32-09 (15-07 on day 2), followed by Matt Arey with 31-01 (15-12).

Canadian Chris Johnston heads up the bottom half of the Top 10 with 29-09 (13-09). The other members of that contingent are Drew Cook with 29-02 (12-08), Scott Canterbury with 29-01 (14-06), Todd Auten with 26-11 (10-15) and Cody Bird with 25-13 (10-05).

A powerful storm featuring thunder and lightning delayed the launch by 2 hours, which effectively killed the early action centered around the shad spawn. Many of the biggest bags on day 1 – including Kennedy's 21-pound effort – were compiled primarily within that timeframe.

Nothing similar is predicted for day 3 – the WeatherChannel.com forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, a high temperature of 97 degrees and wind out of the north/northeast to 6 mph.

Cherry caught a 6-pounder and a 4 3/4 within 3 minutes of each other just after arriving at his starting spot. He added his final fish, a 3 3/4-pounder, about 20 minutes prior to his check-in time.

After flipping trees for the first part of the day, he relocated to the dam and threw a jerkbait. It was there that he broke a fish that he deemed bigger than his 6-pounder.

"I've caught thousands on a jerkbait and I know how big they are when (he sets the hook)," he said. "I hit this one and it didn't move, and it headed right to where a bunch of rock and brush was.

"Tomorrow we should have a light breeze blowing directly into the dam and that should help that bite."

Kerr, a Western ace from Lake Havasu City, Ariz., caught a pair of 7-pounders on day 2. He's attempting to join the late Bryan Kerchal as the only B.A.S.S. Nation representatives to win the Classic.

"I thought that getting a limit today would be huge – even if it was 10 pounds, it would allow me to fish tomorrow (the 54-angler field was cut to the Top 25 following the day-2 weigh-in)," he said. "Losing the 2 hours hurt me, but it hurt everyone else too.

"I went straight to where I'd seen and caught big fish all week and I was fortunate to get a couple of big bites."

His program consists of flipping and throwing a ChatterBait. He developed a wakebait pattern for big bites in practice, but hasn't used it much in the tournament to this point, although he plans to on the final day.

"The areas where you can go around the trees to the backside have been a little better from me than just going down a bank with flooded brush. Most of the ones I'm catching are near the (normal-pool) shoreline in the 2- to 4-foot zone.

"I'm hoping there's some big fish left there. I saw one today that was 9 or 10 pounds, so hopefully she bites."

After a thoroughly enjoyable opening day, Kennedy endured a miserable day 2. His sack was one fish shy of a limit and he lost one that was at least 7 pounds right next to his boat.

"Today was brutal compared to yesterday," he said. "Three hours into the day I only had one fish, then I missed another keeper or maybe two (fishing the bushes), then I went out to the deep timber and caught a 4 but lost one that (might've been) 8.

"I started on a place where I'd seen two 4-pounders yesterday and all I caught was one barely keeper. I never saw the big ones."

He may opt to spend more time working the timber pattern on day 3.

"You only get a few opportunities to win one of these and you have to make the best of it. I could go out and try for 15 to 20 pounds and hope (Cherry) stumbles, but I want it to be in my hands. I think there's a 30-pound bag out there and that's what I'm going looking for.

"I like my chances, but I've gotta execute and put them in the boat."

Jones' confidence dropped a bit with the weather delay as he'd been capitalizing on the first-light shad spawn. The Oklahoman adjusted, though, and turned in a solid bag that included two 4-plus-pounders.

"I did a few things I'd found in practice that lined up with the weather we had," he said. "I flipped some bushes and I was fortunate to get those two bigger bites and get them in the boat – I thought I was going to lose one of them after it wrapped up in the bush."

He flipped a YUM Christie Critter on a half-ounce weight and threw a Booyah Mobster swimjig with a YUM Spine Craw trailer.

"If I can put the two patterns (shad spawn and flipping) together tomorrow and time it right, I can catch a 20- to 25-pound bag. There's a lot of big fish in the lake and I haven't caught one of those really big ones yet."

Notable

> Day 2 stats – 54 anglers, 15 limits (17 fewer than day 1), 12 fours, 8 threes, 9 twos, 7 ones, 3 zeroes (2 more than day 1).

(Outdoor Sportsman Group Senior Digital Editor Lynn Burkhead contributed to this story.)

Day 2 Standings

1. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 37-14 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 20-04 -- Day 2: 5, 17-10

2. Justin Kerr -- Lake Havasu, AZ -- 9, 33-02 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 4, 19-12

3. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 9, 32-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 23-00 -- Day 2: 4, 09-11

4. Chris Jones -- Bokoshe, OK -- 10, 32-09 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 17-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-07

5. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 31-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12

6. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 29-09 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09

7. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 29-02 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-10 -- Day 2: 5, 12-08

8. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 29-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06

9. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 9, 26-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 4, 10-15

10. Cody Bird -- Granbury, TX -- 10, 25-13 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-05

11. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 9, 25-06 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 4, 09-02

12. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 9, 24-15 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-01 -- Day 2: 4, 09-14

13. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 6, 24-13 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 22-07 -- Day 2: 1, 02-06

14. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 7, 23-14 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 15-10 -- Day 2: 3, 08-04

15. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 6, 23-05 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 15-08 -- Day 2: 1, 07-13

16. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 8, 22-15 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 08-10 -- Day 2: 4, 14-05

17. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 6, 22-15 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 12-05 -- Day 2: 2, 10-10

18. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 9, 22-08 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 4, 08-04

19. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, ON -- 9, 21-13 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 08-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05

20. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 8, 21-13 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 3, 10-12

21. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 8, 21-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-04 -- Day 2: 3, 05-07

22. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, ON -- 8, 21-11 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 3, 05-09

23. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 9, 21-07 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 11-14 -- Day 2: 5, 09-09

24. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 9, 21-06 -- 0
Day 1: 4, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04

25. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 7, 21-00 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 2, 08-06

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 3.

26. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 7, 20-13 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 2, 04-15

27. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 7, 20-10 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 15-14 -- Day 2: 2, 04-12

28. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 7, 20-10 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 2, 07-04

29. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 8, 20-00 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-11 -- Day 2: 3, 07-05

30. Jordan Wiggins -- Cullman, AL -- 7, 19-13 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 16-03 -- Day 2: 2, 03-10

31. Trevor McKinney -- Benton, IL -- 9, 19-09 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-12 -- Day 2: 4, 06-13

32. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 8, 19-00 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 07-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11

33. John Cox -- DeBary, FL -- 8, 17-09 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 04-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09

34. Bryan New -- Belmont, NC -- 7, 17-02 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 11-08 -- Day 2: 3, 05-10

35. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 6, 16-04 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 05-15 -- Day 2: 4, 10-05

36. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 7, 15-14 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 2, 05-11

37. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 6, 15-01 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 1, 02-10

38. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 5, 15-00 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 13-11 -- Day 2: 1, 01-05

39. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 5, 15-00 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 4, 12-15 -- Day 2: 1, 02-01

40. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 7, 15-00 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 2, 02-14

41. Taku Ito -- Chiba, JAPAN -- 6, 14-10 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 1, 02-08

42. Masayuki Matsushita -- Tokoname-Shi, JAPAN -- 8, 14-01 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 05-09 -- Day 2: 5, 08-08

43. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 6, 13-15 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 3, 08-04 -- Day 2: 3, 05-11

44. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 6, 13-12 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 04-10 -- Day 2: 4, 09-02

45. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 7, 13-10 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 03-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-01

46. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 6, 13-05 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 05-10 -- Day 2: 4, 07-11

47. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 13-03 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 13-03 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

48. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 12-13 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

49. Keith Carson -- DeBary, FL -- 6, 12-06 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-15 -- Day 2: 1, 01-07

50. Tommy Williams -- Shepherdsville, KY -- 6, 11-14 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 1, 01-05 -- Day 2: 5, 10-09

51. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 11-11 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 03-00 -- Day 2: 3, 08-11

52. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 4, 11-05 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 2, 05-08 -- Day 2: 2, 05-13

53. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 10-11 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 5, 10-11 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

54. Blake Sylvester -- Plaquemine, LA -- 4, 06-04 -- 0 -- $10,000
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 4, 06-04