In some instances, “stupid” can be a compliment. As when Hank Cherry described Day 2 on Pickwick Lake by saying, “It was stupid how many I caught. I just sat there and beat on them for three straight hours in two different places. I caught one every cast or every other cast. I don’t know how many 15-pound bags I went through. I don’t know if that’s going to hurt me, but there were other people around, not our guys, and I didn’t want to give ‘em up.”
Apparently, that wack-fest didn’t hurt. Cherry is catching them again today. A crankbait was his primary lure yesterday. Cherry is well-known for throwing a jerkbait, but he noted that cranking is one of his favorite ways to catch bass. He found two current breaks – one in 4 to 12 feet of water and another in 8 to 16 – that were absolutely loaded with bass and bait, primarily big shad.
“I could feel my bait hitting them when I was cranking,” Cherry said. “I wasn’t touching the bottom. You’d feel thump, thump and all the sudden it just loads up and there they are.”
Cherry was surprised when the 7-pound, 11-ounce big bass of the tournament so far hit his crankbait. He’d been catching so many 3- and 4-pounders, he thought it was a drum initially.
Cherry began the tournament in 34th place with 15-8. He jumped to 10th yesterday with 22-9. BassTrakk currently has him in second place with an unofficial 19-1 at 9:50 today.