If someone from FXR handed you a Happy Gilmore check for a hundred grand on your birthday, you might cry, too.
And if you did it with a chartreuse grub, it would be extra special, possibly reminiscent of when you turned 10.
When I walked into Guntersville Tackle and Outdoors at Goose Pond Colony earlier this afternoon, they had six packs of Chartreuse Pearl and Chartreuse Pepper curly-tailed grubs. The resulting sales might not equal six figures, but they may owe Guntersville champ Hank Cherry some royalties, nonetheless.
You can’t call Cherry a “journeyman.” After all, he’s won a couple of Classics. Perhaps “workmanlike” is a better way to describe his style. He goes out and does a job. He does it competently, efficiently and quietly.
But most importantly, he wins.
He had to flat out catch ‘em today to outlast the likes of Stetson Blaylock (second, 86-14) and Matt Robertson (third, 85-13), and rather than making it close he slid into home with the biggest bag of the week. All wins pay the same, but some just seem a little bit more impactful. This was one of those events.
Here’s what I saw, heard and thought at a gradually warming Lake Guntersville onChampionship Sunday:
Consistency is the Hobgoblin of Little Minds – Jamie Hartman (fourth, 85-11) and Wes Logan (fifth, 82-7) entered today as the only two anglers with a chance to top 20 pounds each of the four days of competition. Neither sealed the deal. The top five finishers all add three bags of 20 or more, while Trey McKinney (ninth, 79-9) and Dakota Ebare (10th, 74-4) were the only members of the top ten who didn’t top 20 pounds at least twice.
The Hunt for 25 (or more) – There were three limits of over 24 pounds on Thursday, one on Friday and three more on Saturday, compiled by seven different anglers. Cory Johnston (Day 1) and Kyle Welcher (Day 2) had tied for the largest limit, at 24-9. Today Hank Cherry just blasted by 25 and 26 with 27-11. Eight bags over 24 by eight different pros.
Hank’s Milestones – The 88-11 that he amassed this week is the largest weight of Hank Cherry’s Bassmaster career. He’s only passed 80 pounds once before – at Toledo Bend in 2016, when he totaled 81-2 and finished sixth. Today’s 27-11 limit is not the best bag he’s weighed in on Guntersville, though. He caught 29-3 on the first day of the 2020 Bassmaster Classic, which he led wire-to-wire.
A High Floor – In his two wins at Guntersville, over the course of seven days of competition, Cherry has never caught less than the 16-3 he caught on Thursday. In the 2020 Classic he weighed in 16-10 on Day 2.
Trey McKinney – “We were in the tenth hole so we couldn’t go down.” Indeed, he rose a spot to ninth. After consecutive second place finishes in the AOY race, he knows the value of every point. Last year he finished 89th in the season-opener on the St. Johns, so this is a far better launch point as he aims to do better this season.
Moving Day – Cherry moved up the most spaces today, from sixth to first. No one else moved up more than two spots.
Bests and Worsts – Cherry was the only member of the top ten who had his best day of the tournament today. Four of them had their worst day: Jamie Hartman, Wes Logan, Justin Atkinsand Dakota Ebare.
Fashion Choices – With temperatures in the 20s at take-off, we figured it would be too cold for Matt Robertson to show off the tighty whities, but after sacking a limit shortly after 8 a.m. he was threatening to disrobe.
Brandon Card (8th, 80-9) – “They’re acting like it’s 60 degrees out there.” He reported that the fish were knocking slack into his line when they hit his bladed jig.
Currently in First – Cherry’s win puts him in first place in the AOY race one-ninth of the way through the season. He hasn’t finished in the Top 20 since 2021, when he was 18th. His best Elite AOY finish was 13th in 2016. He’s competed in eight Classics, winning two of them and finishing in the top ten two other times.
Dropping One Hundred – No Century Belts this week, which means we’ll likely have to wait until the St. Lawrence for a shot at one (or more), unless Kyle Welcher – or someone else – can recapture the Pasquotank magic of 2025 and get it done earlier. If you remove Hank Cherry’s 16-3 on Day 1, over the next three days he was almost on pace to hit triple digits. He caught 22-11, 22-2 and 27-11 the next three days, a total of 72-8. That’s an average of almost 24-3. Over four days that would’ve translated to 96-12.
Tough Times for Prophylactic Sponsorships – Dave Mercer stated that “The baby pattern is strong on the Elite Series.” Top ten finishers Brandon Card and Matt Robertson both welcomed new offspring in the past few months and Dakota Ebare’s fiancée is due shortly. Matt Robertson made multiple Brady Bunch references. That show concluded its initial television run 31 years before Trey McKinney was born.
Random Unofficial Stat — Dakota Ebare’s 10th place finish is the first Top 10 by an angler named Dakota in Elite Series history.
Trey McKinney, sans scope – “It’s kind of different, throwing a jerkbait blind.” He reported yesterday that he caught some fish after letting the lure pause up to 10 seconds.
Alabama In the Fourth Quarter – Three Alabama pros went into Sunday with a chance to win. Wes Logan fell three spots to fifth. Likewise, Kyle Welcher dropped three spots from fifth to eighth. Justin Atkins was the only one of the three who improved, but only from seventh to sixth.
Group Logic – This week’s Top 10 included one past AOY, Kyle Welcher, and one past Classic winner, Hank Cherry. It did not have any rookies or international anglers. In a shot across the bow to the youth movement, the fifty-somethings – Hank Cherry and Jamie Hartman – outnumbered the twenty-somethings (Trey McKinney).
Matt Robertson (morning) – “I want to ruin their lives today. I want them to think they’re going to win and I want to beat ‘em.”
Matt Robertson (afternoon) – “It’s been a long time since I’ve tasted blood like that.”
Rookie Struggles – Caleb Hudson and Matt Messer were the only rookies to make the Top 50, in 26th and 27th, respectively. Three of their crew finished 91st or worse. The ROY race can be upended by a Top 10 or two at Lake Martin in just a few days.
John Garrett watching live coverage of Hank Cherry at midday – “It’s a good problem when you’re (balance) beaming bass that weigh 3-10.”
Dave Mercer – “What I’m learning is that we lied all week. It’s not going to warm up one bit.”
Card on the Cusp – Brandon Card entered this tournament with $961,048 in lifetime Bassmaster winnings. With this eighth place finish, he becomes increasingly likely to hit seven figures at some point this season.
More February Birthdays – Kyle Welcher will turn 33 on the first day of the Lake Martin event and Trey McKinney will hit legal drinking age less than two weeks later.
Kyle Welcher – “My best day of practice was like 16 pounds.” His worst day of the tournament was 17-5 on Saturday.
Tough Week for Most of the Home Team – Despite the Top 10 heroics of Logan, Welcher and Atkins, 13 of the 17 Alabama-based pros finished in 62nd or worse.
Super Bowl Representation – The field this week included zero pros from the Patriots’ state of Massachusetts and zero from the Seahawks’ residence of Washington.
Hank Cherry –“Every time I come here I feel like I’m at home.”
Next up is Lake Martin, the second half of a back-to-back. Same state, same crew, slightly different species, different technology allowed. But one basic truth remains the same: Catchers gonna catch, scope or no scope.
