20 Questions With Hank Cherry

See 2013 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year Hank Cherry stacked up against our 20 Questions.

<p><strong>20 Questions with Hank Cherry</strong></p>
<p>The 2013 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year is not exactly a new face to B.A.S.S. fans. Hank Cherry won a Bass Pro Shops Southern Open in 2012 and he's been the man to beat on waters around his North Carolina home for years. Most recently, he took top honors at the 2013 Toyota All-Star week and Evan Williams Bourbon Championship. Here's how he stacked up against our 20 Questions.</p>
20 Questions with Hank Cherry
The 2013 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year is not exactly a new face to B.A.S.S. fans. Hank Cherry won a Bass Pro Shops Southern Open in 2012 and he’s been the man to beat on waters around his North Carolina home for years. Most recently, he took top honors at the 2013 Toyota All-Star week and Evan Williams Bourbon Championship. Here’s how he stacked up against our 20 Questions.
<p><strong>1. Where were you born and raised?</strong></p>
<p>Charlotte, N.C.</p>
1. Where were you born and raised?
Charlotte, N.C.
<p><strong>2. How did you get started in bass fishing?</strong></p>
<p>My dad and great grandmother started taking me fishing with them when I was about three years old. That's when I caught my first fish —a bream. They got me started and I went from bream to trout to bass. I was my dad's regular fishing partner from the time I was four-and-a-half or five years old.</p>
2. How did you get started in bass fishing?
My dad and great grandmother started taking me fishing with them when I was about three years old. That’s when I caught my first fish —a bream. They got me started and I went from bream to trout to bass. I was my dad’s regular fishing partner from the time I was four-and-a-half or five years old.
<p><strong>3. Who were some of your earliest fishing heroes?</strong></p>
<p>It would have to be my dad and my great-grandmother —though she passed away when I was very young. I never missed an episode of the Bill Dance show, and Hank Parker was probably my greatest inspiration since he lived near where I grew up.</p>
3. Who were some of your earliest fishing heroes?
It would have to be my dad and my great-grandmother —though she passed away when I was very young. I never missed an episode of the Bill Dance show, and Hank Parker was probably my greatest inspiration since he lived near where I grew up.
<p><strong>4. What's the biggest bass you've ever caught?</strong></p>
<p>I caught an 11-pounder when I was attending St. Andrews College. It came from a private lake near Laurinburg, N.C.</p>
4. What’s the biggest bass you’ve ever caught?
I caught an 11-pounder when I was attending St. Andrews College. It came from a private lake near Laurinburg, N.C.
<p><strong>5. What do you love most about bass fishing?</strong></p>
<p>I really enjoy the competition. I played a lot of team sports as I was growing up and loved them, but with bass fishing you're your own team and get to make all your own decisions. You're in charge when you're fishing a bass tournament.</p>
5. What do you love most about bass fishing?
I really enjoy the competition. I played a lot of team sports as I was growing up and loved them, but with bass fishing you’re your own team and get to make all your own decisions. You’re in charge when you’re fishing a bass tournament.
<p><strong>6. Where is your favorite place to fish for bass and why?</strong></p>
<p>I love Lake St. Clair in Michigan. It's unbelievable how many fish you can catch there. Seventy or even 100 bass a day is possible.</p>
6. Where is your favorite place to fish for bass and why?
I love Lake St. Clair in Michigan. It’s unbelievable how many fish you can catch there. Seventy or even 100 bass a day is possible.
<p><strong>7. Who has been the biggest influence in your fishing or fishing career?</strong></p>
<p>That would have to be my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He laid a path for me to follow with my life.</p>
7. Who has been the biggest influence in your fishing or fishing career?
That would have to be my lord and savior, Jesus Christ. He laid a path for me to follow with my life.
<p><strong>8. What has been your greatest accomplishment in the fishing industry?</strong></p>
<p>It would have to be all the different lives I've touched and that have touched mine through fishing. I really enjoy taking the time to talk with fans. Without them, the sport of competitive bass fishing doesn't exist.</p>
8. What has been your greatest accomplishment in the fishing industry?
It would have to be all the different lives I’ve touched and that have touched mine through fishing. I really enjoy taking the time to talk with fans. Without them, the sport of competitive bass fishing doesn’t exist.
<p><strong>9. What are we doing right as a sport?</strong></p>
<p>We're trying to get youth involved through high school and college programs. It's good for them and good for the sport. Fishing and the outdoors can keep a lot of young people inspired and out of trouble. It can also help you find a strong moral base.</p>
9. What are we doing right as a sport?
We’re trying to get youth involved through high school and college programs. It’s good for them and good for the sport. Fishing and the outdoors can keep a lot of young people inspired and out of trouble. It can also help you find a strong moral base.
<p><strong>10. What are we doing wrong as a sport?</strong></p>
<p>We need to be careful in portraying our sport and to emphasize the good rather than the bad. I hate to hear cursing on fishing programs, and I don't like to read about the controversies. When you look at the big picture, you realize that we come together as anglers from all different backgrounds and walks of life. For the most part we get along great and have a great time on the water. It's misleading and unnecessary to focus on the bad things because they represent the tiniest part of what's really going on.</p>
10. What are we doing wrong as a sport?
We need to be careful in portraying our sport and to emphasize the good rather than the bad. I hate to hear cursing on fishing programs, and I don’t like to read about the controversies. When you look at the big picture, you realize that we come together as anglers from all different backgrounds and walks of life. For the most part we get along great and have a great time on the water. It’s misleading and unnecessary to focus on the bad things because they represent the tiniest part of what’s really going on.
<p><strong>11. What is the biggest challenge you've faced in your career?</strong></p>
<p>Overcoming myself. Learning not to second guess my decisions, but to trust my instincts. Earlier in my career, if I had a bad day, it ate me up all week long. Now I've learned to move past that and focus on the things I can do to make it better.</p>
11. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career?
Overcoming myself. Learning not to second guess my decisions, but to trust my instincts. Earlier in my career, if I had a bad day, it ate me up all week long. Now I’ve learned to move past that and focus on the things I can do to make it better.
<p><strong>12. If you could do one thing over in your career, what would it be?</strong></p>
<p>On the last day of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, I'd have gotten to the wall I was fishing about two hours earlier.</p>
12. If you could do one thing over in your career, what would it be?
On the last day of the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, I’d have gotten to the wall I was fishing about two hours earlier.
<p><strong>13. What is the best advice you ever received in your career?</strong></p>
<p>Gerald Swindle told me that I think too much, and that sometimes you just have to put the trolling motor down and go fishing. When things aren't going well on the water, I think of that. Also, my friend Bryan Thrift is always saying, "No matter what, don't panic!"</p>
13. What is the best advice you ever received in your career?
Gerald Swindle told me that I think too much, and that sometimes you just have to put the trolling motor down and go fishing. When things aren’t going well on the water, I think of that. Also, my friend Bryan Thrift is always saying, “No matter what, don’t panic!”
<p><strong>14. What is the biggest lesson you've learned in your career?</strong></p>
<p>I learned it on the Mississippi River earlier this year (June 2013). I was catching a lot of fish around rocks on topwater and a jig, and I completely ignored the idea that there might be better bass around some of the wood cover. It burnt me. Now I know better than to put all my eggs in one basket.</p>
14. What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?
I learned it on the Mississippi River earlier this year (June 2013). I was catching a lot of fish around rocks on topwater and a jig, and I completely ignored the idea that there might be better bass around some of the wood cover. It burnt me. Now I know better than to put all my eggs in one basket.
<p><strong>15. What is your greatest strength as a professional angler?</strong></p>
<p>My will to win —my desire. I'm pretty intense when I'm fishing, but I try to stay loose by talking in the boat. It actually helps me stay focused.</p>
15. What is your greatest strength as a professional angler?
My will to win —my desire. I’m pretty intense when I’m fishing, but I try to stay loose by talking in the boat. It actually helps me stay focused.
<p><strong>16. What is your greatest weakness as a professional angler?</strong></p>
<p>I can get so caught up in what I'm doing —and have so much confidence in it —that I'll stick with it too long when I should be doing something entirely different. I'm working on how I can better recognize those situations and switch gears.</p>
16. What is your greatest weakness as a professional angler?
I can get so caught up in what I’m doing —and have so much confidence in it —that I’ll stick with it too long when I should be doing something entirely different. I’m working on how I can better recognize those situations and switch gears.
<p><strong>17. What question do you get asked most by your fans, and how do you answer it?</strong></p>
<p>They all ask, "How can I get sponsors?" I tell them that it's not about what a sponsor can do for you, but what you can do for the sponsor. You have to help a sponsor sell product —baits, boats, rods, reels —or you're of no use to them. You have to be ready to make appearances and work with the media. It's also important not to "shop" sponsors. If you go around looking for free baits here and there, you'll wind up with a bunch of logos on your jersey but no money. Baits don't feed your family or put gas in the tank.</p>
17. What question do you get asked most by your fans, and how do you answer it?
They all ask, “How can I get sponsors?” I tell them that it’s not about what a sponsor can do for you, but what you can do for the sponsor. You have to help a sponsor sell product —baits, boats, rods, reels —or you’re of no use to them. You have to be ready to make appearances and work with the media. It’s also important not to “shop” sponsors. If you go around looking for free baits here and there, you’ll wind up with a bunch of logos on your jersey but no money. Baits don’t feed your family or put gas in the tank.
<p><strong>18. Do you have any fishing superstitions?</strong></p>
<p>I have about 10 caps from The Great Outdoors bait shop near my home, and I keep them all in my boat. There's at least one in every compartment, and I wear them as I'm fishing. They're getting old and faded and they're in pretty bad shape. If things aren't going well on the water, I'll change caps until they get better.</p>
18. Do you have any fishing superstitions?
I have about 10 caps from The Great Outdoors bait shop near my home, and I keep them all in my boat. There’s at least one in every compartment, and I wear them as I’m fishing. They’re getting old and faded and they’re in pretty bad shape. If things aren’t going well on the water, I’ll change caps until they get better.
<p><strong>19. What profession (other than your own) would you like to have tried?</strong></p>
<p>If I wasn't fishing, I'd like to be a homicide detective. I studied criminal justice in college, and all my friends tell me they can picture me as a detective.</p>
19. What profession (other than your own) would you like to have tried?
If I wasn’t fishing, I’d like to be a homicide detective. I studied criminal justice in college, and all my friends tell me they can picture me as a detective.
<p><strong>20. When it's all over, how do you want the bass fishing world to remember you?</strong></p>
<p>I'd want people to know that I gave the sport all I had, that I respected and appreciated the opportunities that were given to me and that I tried to give back to the sport and the resource.</p>
20. When it’s all over, how do you want the bass fishing world to remember you?
I’d want people to know that I gave the sport all I had, that I respected and appreciated the opportunities that were given to me and that I tried to give back to the sport and the resource.