What Is Cherry’s Place In History By Pete Robbins, Page 3

What Is Cherry’s Place In History 
By Pete Robbins, Page 3

Fall 2021

®

So where does that leave two-time Classic winner Jordan Lee, and the most recent back-to-back champ, Hank Cherry? Of course Lee, who turned 30 just shortly after Cherry won his second title , and Cherry, 47, are not only not yet eligible, but they both have a lot of fishing runway ahead of them. They could each win two or three more titles (on whichever tour/s they continue to fish). Heck, Big Bank Hank has shown himself to be any incredible championship day competitor. But for a painful lost monster jerkbait bass in the 2013 Classic on Grand Lake, he might have not two but three of the big trophies. That would put him in truly rare company. But what would

happen to their

legacies if they were

to hang up their rods

today?

Despite

accomplishing the

incredible – indeed,

the seemingly

impossible – and

notching greater

achievements than

many pros already

Photo: B.A.S.S. Seigo Saito

in the Hall of Fame,

Lee and Cherry don’t

seem to get the full

level of respect due

the sport’s biggest

stars. That’s not

saying they’re not

among the best

anglers of their

generation, or any

generation for that

matter. Rather, I

think that with three

major tours, 300 top-

level pros, and over

50 years of tour-level

history, it’s harder than ever to be consistently dominant and even more difficult to be recognized as such. That’s why an angler with Cherry’s Classic track record doesn’t have the overall regular season dominance that Roland or KVD or Skeet had during their greatest seasons. It’s simply harder to dominate

Photo: B.A.S.S. Seigo Saito

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