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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