Winner of 2020 Bassmaster Classic: Hank Cherry

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The 2020 Bassmaster Classic, held on Lake Guntersville, Ala., was won by veteran angler Hank Cherry

The Bassmaster Classic––the biggest event in bass fishing. The tournament every bass angler dreams of competing in. The granddaddy of them all. For half a century now the world’s top anglers have launched their boat on the final day of the Classic in hopes to return to weigh-in holding that prestigious trophy over their head. This time, the 50th time, on prestigious Lake Guntersville, we saw Elite Series angler Hank Cherry take the crown.

Lake Guntersville is known for producing large stringers of bass, especially in early spring. Just look at when Randy Howell completed one of the most historic comebacks. Howell lifted the very same trophy by catching 29 pounds, 2 ounces on the final day of the 2014 Bassmaster Classic. Listen to our podcast with the 2014 Classic Champion.

That’s almost the exact same weight Cherry brought in on Day 1 this year. Over the three days, Cherry weighed in 29 pounds, 3 ounces on Day 1. The haul was the largest stringer of the event. He followed it up with 16-10, then closed it out with 19-8 on the final day, for a total weight of 65 pounds, 5 ounces.

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Lure selection

Cherry focused on big schools of gizzard shad, which Lake Guntersville and the whole Tennessee river system are know for. Cherry used his electronics to locate the shad schools. Once located he took a three-pronged approach throughout the three days of competition to secure his wire-to-wire victory.

On Day 1, Cherry did most of his damage on one of the nation’s hottest lures right now, the Z-Man Jack Hammer ChatterBait. The final two days Cherry implemented his own Piccaso Lures Hank Cherry Signature Jig in green pumpkin. He also used a Megabass Vision 110+1 jerkbait in the French Pearl OB color.

Cherry brought home $307,500 in total winnings: $300,000 for his first place victory, and an additional $7,500 in bonus contingency money.

You can view the 2020 Bassmaster Classic results here.