2020 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Guntersville (Day 3 - TV)

17 672 that's exactly how many days since the very first bassmaster classic [Music] for a half century we watched the thrill of victory and the agony of angling unfold in front of our very eyes he won by two ounces we've seen tears some of joy [Music] we come together on this day to see who will join a league of legends for this year's competitors the goal is clear conquer all others taking grasp for the very title that monopolized your childhood dreams and become this year's hero one event under one roof united and linked in the legacy of legends we know the spirits of the past will be watching as today's keepers of the crest collide and ultimately conquer our classes 17 672 sunrises 17 672 sunsets but only 50 of those days are this day our day you've watched the classics but today it's time to hit pause on the memories and start living this moment your moment right here in birmingham alabama the very state bass was born it's bassmaster classic championship sunday and this one is yours well that was him right there the godfather we call him the one and only bob cobb responsible for what we're doing today watching the ultimate event in the sport of fishing the academy sports and outdoors bass master classic of course this is going to be championship sunday we cannot wait to get it started what a story we have what a bunch of stories we have breaking out ready to go as we head into this final day hank cherry with an almost five pound lead but he's got murderer's row to face standing between him and that trophy and really the whole dynamic of every classic that we've covered together is all of the leaders it seems on the final day going into the final day want to maintain to where the guys behind him really second through 25th they can gamble they can chase they can hunt the leader and really here's the most odd scenario after the day two weighing having the lead that hank cherry had he was frustrated because he knew he could have put the nail in the coffin really on day two and it's beyond interesting the dynamics we have going on today but let's take a look at how we got to this point at the verge of the final round of competition and it's a story mostly about hank jerry 29 pounds 3 ounces 29 pounds 3 ounces boy that was like a bomb set up in the arena right there hank cherry with 29 pounds and three ounces believe it or not that is the third highest five fish limit in the five fish era of the bassmaster classic and he would continue his work on day number two day number two slow and steady but somebody on his heels from tennessee probably the biggest local in this tournament with a big one on day one and really a solid day to stringer brandon lester i'm talking about the bassmaster classic baby look at that brandon lester making some major moves in order to cut the deficit everyone has toward hank cherry john cruz doing the same thing as well 16 pounds and 11 ounces on day number two to move into third that'll work there at daybreak we are ready to go and that's the way we size up our leaderboard right there hank cherry with about half the advantage he had over the rest of the field to start day number two brandon lester cutting into that deficit a good bit cruz and autumn doing the same only 25 left on this final day at the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook again only 25 anglers on this final day so a smaller field but mark zona we've noticed that they are evenly distributed around the lake and i expect that will happen today exactly right and really if you look it's so hard to comprehend classics past on this lake what happens the last day when you go to the hunted you look at hank cherry right there guys are just able to gamble and throw everything they've done the entire event really to the wind and go for a giant stringer and really hank cherry has only burned get ready for this one gallon of gas the entire tournament from our takeoff here at browns creek well all of those things you mentioned they're definitely weighing on the mind of hank cherry right now heavy is the head that holds the lead the final day of the bassmaster classic as they say brandon lester getting set to go john cruz and all the rest with our leader right now our own robbie floyd hank this is the day you've been waiting for your entire life what's it going to take to win the 50th bassmaster classic oh it's going to take a solid day of catching them stay within myself stay controlled one bite at a time five bites five bites gives me my dream you've been making some great adjustments throughout the week what's the game plan um you know there's no game plan i'm not i'm not setting on anything right i'm just going to uh i'm just going to roll with it you know there's 30 pound bags out there to be had what's the number in your mind you think you need to win this thing 17 gives me a great chance anything over 20 they got to catch them good luck today thank you well this one has hank cherry's full attention that is the understatement of the year of course his history with this event goes back to 2013 and we will talk about that considerably during the course of today but right now let's take a look at our incredible playing field late gunnersville on our yamaha unlocked the lake boy and it is really the same old same old here on lake guntersville some of the primary really areas of guntersville are areas of the past whether it's browns creek all reds islands the mouth of seabould creek all the way up to goose pond but we're gonna start this morning with somebody that had big fireworks late in the day on day number two brandon lester in the mouth of seabold fishing as we called it probably the most popular boat dock on lake guntersville because it houses some of the biggest bass this time of year ow get in here there's number one that was the ugliest fish landing ever but that's number one [Music] i grabbed that rod somehow i came loose in my hand and smacked me right in the mouth nothing like being smacked in the mouth by your rod at 7 15 in the morning oh there's a lot of truth in those words tommy sanders brandon lester with a solid keeper here on the final day of the bassmaster classic gonna go around the corner right now south here on lake guntersville to allred's islands area with stetson blaylock i think the biggest key for me today is to find a little area that's got em i mean all the fish i've been catching has been they've been scattered one here one there it's taken all day i think in order for me to really do that special deal what i need to do today i need to hit a little spot like this where they're you know really stacked in there good and get a couple of those giants out of it i think that's my best chance i've tried to just take it one step at a time anytime you have a chance at a at an event to win when you're sitting in a in a position where you have that chance it's uh gosh it's pretty special and to be the 50th classic i try not to think about it too much i wouldn't be surprised at all if these fish aren't starting to move further back up in here i caught some out in front the first day and in practice they were all out in front and out here to the side but i really wouldn't be surprised if some of these fish that's a big one that's a big one stay on there baby baby that's a big one hey hook stay hook stay hook see him stay hooked oh thank you lord look at that one knocker in the face oh yes five pounder that is a donkey yes baby stetson blaylock fishing in his first bassmaster classic but make no mistake about it he's a guy who's been performing at the top level of professional bass fishing for the better part of a decade at this point right now so docs docs have been playing in the background this morning they are front and center and cherry said his lead eating into just a bit more but lots of time left to fish the 2020 academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook is brought to you by hummingbird [Music] minn kota [Music] talon and by mercury [Music] final day of the big one the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook this one is of course the world championship and to the winner goes so many things we always talk about the prestige the place in history first before we talk about the money but hey the money is not too bad it's a million dollar first first place gets the lion's share of it three hundred thousand dollars it pays pretty good right through sixth place as a matter of fact it pays all the way down the field down to 53rd place so money is definitely a part a part of the issue here that's playing in these anglers mines but not front and center right now front and center he's catching that limit of fish that's going to get you your hands on the trophy at the end of the day and todd auten's man who's been here before four times in fact i always am the type it ain't over until it's over you can tell my nerves have gotten a little worse today about coming in and thinking you know i might be having a chance i thought i was going to show up to my first area and it really be blowed out muddy when i got there and seen that the water had actually when the wind shifted it blew the muddy water to the other side and cleared my area i think that really kind of had them going this morning that's a good one too stay on baby i don't know if i were to swing this there all right man it just fell out whoa get me started that's a five pounder probably close to it four and a half all right man i was lucky that one fell off in my hand well that's really going to be the beauty of this final day of this bassmaster classic guys fishing their strength and todd auten known as one of the best bladed jig fishermen in the world you can guarantee he'll have that locked in his hand the majority of the day we're gonna head back up the lake right now all the way up to the goose pond area with john cruz who really salvaged day number two because what he found on day one that was not apparent on day two of this tournament john crews trying to locate that giant school that he had found on day one of this bassmaster classic got to make good decisions because that's going to be the key to mars just keep making adjustments and i don't i don't know where it's going to happen i don't know where it's going to go down i just want to make sure that i put myself in position in those high percentage areas to to have to have it happen to me and stay focused on trying to catch the big fish john cruz putting one in the box right there that's probably not a fish he wants to take to the weigh-in stage here day number three the bassmaster classic but uh getting the limit in the box is certainly going to be a plus for any of these anglers then they said about the charger finding the giant ones and maybe the ones that make a difference put the trophy in your hands at the end of the day so john crews fishing in his 12th bassmaster classic a man with classic experience and there's something to be said for that as well we take you down to micah frazier of course 20 pounds for him on day number one yesterday a little bit off 16 but he's still solidly in the top ten and really just like stetson blaylock tommy michael frazier has been fishing these small pockets from all reds up to sea bowl if you look at what he's done this tournament he's the fishing almost identical as stetson blaylock almost the same areas that kind of been hopscotching having to go through a lot of numbers to get to that bigger stringer by the end of the day hey hey dude look at that big white sucker hey that felt so good dude four and a half don't you think now the first swimbait fish we have seen almost this entire event yeah and it is a good one right there for micah frazier so much momentum coming out of that 2019 bassmaster elites hey you know what let's get out to him right now some with so much confidence coming into this tournament matt herron oh how big he is but he's really mad oh man yeah baby yeah baby they out here off that edge hey out here off that edge [Music] that's three and a half i ain't gonna worry about hey [Music] much to his dismay fell down below 15 pounds yesterday he may be turning it around to some degree at least early on this day three the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic it's just something i've always done as long as i can remember you know i was i was a kid that showed up at high school with a flat bottom boat in the back of the trucks and his class was over with as soon as football was over with or whatever sports you know we took off and went to the ponds and it wasn't cool back then you know everybody thought you was a nerd because you always you know even though i played sports and that's just me 50th edition of the academy sports and outdoors bass master classic presented by hook one of the landmarks here in the birmingham area the barber vintage motorsports museum the largest collection in the world we are told of vintage motorcycles among the many places worth a visit here in birmingham let's take a look at that leaderboard where things have tightened up considerably hank cherry stetson blaylock brandon lester and todd auten all together right there in fact let's turn to stetson blaylock right now for our skeeter taste the bait i'm in here throwing this it's a booyah hard knocker just a old old red crawl just yo-yo in it on this like i said there's a little ditch right here a little high spot and that fish is just sitting right on this high spot slipped around in the first set of stalls there and caught a five pounder like i just i threw out there and it was sitting on i hopped it and it's sitting on the bottom and when i went to hop it up again it was tight there's there's enough fish in this area right here to make a comeback to win this tournament no question [Music] four more of those and that gives me a shot it feels like a big one it is it's a great old big one think they don't want that thing huh bassmaster classic day three we catching bigs baby yes look down in his mouth oh the hard knocker check this out check this out dude look at this look at this eel it's nasty look at them teeth on that dude ugh you keep that thing's mouth off me okay stetson blade like you heard him say you know i can see a pathway catch some big ones make a comeback win the classic david mullen said i gotta catch 30 pounds today how am i going to do it maybe catch him at a bridge might be some magic today bub okay if they're biting that old swimmer it's gonna be some stuff go down today uh solid one right there for mullins dadgum alabama stood from there gonna head in the back north saudi creek with john cruz we are in contention uh we were in contention at the st johns river and i really didn't even know it i didn't know how close i was there uh at the very last elite series event and so this one um you know i can't you can't check up you can't slow down you just you gotta fish as hard as you can every second we are in contention pat's down john cruz relocating a little bit of that magic that he found on day one of this tournament actually odd for this time of year there was a a bunch of schooling fish in the back of north saudi creek and john crews having to bounce around a little bit but putting some keepers in the live well early here on championship sunday from there and noticeably quiet so far this morning coming into this final day of 50th bass master classic hank cherry still with nothing in the live well starting on this browns creek bridge and really you cannot stress this enough so much quality comes off of the main lake coming off the main river or coming from the back of brown's creek stopping on this bridge and so far this morning well hank cherry knows he needed a quick start that has not happened it's not the way you want your day to start two hours no bite i think it's just so slick it's hard to get them chase so well hank cherry was a little bit rattled and shaken after the day two weigh-in and really if you look at this morning so far one of the things that was said after the day two weigh-in hank cherry was going to have to come out fast that has not been the case but that bass right there very very critical for hank cherry i think we started in the same place yesterday didn't we what about the same side four more oh that felt good same exact spot i got the one yesterday so much about the sport of professional bass fishing is the middle aspect and having to deal with it especially when you're a day three leader at the bassmaster classic like hank cherry almost two hours into this final day trying to win the 50th classic really no bites to speak of until just a moment ago catching a keeper it's not a big keeper but a keeper and that gives you that confidence because i can promise you those wheels were turning and this guy is a guy that we talked to yesterday afternoon and you could tell he was kind of lamenting that missed fish from yesterday it made him think back to grand lake when he possibly lost that classic i went to ask him earlier before launch this morning about what place he was in that classic leaving on that final day and he said i don't want to talk about it so i promise you things are rattling around in his mind and that one fish although it's not a big one is a big factor in this game well everyone who's ever won a bassmaster classic wired a wire has had to undergo some maximum anxiety hank cherry just closed out two hours of that with that fish catch right there look at he's back on top but not by much stetson blaylock brandon lester very close on his heels academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook this is a huge component of every classic the bassmaster classic outdoors expo you see everything that's new what's new in boats what's what's new in bates what's new in tackle pick yourself up some nice apparel so that you look sharp the next time you appear at the ramp this is a great place to come interact with the stars of the sport ask the questions find out everything you want to find out about the sport you have so much passion for and as a result the crowds here are absolutely huge especially this week it just seems like they've been bigger than ever the outdoor show is a marvel that is for certain it has been this year let's take a look at another marvel fishing in his fourth bassmaster classic the veteran south carolina's todd autumn fish hasn't really been biting that good the two i've caught it's been just barely nipping the baits and i'm sure the the wind laying down flat might have some effect on that we're just gonna we're gonna stick it out here a little bit longer and maybe an hour or two and we'll see what he's gonna give us you know kind of didn't expect other guys in here but uh just have to deal with it and try to block it out and keep moving ellen that is one of the things that you're going to deal with here on lake guntersville whether it's other competitors or local traffic there's been a lot of local traffic in the back of browns this entire week but todd alton knows he has played this game a long time knows how to deal with this but he is in an area they are coming to him oh cool i know i just barely had that sucker hey my dad oh gosh not a good feeling i think that's the first one i've lost though trying to swing it oh lord it feels good there not as big as a thought no feet keep oh yeah number three makes me feel a little better boy you look at how pale that fish is i made the comment they are coming to them and a lot of anglers thought that that a lot of these fish were going to push up very very shallow with the warmer day here on championship sunday yet to see if that happens one angler that we've had our eye on this morning fishing in the mouth of seabold fishing the docks that so good to him on day number two brandon lester he has already bailed and going back to his original game plan from day number one up by the bb comber bridge and really brandon lester said if i'm going to win this tournament this exact spot is gonna have to pay off here on championship sunday look out for lethal brandon lester 20 pound 15 ounces and boy if you skipped into your fantasy fishing picks you made a mistake this week not a big one but the keeper i think well he ate it good number two brandon lester definitely a classic veteran fishing in his fifth classic finishing top six aoy angler of the year last year so definitely a guy on a roll got a lot of work left to do today stetson blaylock got some good work done this morning for our second place a runner-up in aoy there may have to be some more adjustments um but you know it's kind of one of those things i'm gonna ride this thing just like i have the last two days i mean i feel like i've put myself in a position to be there at the end and see what happens there he is doesn't feel that big though it's a keeper for sure why are they jumping today oh cause the water's warming up oh he got a mouthful of it look at that thing look how he ate that isn't that crazy i mean just choked on it i'm gonna catch him today just gonna tell you right now just gonna go ahead and tell you [Music] well we just made the move out here to where i know i need to be i mean just just these you know first places in off the river where those fish are coming in to spawn four to seven feet most of the bites are coming in just throwing this norman speed in it's been been the best bait for me all week out here there's one golly which way you going joked it they're doing a thing get the old bubble pliers down in there and dig him out stetson blaylock operating the final day of the classic with a lot of confidence and watch him go he is pushing his way through the crowd out in front of everybody in fact in front of our leader hank cherry blaylock in the lead right now let's see if he can hang on to it 50 years of the bassmaster classic the academy sports and outdoors pass master classic presented by hook 50 years means it's a young sport most of the heroes are still around including that rarity multiple classic winners george cochran myself and hank parker have all won two it's always good when you verify the first win bobby murray kind of set the bar because he won the first classic ever won and then i won two and i think he got re-motivated that year that i was second he won his second one for me the second one was gratifying in that respect that you can come back and not only compete but win against these guys when i was started out as a fisherman as much as i loved it i knew that if i was ever going to make a good living and change my whole life was to win the classic my dream came through in 87. so that changed my whole life george cochran was a different creature all together he won classics that nobody should have won the way he won his opportunity to win should never happen and yet he made it happen 96 when i won it again that was like a fresh breath of air because it kind of tells everybody that it wasn't luck the first time the first one has got the most significance to the public but the second one just verifies that first win for you you go from good to great in the books the guys that i was competing with were phil dance roland martin jimmy houston rick clint all the guys that are in the hall of fame were the guys that i was competing against and to be able to pull two classic victories out of their hands is pretty special it's it's special when you can get to the finish line at the bassmaster classic and say for this year i was the very best and for two i was and i'm very thankful for those victories what an incredible bunch of guys right there so great to see them at this 50th bassmaster classic look at the change on top of the leaderboard though hank cherry has been overtaken by stetson blaylock right now let's get down on the waters of the lake guntersville the man who started the day with a pretty good lead trying to hang on and win it wired a wire hank cherry in the past i may have second guessed what i was doing that could have helped me back a little bit but i have a new attitude and a new outlook on the way i approach fishing and you just got to go at 100 when you make a decision you have to stick with it big hank cherry throwing a mega bass vision 110 plus one and he is one of the strongest with a jerkbait and interesting to listen to him say i'm gonna stay with my game plan in little key subtle areas on this causeway well starting to pay off for hank cherry and only three fish in his live well right now but things starting to happen two more dance with the one that brought you hank cherry on a calm day here on lake guntersville catches his third bass of the day doing what he did the previous two days catching him on the rip rap at the causeway just working his way down the line the fish are there it's been a little harder for him to find him today but he's got three fish in the boat not necessarily big ones but he's just trying to get that limit when you have a lead you want to stay in the lead and right now fish number four and fish number five is gonna help get him there thank you robbie floyd thing's obviously not quite as rocky as they were to start the day for hank cherry right there he seems to be on his way and feeling a little bit more relaxed we'll see how it plays out as we get back up the lake into brandon lester exactly right and all eyes were on brandon lester coming into this final day it was so strong late in the day on day number two with this classic so far today and really it's been a shocker so far for brandon lester it's been very very slow i like it when you got to dig it out with pliers [Music] he's a line burner but he's a keeper we'll take him for now get back in there he's a little wad up mary's morning brandon lester looking for a little more size he's going to need for the size to pick up soon the water should be warming more today than in the two previous days as we take you over to john cruz again fishing in his 12th bassmaster classic and as he has had the first two days being on the lookout for fish breaking on top keep my head on a swivel around here i mean for real probably catch these fish on topwater hey [Music] so three tried to eat that thing he said num num num the smidge better oh boy eyeballs are full but first cast with the old jerk bait that one was one of the ones that hit it so hard it was on slack line i saw my line it's on my line jump there's chasing chasing bait out here it's not you know it's not the winner fish we're landing on here but [Music] oh yes i got some dead grass this is not the winning fish either dead grass well you heard john cruz these are not the ones that's gonna make for the winning stringer of fish but he's making do with what he can find right now what's available right before him fishing in the moment yet dropping down the leaderboard down to fifth place but john cruz knows he's in a good spot in the big picture because this is the first time in 12 classics he's actually been in contention [Music] to be in contention at the bassmaster classics what it's all about man it's what you dream of it's what you dream of anytime you think about a tournament you know it's you know it's just like hitting that buzzer beater in the nba finals to to win it you know you know it's the grand slam or the home run to win the world series it's it is what all tournament bass fishermen dream about it's the bass master classic and it's lake gunnersville you know it's legend on top of legend on top of legend the 2020 academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook is brought to you by nitro boats [Music] abu garcia berkeley and by ranger boats water big time water the incredible lake gunnersville side of the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by book of course this is the historic 50th classic here's the first bassmaster elite series angler to ever come from the carhart bassmaster college series brandon card stay down guys are fading look how fat that fish is that is a butterball finally got one on a jerkbait still haven't got the win but at least that gives me confidence that they may eat it so that one right there just slammed it i was just jerking it he just about jerked the rod out of my hand yeah way that fish knows how to eat look at that nice chunk right there for brandon card slow and steady again one of our anglers one of our contingency browns creek this entire tournament really gonna head back up the lake first time we've got to get on this angler here on championship sunday jason williamson really he's been in one of the areas really from call it seabold creek up to goose pond fishing a lot of main lake bars and if you go off the traditional lake gunnersville guntersville have passed that is how big giant stringers are caught here this time of year jason williamson had a big day number one slipped up a little on day two trying to locate those big schools of gunnersville bass [Music] it's just an adrenaline rush to know that you're competing in the 50th bassmaster classic any cast could be the potential double double-digit fish you know at guntersville any cast could be the fish of a lifetime jason williamson he knows what lives here he knows the potential of this incredible fish we've been spending well these past two days waiting for some stuff to clear up he says he thinks things could break loose for him today waiting on that to happen todd in south carolina a lot of people have their eyes on him on this day and he knows the potential of gunnersville as well you know this lake is um pretty tough for spectators a lot of them do come watch you and then start fishing you know they were kind of staying close enough to where they could watch and and fish and i've seen one of them catch probably five and they just throw them right back in the water so i'm just like i hope that don't hurt me but i tried not to watch because that will get to you more than anything there's one stay on baby man they just ain't getting it good [Music] i was trying to get that other hook in it quite do it [Music] it's about a two three quarter [Music] number four [Music] put a little more spring in your step [Music] well from the back of browns creek we're going to get back to the causeway with your day one and two leader hank cherry and really this time of year it's typical there is a very early bite and really from midday on and as our robbie floyd will tell us that's exactly what hank cherry's concentrating on with a huge full moon last night you saw this morning almost looked like the sun was rising you know a lot of these anglers big on that moon phase but they know that full moon brings the ladies up in for that spawning time but i asked tank i said do you think it's going to be more active this morning with the having the full moon he said well with a high moon like that a full moon he said probably around noon so these guys are kind of good on that lunar table he thinks his magic hour is going to be right around noon today [Music] so yeah baby let's go talk about those fish that make a difference that's what hank cherry has right now it is a toad one more jesus please let's go and things are firing up on day number three when it did not look like that was gonna be the case to start for the first hour and a half that's why he's here even though he wasn't getting the bites early that's why he keeps coming back boy how quick it can turn in professional bass fishing a bit of euphoria uh to be forgiven hank jerry right now he has made a big big move now back in control almost a six pound lead over second place stetson blaylock we'll be right back the bass angler sportsman society had been around more than three years in 1971 growing and gaining attention for the fairly new sport of competitive bass fishing but the sport went through its most meaningful growth spurt ever in that year when ray scott took the top 24 anglers from his new tournament circuit up in an airliner nobody knew where they were going i mean this was a mystery lake and we had had a pool amongst the anglers of where the destination was and it was mexico and it was canada and it was the west coast because we never had a tournament out there and when the plane got to 35 000 feet ray announced that we were going to las vegas lake mead you headed for lake mead last night it would become one of the most successful experiments in all the world of sports standing head and shoulders above any other tournament it has dominated in terms of fans and viewers and in turn changed the lives of every angler who has ever hoisted that one of a kind trophy bobby murray of hot springs arkansas won that first classic 50 years ago the biggest contrast between the classic when it started and the classic today the weigh-in for the first bassmaster classic was the floating boat dock now how big would the boat dock have to be today to put the amount of people that's going to show up to see the bassmaster classic murray would win another classic during the 70s in mississippi new names would emerge writing the early history of the classic as they went there would be another two-time classic winner in the 1970s a young texan named rick klunt would win the 1976 bassmaster classic on lake guttersville on the tennessee river and the very next year he made it two in a row on the kissimmee chain in florida winning multiple classics i think it's like in any sport sometimes when you win one championship it just motivates you to push harder and to become better at what it takes to win the classic the thing a lot of people have forgotten in that field is that i was first first second and third in four consecutive classics and i had really almost won four in a row the fishing world would begin to look at classic winners as their sports heroes it was the kind of title that made careers as what also happened to the 1979 bassmaster classic winner hank parker 50 years ago a single tournament came to define an entire sport [Music] well it's like we said these three days of the bassmaster classic always go by very very quickly and this final day this ultimate day is going by quick for some fans they want it to go by as fast as possible they love where they're at other fans would like to see a change of fortunes happen and happen very quickly it's going to have to happen quickly who are those people those would be fantasy fishing fans ronnie we're trying to hand out some superlatives here this morning obviously day three of the bassmaster classic you want all of your fantasy fishing players to make the final day and with five people on your team the chances of getting all five in the top 25 pretty tough at times but w gordo 06 leading the charge going into the final day of the classic to win this event possibly having some great picks hank cherry john cruz david mullins todd auten all of those guys in the top 10 doing very well and cody huff the college qualifier second college qualifier ever to make the final day a great pick by him and one thing that's important going into this final day when all is said and done bonus points will be handed out for rapple of fantasy fishing 40 points for the biggest bag of the event that is hank cherry right now 40 points for the biggest bass of the event that is todd auton right now and also the leader each day of the event gets five bonus points so we're looking at hank cherry obviously gobbling up a lot of bonus points right now for those people who picked him and wrapped bassmaster fantasy fishing ah yes thank you ronnie moore and of course that angler setting it off with the giant bag hank cherry 29 pound three ounces 29 half three ounces really looking at that day one stringer of 29 pounds and three ounces hank cherry has protected he has cradled that lead and it's fair to say watching a tough day too really hank cherry has done a lot with a little here on guntersville cherry is once again your leader at the academy sports and outdoor bass master classic presented by hulk no doubt about it hank cherry is the story of this bassmaster classic had to endure some anxiety this morning but then he got things rolling yeah baby [Music] let's go [Music] exactly right hank cherry has the ball rolling but early this morning big big fireworks from stetson blaylock trying to chase his first classic trophy look at that one knocker [Music] feels like a big one they don't want that thing huh fast master classic day three we catching bigs baby isn't that crazy i mean just choked on it stetson blaylock taking over the lead pretty early this morning another guy who started out very very well nice big largemouth bass with todd autumn put that one in the boat and added a few more he's still in the hunt that's for sure there's one [Music] i was trying to get that other hook in it quite do it we said it strange things could happen on the final day of a bassmaster classic especially here on lake guntersville and that's gonna actually be our mercury move of the day and here's who it is some exclusive footage our guy seth fighter from minnesota tough day one here on guntersville but he is making up ground in a hurry you know like i said all you can ask for is to have a chance going into the last day you know like we saw last year here or last time here it was you know the guy that caught the mega bag on the last day and came from behind the wind this place is just it's got too many big ones in it really gotta win to not have one of those massive days whether it's the first day or the last day but i think i think it's a mandatory to win this event seth fighter coming off a lot of momentum from 2019 as well won the aoy tournament up on lake saint claire but again the story remains at the top of the leaderboard hank cherry who had lost the lead regains it in a big way academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook the 50th edition and through those 50 years this city right here birmingham alabama has been a huge part the groundswell of support for bass fishing at the highest level let's get back out on the lake right now john cruz oh you little rascal better one a better one oh you want this side okay yoked on that jerkbait that's what i'm talking about i'm getting bigger i didn't know whether to swing that fish or not he came up looking like a wind sock i went ahead and went ahead and jumped swung him in number four that's that fishes that's fish is probably a three pounder right at it that's what we're after here gonna hook up the photog with a little click click action you know what i'm saying my boys over there i think that's my man andy maybe crawford one of our awesome photogs we got the best of the best and best john cruz named checking some of the folks that make the bass fishing look so good out there for the fans you know john cruz is not going to quit grinding all day long ditto this guy right here stetson blaylock a good start to his day still working hard it's time for a four pounder on this thing five pounder i ain't caught a big one all week we might as well go ahead and catch like a seven on it biting it though that's the good thing we keep we keep moving and shaking and covering ground we're going to get a few more of those big ones to eat it there he is that's a good one barely hooked too though oh he's looked better than i thought he ate it time to do some culling i think i'm gonna weigh them both yep i'm gonna keep the white one making coals they just need to get bigger definitely helped ah small call right there for stetson blaylock and really these cold nights a lot of these anglers thought that man with it warming up on sunday a lot of these big gunners will pass they're going to push shallow and one of those 25 to 30 pound stringers will get weighed one of those anglers that really felt that way was jason williamson and right now looking at this event with not a lot of time left those cold nights have been the biggest benefactor to hank cherry no doubt a lot of these guys that are fishing areas where they thought they were coming too yep they have got bit throughout this week but those giant females have not shown up two-time elite series champion let's hear it form ladies and gentlemen welcome jay willey the tower of power it's a good one just keep plugging away definitely a solid one right there for jason williamson but he is going to need more than one big one here on this final day from jason williamson we're going to head back down to micah frazier and you could tell a lot of these guys that were in the top ten they have let it all hang out i mean basically michael frazier has fished a different area almost this entire last day and he'll tell you he is ready for this moment it's definitely it's gotten different over the years you know the first couple years i was here it was like i didn't really care what happened i was just thankful to be here you know now i i don't have those jitters anymore that i had the first couple times i've i'm kind of getting the edge to win one you know i guess especially since i was able to win a regular season event last year once you win everybody always says that once you win you that's all you want to do and it's it's true stay on there i don't know what you are but stay on there i mean i'm tempted to go other places i just had seven or eight bites you know it ain't like it's been terrible it could be tough everywhere else too i just don't know it could be it could be chewing everywhere else you just don't know just really it's encouraging to see those real white fish though because that's new fish you know yep fresh fish tommy name of the game yep yep yes sir trying to put a happy face on it michael frazier you can tell he's disappointed with the way things have dropped off a bit in the afternoon and brandon lester what a great uh sort of rise in the sport he's made over the last three years he's really joined the top tier of anglers and of course his expectations for himself have risen accordingly most people don't realize how much work we put in i've been fishing since i was just a little kid and yes i love it but it's still a job dude it's still work hours and hours in my tundra driving across the country hours and hours practicing honing my skills learning new techniques trying to learn new things trying to stay competitive you know you get beat doing something you want to learn how to do it yourself it means a lot to be here get in here good keeper right there for brandon lester but he's gonna need him a lot bigger with time running out well this one might be slipping away for brandon lester brandon lester doing a great job pretty much staying in that top three all week long but his problem has been everyone else's problem a guy by the name of hank cherry certainly been in charge for the better part of each and every day of fishing here we'll see if hank can hang on when we come back academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by book the 50th edition of the big stories of the week it's the best master classic outdoor expo what fantastic crowds i mean door busting crowds here all week long even on the workdays chance to come out and see the legends of the sport and get some instruction from these guys they're the best in the world why would you pass up that opportunity or the opportunity to hobnob with the true legends of the sport that go back through the full 50 years those academy buckets have been extremely popular here and as we all know you can't have enough buckets but meanwhile let's get back out onto the lake and have a look at matt herron oh come here come here that's something gun was light free willie jack that thing went under walkway and it just kept going finally dawned on me after it fell about four foot i'm like you know it ain't my two foot deep over there well matt herron basically in the spot where he started the day in 10th place from the alabama angler trying to hang in there as best he can doing all the grinding he can possibly mount in the face of the approaching deadline john cruz pretty much the same story all right so went out here and started on the area that i caught them the first day of the tournament and standard procedure never had a bite out there which is kind of what i was expecting these fish just move around so much uh you know i was moving around out there trying to trying to relocate those fish or find another group of fish and i noticed some birds were working over here i mean a couple hundred yards from where where we were i mean really really working saw you know some some surface activity i caught a couple on the chatterbait and then the last two have come on a jerk bait just basically kind of throwing in the boils like schooling fish they seem to be you know pretty active definitely on that you know on the jerk bait you don't have a ton of wind you know just a little ripple which is good the fish the fish just seem to be chasing shad whenever they can see them come on be a decent one it doesn't feel that way little guy he's borderline keeper maybe that's why he kept whacking at the chatter wagon no he's 15 inches though put him in with his friends y'all could talk about whatever you want to talk about well it's not been a fast day for john cruz but he did make the comment somewhere during this final day he will go shallow and try to catch one of those giant gunnersville stringers same thing with micah frazier caught so many keepers on days one and two looking for one of those magical bags i take it for granted what we get to do but it's there's not many people that get to grow up and actually you know do what they dreamed of doing from childhood for a living i mean not many people get to grow up and do what they always dreamed of doing and just i'm just so blessed and thankful to be able to do this big good anyways uh solid one for sure right there for micah frazier not a lot of bites today but quality has been there literally just a couple hundred yards away the other side of browns creek is todd autumn a little caught several right here yesterday but i had a real distinct mud line right there and it kind of dissipated there he is [Applause] i got him hooked good all right finally todd oughtan all through this tournament working that sort of key 100 yard little stretch there that's been the most productive for him and that's a good book end with that first fish that he caught to start the day definitely is and really if you look at what hank cherry's done he has stuck to his game plan from the first cast of this 50th bassmaster classic well turn of events i went from none to about 15 pounds now i've got two that i definitely need to get rid of i need to get one or two more just like that last big one i caught things going on right now with the full moon the gizzard shad are up here in big balls on these rocks i caught one this morning keyed me in i think i knew better than to start out here i think these getters shad when that water temperature hits 55-56 some of them are going to try to spawn so what i've done since the bank is so steep i've upsized the hook on my bait so my bait if you look at it in the water it's gonna fall backwards tail down the whole time everybody's gonna tell you you want it sitting still you want it nose down you don't ever want it sitting still you maybe want to float up if you're in grass that's a different kind of bait see this bait's still working while i'm killing it and when the wind's not blowing i think that's important because it looks more natural falling away like an actual dead shad or injured bait fish this big ball of shed right there but these rock banks every every little place has got a sweet spot in it like there's places where these rocks have fallen off in the water and they've made little piles and points and you really think that's where the bikes are coming from but most of mine have come out away from the rocks even though i keep throwing up there no you don't no you don't [Music] hey you got a tag in him i wonder if i want to make a truck in a boat [Music] nice tree [Music] later fat guy spotted ass [Music] boy how he broke that down is exactly the way he is going to put this tournament away this one was made for hank cherry obviously and he has risen to the occasion hank cherry just piling it on pouring the coals on right now on his way to having his hands on that trophy we'll be back academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook a look at her classic trophy in a very special place the birmingham civil rights institute the many interesting stops in our fantastic host city of birmingham alabama you're right in the middle of the action on the final day of competition get you out on the water right now and into browns creek with brandon carr this week is just has really been kind of a marathon you know with driving down to birmingham driving back up to gunnersville you know rigging rods late at night i think i went to bed at 11 30 last night so definitely just kind of running on [Applause] adrenaline good one good one oh yeah oh yeah good one boom baby yes well it's a nice one nice one for today anyways i'll take it brandon card good one right there size not been a problem for him but on this day he needed more in the way of numbers exactly right and if you look at kind of what's transpired around brown's creek micah frazier lived in all reds really almost at least around the all reds islands area from there up to seabolt but he like other anglers knew they'd had to catch a 25 to 30 pound bag really micah frazier his game plan today has been great he went to the back of brown's one of the only anglers we've seen making a big swim bait work the problem has been there just hasn't been enough of that you hear waves this time of year waves of big females coming shallow michael frazier a solid day but he needs a couple of those true gunnersville giants that'll help a little bit i think i don't know joker's fat ain't he another good stocky fish for micah frazier right there days one and two he was really one of the few numbers guys but he's had size not numbers today here again you're looking at the hunters here on the final day one of those guys that scrapped days one and two what they were doing on this lake david mullins so many tournaments have been won on bridges oh this tournament and the last time we were here for the classic well david mullins has bunkered in the exact same way there he is that's a good one just a three though man i mean that don't we gotta have sixes not three that's that ain't even three that's like two and a half mullens made a statement after the weigh-in day number two i'm gonna have to have 30 pounds on this day and he knows that's not what has shown up so far let's quick get over and check in with steps in the blaylock whoa holy crud fell asleep tell me you got that i let the end of that thing get out from under my armpit when i popped it it went flying [Music] there he is [Music] i don't think he'll help i don't know he might oh yeah i think he will maybe maybe solid fish right there for stetson blaylock with the norman speed and he made the comment coming into this tournament i will not live on one of the bridges of this lake even if the tournaments won i will not do it well he has had a great game plan but not enough on this final day well somebody that did live on a bridge and to perfection has been hank cherry and if you really look at the grand scheme of this tournament he maximized his time really throughout the entire tournament his execution has been on one or two lost fish but you're looking at a guy that is getting redemption from years ago in a classic past cherry is well on his way come on one of you big suckers just bite please get all nine hooks in your throat i'll give you the bait one of the really cool things about this tournament if you are a gunnersville fisherman or you've been to guntersville and you're looking at what hank cherry has done you're laughing for the simple fact that he has done it on one of the most popular areas of lake guntersville and for the predominant amount of this week he has been left completely alone a little bit of help there for hank cherry really has gotten the job done today he knows it able to distance himself from dangerous guys guys like todd otten go come off can't believe that that was pretty good in there just followed it dropped it back down there and he eat it didn't get him i get your heart pumping oh this might be her well if it was a tournament in the back of brown's creek todd otton has definitely won it really if you look at what he's done back there a lot of local pressure and other competitors todd autumn with a very solid bassmaster classic all right we're getting there that'll call let's see if there's nothing in there let's hit another little group of them [Applause] better not swinging oh my goodness whoa right get rid of a three pounder that's a pretty good little coin if i get something bigger than that i'll worry about weighing it then it's pretty good little coal all right buddy high five oh you got to hand it to todd autumn one more time his fourth fast master classic and this is as close as he has ever come a great effort man he had a mountain to climb couldn't quite get to the top it looks like as we get everyone out of the expo and headed for the arena the weigh-in is coming up [Applause] [Music] the 2020 academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook is brought to you by toyota [Music] yamaha skeeter boats and by power pole so great to have had you with us through this coverage our deeper look inside this event from the first part of march the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic presented by hook the 50th edition now that things are a little bit different in our country hope you're having a chance to get outside and you're choosing to fish smart as they say but again thanks for being with us we're gonna back out on guntersville and wrap it up with john cruz big got him that's what i'm talking goose freaking giant right there boy yes yes that sucker crushed it that's just a fire crawl colored half-ounce z-man jackhammer with the mistlebat's quiver um cherry blossom color looks good i think with that firecrawl that big old sucker i just caught he thought it looked pretty good too big fish like that the final day of the bassmaster classic he'll remember that for a long time another guy who's had a memorable classic now stetson blaylock wrapping it up it's a big one [Music] yes it's a chunk too look at that belly on that sucker it's got to be a heavy three 360. it's a good one put him on the big side clutch fish right there for stetson blaylock and definitely a solid classic from there and there's no way to sugarcoat this hank cherry it was a slow slow morning here on guntersville for him a lot of pundits thought he needed to get it done quick well he's been slow and steady since now i just need to catch one more big one i think all i need is right here i'm not chasing so my every pound i add is one more they gotta catch well i don't know i've never been the situation i'm doing my best not to internally bust i don't have any idea what's going on i'm really not worried about it i'm just worried about me and making the best decisions i can it's very hard to get off these rocks you know i get one of those six seven pounders like i lost yesterday but thing is you don't know when it's coming what you're doing here let's go let's go [Music] how are y'all waiting for that bite for seven years seven years you know what's interesting listening to hank cherry he said if i would have won the classic seven years ago i truly would not have understood what it meant to win a classic this story the 50th bassmaster classic hank cherry has got his redemption been chasing it as he said for seven years and finally it comes true on this day in march of 2020 hank cherry with robbie floyd you know this is a funny sport i don't know how or who or who did what today try not to hit a boat but we could easily have won this thing just as easily as we could have not won this thing so i mean and they're all my buddies behind me so it's not like i'd be upset sad not upset i mean i'd be happy for them still regardless but you know the end of the day i really want that trophy and hopefully hopefully we did enough work you know that's all you can ask for well the fishing's done for hank cherry again he wanted 20. he got the 17 he felt he needed now it's up to the weigh-in ladies and gentlemen it is championship sunday at the greatest event in professional fishing it's the bassmaster classic are you ready oh yes our man dave mercer whipping the crowd into a frenzy as he does so so masterfully on the bassmaster elite series and every year the academy sports and outdoors bass master classic for the first time in classic history as we begin the super six we've got two anglers tied occupying the hot seat and i don't think i've ever seen well i know i've never seen that before mark zona no i have not seen that brandon card solid week all week long living in browns creek this final championship sunday will not be enough to take over the lead get loud first well you can't say enough about stetson blaylock he's been laboring in the fishing business for a long time with great results but his first ever classic and he told us all week long how important it was for him just to be here what a great opportunity it wasn't he took advantage of that takes over the lead with 58-1 until he is knocked off subsequently by todd autumn who had a great start to his day as well 58-10 get loud for the cruise missile john crew john cruz fishing in his 12th bassmaster classic elated to be in the mix here all the way to the very end he had to do a lot of changes make a lot of different decisions but couldn't take over that lead in the end brandon lester days one and two absolutely outstanding for him but can never get out of the shadow of hank cherry doesn't do so well on day number three but what a great classic it has been firing bombs all week long cherry bombs came into the day with 45 pounds 13 ounces alas taught otton to join us right here it's going to go down to one of these two guys started the day with 45 pounds 13 ounces side by side guys 19 pounds 8 ounces 19 8 and with 65 pounds 5 ounces the 50th bassmaster classic finishes with the cherry on top [Applause] hold'em high birmingham alabama get loud for the 2020 bassmaster classic champion the 50th edition the academy sports and outdoors bassmaster classic finishes with a cherry on top and my friend you have led it from day number one for the rest of your life there's a lot of shiny trophies you can win in this sport there's only one title for the rest of your life hank cherry you are a bass master classic champion i don't i don't know what to say two hours into it this morning i had one of them yoda moments when it wasn't going to write i was like you know there is no try you either do or do not i lost that big one early and paul mueller told me in the boat yard yesterday he said look hank things are going to happen the devil's going to try to get in your head just kick him out the boat tell me ain't got time for that today paul i thank you very much but um it hasn't always been easy there was a time not very long ago because i didn't even know i fish again so all i can say is [Music] i did it let's go let's go indeed we're going to bring out a defoe the 2019 bassmaster classic champion to do the handoff [Applause] your 2020 academy sports and outdoor bassmaster classic champion hank jerry the 50th classic finishes with a cherry on top hank terry wins the academy sports and outdoors bass master classic presented by hawk what a story hank cherry hank cherry who made his first big splash in the sport of bass fishing seven years ago at the bassmaster classic on grand lake it has been a long road between there and here but this is the ultimate this is the peak the mountaintop his career now defined by this incredible performance on incredible lake gunnersville ready for that ceremonial ride around the arena there and mark zone i know you've talked about this millions of times you've written about it on bassmaster.com his is a story of someone who committed to what he does best if you really think about and i'm serious about this the astronomical odds of hank cherry sealing the deal in a classic but not only sealing the deal in a bassmaster classic number one he did it in the 50th bassmaster classic on probably the fenway park of fishing on lake guntersville the exact same way the same technique that it slipped out of his hand seven years ago but that is in sports that is a storybook ending absolutely inspirational once again congratulations to hank cherry the whole world is at your feet and rightfully so we'll see you next time on the bassmaster [Music] yeah baby [Music] let's go whoa let's go let's go 19 pounds 8 ounces 19 8 and with 65 pounds 5 ounces the 50th bassmaster classic finishes with the cherry on top [Applause] as our champion justly savers this special moment and we take one last look at our one-of-a-kind playing field lake gunnersville where incidentally all of the bass that crossed the way in stage during the classic have been safely returned we want to thank you the fans for coming along with us through all of our coverage of the historic 50th bassmaster classic

Channel: Bassmaster

Views: 261,698

Keywords: BASS, B.A.S.S., Fishing, bass fishing, Bassmaster

Id: 39yerAHfUjw

Length: 91min 6sec (5466 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 02 2020