Hank Cherry made history last weekend in Fort Worth, Texas by becoming only the fourth angler in Bassmaster Classic history to hoist the iconic trophy in back-to-back years. Along with the $300,000 payday and bass fishing’s most coveted title, Cherry won $7,500 from Toyota Bonus Bucks.
The two-time Bassmaster Classic champ has been a longtime supporter of Toyota in his tow-vehicle selection and has won $18,000 from the popular bass fishing contingency program in the last year and a half alone.
“The Bonus Bucks program and Toyota’s reliability should be enough to convince any angler who tows a boat to trust this brand,” Cherry said. “I bought a new 2021 Tundra from Scott Clark Toyota in North Carolina at the start of this season. It’s the 6th Tundra I have owned and I’ve enjoyed every one of them.”
Even though Cherry’s Classic wins were just over a year apart, it seems there are more differences than similarities between the two victories. His 2020 win took place in March on the Tennessee River as opposed to a scorching hot, flooded Texas fishery in June. The type of structure Cherry targeted and the pattern(s) he employed were vastly different.
Throw in the fact that his two Classic wins were essentially bookends to a global pandemic that stopped the world from turning for several months, and it’s quite the contrast when you sit back and think about it.
On the water Cherry had a two-prong pattern that included targeting flooded bushes like most of his fellow competitors, as well as employing a new Berkley Stunna Jerkbait on Lake Ray Roberts’ dam in the afternoons. Both patterns proved critical for Cherry as he held off a hard-charging Matt Arey on the final day to have less than a two-pound winning margin.
Chris Jones, an Oklahoma pro who qualified through the Bassmaster Opens and finished in 3rd place was the second-highest placing Bonus Bucks angler due to Arey (2nd place) being a sponsored Team Toyota pro. Jones took home an impressive $2,500 from the Bonus Bucks rewards program.
Fortunately for most of us, you don’t have to fish in the Bassmaster Classic or be a professional angler like Hank Cherry to reap the rewards of Toyota Bonus Bucks. This program supports hundreds of bass and walleye tournaments across the country and is eligible to anyone who tows their boat with a 2017 or newer Toyota Tundra, Tacoma, Sequoia, or 4Runner.
For a full list of events, payouts, more information, or to register for the program head to https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/overview or call (918) 742-6424 and ask for Kendell.
