Hot off winning his second Bassmaster tournament in less than a year, Hank Cherry would love to make it two in a row in the Toyota Texas Bass Classic on Lake Conroe at Conroe, Texas, this weekend.

Cherry won the 2013 Elite Series Toyota All-Star Week and Evan Williams Bourbon Championship held on Muskegon Lake and White Lake at Muskegon, MI, last week.

“I hope this will be the icing on the cake for me. Two in a row would be great,” said the pro from Maiden, N.C., who won the 2012 Bass Pro Shops Southern Open on Smith Lake in Jasper, Ala., last October to qualify for the 2013 Bassmaster Classic and advance to the Elite Series this year,

Cherry has already had a super first year on the B.A.S.S. Elite circuit, finishing 14^th overall in the Angler of the Year standings and earning Rookie of the Year honors, 40 points ahead of the nearest competitor.

The Toyota Texas Bass Classic is a super tournament, pitching the top 15 finishers in the Angler of the Year points races from all three major circuits, including the Walmart FLW Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series and Bass Pro Shops PAA Tournament Series.

The three-day tournament combines the top daily tournament weigh-ins, outdoor expos and free concerts and will be held at the Lone Star Convention and Expo Center in Conroe.

“We’re very excited about this amazing group of anglers that have qualified, there are some true legends of the sport along with some new faces that will get to compete for not one but two Toyota Texas Bass Classics in a row,” said Tournament Director Lenny Francoeur.

Earlier this year TTBC officials announced that in 2014 the event will return to Lake Fork, the inaugural host site, May 9-11, 2014. Final field qualification for both this year and next year’s TTBC events are based on 2013 Angler of the Year points races. The PAA Tournament Series has one event remaining in its 2013 AOY qualification for the 2014 TTBC.

The TTBC field is one of the strongest to date – field accomplishments include a combined $70 million in career earnings, 238 tournament victories, 22 AOY titles and 17 major championship wins.

Anglers will compete on Lake Conroe over three days starting Friday, with the field reduced to the top 10 for the final round on Sunday. The tournament is a non-entry fee event and all 50 competing anglers will receive guaranteed prize money.

Cherry got in a little practice Wednesday before a storm ran him off the lake. On Thursday he will be fishing in the Pro-Am, where the pros take sponsors and sponsors’ guests on the lake and try to help them catch fish.

“I will try to use that time to see what is going on with the fish,” Cherry said. “I’ll try to narrow some things down in the Pro-Am. I have an idea, but I’m not really sure yet.”

Cherry said the fish were biting okay, but most of the bites he got Wednesday were little fish.

“Some fish are hitting off points and rocks and some are hitting off docks. The lake is down and the bait is up so the fish are kind of scattered and moving around,” he said.

“That storm cooled things off and I think that will help the fishing. Another front is coming in Friday evening which should also cool things down for Saturday.”

With the top anglers from all three major circuits in the tournament, the competition will be stiff, Cherry said.

“But, everybody has the same challenge,” he added.

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

Oct 4-6, 2013

Lake Conroe

Lone Star Convention & Expo Center

www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com