While many anglers this time of year hope for a warming trend to bring the bass up shallow, Hank Cherry is hoping the weather front moving across Bull Shoals Lake cools things down, especially if it comes with a little wind.

After a few days of practice for the Bassmaster Elite Series Bull Shoals Quest which begins Thursday, the Maiden, N.C., pro characterized fishing on Bull Shoals to fishing “in a bathtub.”

“It is beyond clear. You can see down 25 feet,” he said.

Thunderstorms were expected to roll across the 45,000 acre lake on the White River in in the Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas and southern Missouri Wednesday, bringing a drop in temperatures and the wind Cherry wants for his fishing strategy.

“I caught quite a few fish on the second day of practice and right now I think I can catch them if we get the kind of weather they are talking about. I’d like to see what the storms and colder weather do to get the water temperature back down,” said Cherry who is fishing Bull Shoals for the first time.

“On the main lake the water temperature has been 56-57 degrees and in the backs of the coves it’s been up to 65 degrees,” he noted.

But the main factor, he said, will be the wind.

“I think I am fishing deeper than most of the guys. I’m fishing a lot of places like where a main channel bumps up on points and where little ditches come through, things like that,” he said.

“I’ve not seen a lot of guys in practice doing what I am doing. I’m pretty much making six or seven casts on a spot and then I’m gone.”

Cherry has been riding high since qualifying for his first Bassmaster Classic by winning the final 2012 Southern Open on Smith Lake at Jasper, Ala., by one ounce last October, after moving to B.A.S.S. following a successful career in FLW competition. He finished third in the Classic on Grand Lake of the Cherokees at Tulsa, Okla., in February.

The win also propelled him into the Bassmaster Elite Series this year where he is currently 5^th in the Elite Rookie Standings. In the two elite tournaments he has fished so far this year he placed 40^th in the series opener on the Sabine River March 14-17 and followed that with a 68^th place finish on Falcon Lake March 21-15.

Hoping to climb in the rookie points, Cherry said he is anxious to get past Bull Shoals and on to the next Elite tournament.

“Once we get out of here, things will be pretty much normal for me,” he said, noting that future tournaments are on lakes more suited to his style of fishing.

“I am looking forward to West Point (May 2-5). I like that lake a lot. I’ve only fished one tournament there, but I have had some very good times there,” he said.

Bassmaster Elite Series Bull Shoals Quest

Apr 18-21, 2013

Bull Shoals Lake

Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock

www.bassmaster.com