By BassFan Staff

Scott Canterbury's lengthy quest for his first FLW Tour victory ended Sunday at Beaver Lake in Arkansas. His win was the culmination of one of the most remarkable days in the annals of the long-standing derby staged annually near the birthplace of Walmart.

It was a well-earned triumph for the 40-year-old from Alabama as half of the 10 competitors who advanced to the final day caught at least 16 pounds – a feat that would've been deemed next to impossible for most of the tournament's long history. His 17-pound haul was second-best of the day – trailing runner-up Darrel Robertson's stringer by a single ounce – and his 62-07 total for 4 days kept him more than a pound clear of his pursuers.

"I thought I'd caught enough to give me a good chance," Canterbury said shortly after the final weigh-in. "But when you get back to the launch you don't know what everybody else has got and when I found out, I was nervous.

"It hasn't all settled in yet, but it's an unbelievable feeling. I've finished 2nd several times and it feels really good to finally seal the deal."

His big day thwarted the 66-year-old Robertson's quest to join Rick Clunn (St. Johns River Bassmaster Elite Series) as tour-level winners in 2016 who are past the standard retirement age. Robertson's day-best sack left him with a 61-04 total.

Third-year pro Jeff Sprague, who's been on a roll since the conclusion of the 2016 campaign, ended up 3rd with 60-13 after boxing 16-13. Reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Scott Martin was 4th with a 59-08 aggregate (16-03 on day 4) and day-1 leader JT Kenney completed the Top 5 with 57-15 in the wake of a 16-15 sack.

Here's a look at the final numbers for the remainder of the Top 10:

6. Andy Morgan: 57-12
7. Matt Arey: 55-01
8. Chris Whitson: 53-04
9. Stetson Blaylock: 51-04
10. Andrew Upshaw: 51-01

John Cox, the 13th-place finisher at Beaver, remained atop the AOY race with half the season in the books. He has a 5-point edge over Sprague and an 11-point advantage over Robertson. Martin is 19 points in arrears in the No. 5 position.



FLW
Photo: FLW

Kenney's 17-pound stringer was topped by a 4 1/2-pounder.

The lake itself made a fine showing – Tour veterans said it fished better than it ever has dating back to the event's inception two decades ago. The conditions had a lot to do with that, as much of the water was stained due to heavy rains over the winter and the weather on competition days was mostly cloudy and breezy, which is the ideal scenario for an Ozarks impoundment.

The Tour takes a 2-week break before resuming at Alabama's Pickwick Lake during the first week of May.

Great Day for Canterbury

> Day 4: 5, 17-00 (20, 62-07)

Canterbury doesn't buy into the notion that future wins will be easier to come by now that his first one is out of the way.

"It's never going to get easier because of the competition on the Tour," he said. "Everything lined up just right this week and I knew exactly what was going on. I knew what the fish were doing and I tried to stay ahead of them."

He caught about 15 keepers on day 4 and his biggest was a 4 1/2-pounder.

"It was the best day I've had here. I didn't catch 18 pounds (like he did on day 2), but I probably culled 11 1/2 pounds. I was throwing back 2 1/2-pounders.

"I missed one fish that I had on for just a second, but that was it. I fished pretty clean all week."

Jigs accounted for 19 of the 20 fish he brought to the scale – the lone exception was one that he sight-fished with a plastic craw. He spent the final 3 days up in the white river, where the water was clearing and warming rapidly and a lot of females were moving to the beds.

"I'm a jig fisherman, and if I can catch one on a jig, I'll use it," he said.

FLW
Photo: FLW

Darrel Robertson made a strong run at his first tour-level win since 1999.

After a 138th-place bomb at Lake Okeechobee to begin the year, he's now back in contention to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup. His victory gained him 50 places in the points standings – he now sits at No. 49.

Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be published this week.

2nd: Lost Fish Hindered Robertson

> Day 4: 5, 17-01 (20, 61-04)

Robertson said he got 20 jig bites on day 4, but lost seven of them. At least two of those were high-quality specimens.

"I had the opportunity to have at least two more 4-pounders, but I didn't get it done," he said. "That's fishing – sometimes that's the way it happens. I had a good tournament, though, and it was worth something to figure out that bite."

All five fish that he brought back to the launch weighed at least 3 pounds.

"I bounced around a lot today. The first 2 days I pretty much stayed in two pretty big places."

3rd: Sprague Gave it a Good Run

> Day 4: 5, 16-13 (20, 60-13)

Sprague was just a few ounces from joining Canterbury and Robertson in the 17-pound club.

"When you catch your biggest bag of the week on Sunday and still lose, you can say you gave it everything you had," he said. "I made them catch them, and they did, so I'm not disappointed. It was a good week and I'm excited about it and now I'm looking forward to going to Pickwick and catching some over there."

A 5 1/2-pounder was among the 10 keepers he caught on the final day.

FLW
Photo: FLW

Jeff Sprage caught his best bag of the week on the final day.

"I lost a 3-pounder that jumped off when I was fooling with the net. I had the rod tip up and I let it jump twice and it came off the second time. It wasn't the winning fish, but it would've closed the gap a little bit."

4th: No Regrets for Martin

> Day 4: 5, 16-03 (20, 59-08)

Martin's finish was his best of the season and his eighth straight of 23rd or better in regular-season derbies.

"I don't have any regrets," he said. "I had a light day 2 (12 pounds), but honestly, other than that, I don't know what I could've done differently. I didn't lose any fish that cost me the win.

"This place might be my favorite lake. It's a straight-up pattern lake and it's made me a better fisherman because you have to do so many different things throughout a tournament."

He handled about a dozen keepers on the final day, the best of which was a 4-pounder.

"I lost a fish that might've gained me a pound, but it wouldn't have won the tournament for me."

5th: Kenney Finishes with Flourish

> Day 4: 5, 16-15 (10, 57-15)

Kenney was another angler who came within a whisker of reaching the 17-pound mark on day 4. Despite his highest Beaver finish ever, he's still not a fan of the lake.

"A couple of the guys in the Top 10 asked me if I wanted to stay and get dinner, and I said, "Nope, I'm getting in the truck and getting down the road,''' he said. "I'm definitely happy (about the high placement), but after so many years of getting my face beat in, I just wanted to get out of there."

A 4 1/4-pounder topped his bag, which he went through 16 keepers to compile.

"If I hadn't stubbed my toe on the second day (when he caught just 9 1/2 pounds), I probably could've made a run at this thing."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits.

Final Standings

1. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 12-14 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 14-6 (5) -- 17-0 (5) -- 62-7 (20) -- $125,000

2. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 14-14 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 13-1 (5) -- 17-1 (5) -- 61-4 (20) -- $30,500

3. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 15-6 (5) -- 13-2 (5) -- 15-8 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 60-13 (20) -- $25,000

4. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 15-9 (5) -- 12-0 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 16-3 (5) -- 59-8 (20) -- $20,000

5. JT Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 18-5 (5) -- 9-6 (5) -- 13-5 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 57-15 (20) -- $19,500

6. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 12-13 (5) -- 14-5 (5) -- 16-13 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 57-12 (20) -- $18,000

7. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 12-6 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 12-4 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 55-1 (20) -- $17,000

8. Chris Whitson -- Louisville, Tn -- 14-8 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 10-4 (5) -- 53-4 (20) -- $16,000

9. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, Ar -- 14-14 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 13-9 (5) -- 10-0 (5) -- 51-4 (20) -- $15,000

10. Andrew Upshaw -- Sapulpa, Ok -- 13-2 (5) -- 14-3 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 10-9 (5) -- 51-1 (20) -- $14,000