By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Scott Canterbury didn't join in on the whack-fest that occurred at Beaver Lake on April 10 when practice for the annual FLW Tour event in Arkansas got under way.

"Everybody was talking about how good it was that Sunday," he said. "I heard of people catching 25 pounds. Well, I didn't catch them like that – I caught maybe 12 or 13 pounds.

"But I didn't fish the conditions that day because I knew the conditions weren't going to be like that during the tournament."

Beaver was exceptionally accommodating to the Tour field this year. It's generosity could primarily be attributed to the stained water in the upper two-thirds of the lake, which put quality bass in a lot of places they're normally not found at this time of year. And lots of big females were still in the pre-spawn mode when practice began, feeding actively around shallow cover in the dirtier water as they prepared for the reproduction ritual.

That scenario persisted through day 1 of competition, and then began to change. The water continued to get clearer and warmer and many of the tannic-water fish completed their transition to the bedding stage. The hot crankbait bite in the mid-depths dissipated and a jig pitched closer to the bank became the predominant method for catching bass that weighed 3 pounds or more.

Canterbury and a few others stayed ahead of that progression and were rewarded with the lion's share of the prize money that was doled out after the final weigh-in. The Alabama resident's 62-07 total for 4 days was a little over a pound more than runner-up Darrel Robertson brought to the scale and garnered him his first tour-level victory in his 9th year on the circuit.

Following are some of the details.

Practice

Beaver befuddled Canterbury on his first three visits to the venue, but that changed in 2012 when he logged a 4th-place showing. His four appearances since include three more Top 20s and he's left with a five-figure check on each occasion.

This time, he resisted the temptation to head down toward the dam and mark bedding fish in the clearer water. There were a substantial number of them to be found, but the number of lookers was also great.

"Usually if there's one on a bed, that's where I'm going," he said. "But I wasn't going to go when 50 percent of the field was down there."

There were other options available in the mid-lake region and in the White River above the Highway 12 bridge. The upper part had been good to him in the past and the pockets in that portion are his preferred places to fish.

The river stretch was clearing and warming faster than the mid-lake – and he'd have a lot more if it to himself. Also, he could employ his No. 1 confidence bait – a jig – as his main weapon.

"On the last practice day, I could've had a really good bag," he said.

Competition

> Day 1: 5, 12-14
> Day 2: 5, 18-03
> Day 3: 5, 14-06
> Day 4: 5, 17-00
> Total = 20, 62-07

Canterbury caught his lightest bag of the tournament on day 1 and ended up in 32nd place. He made a huge leap to 2nd the following day, took over the lead on day 3 and maintained it on the final day when five of the Top 10 caught at least 16-03.

When he launched on day 2, he was fully committed to the river. The bag he came back with was the second-biggest of the derby, topped only by JT Kenney's 18-05 stringer on day 1 that included a 6-10 monster.

"By the time the second day came around, most of those fish had transitioned to the spawn," he said. "Some were still on wood – right before they spawn they like to get on that and rub their bellies.

"I burned down the bank and caught some fish on rock. I'd let the jig hit the bottom and hop it twice, and if nothing bit I'd reel in and pitch it again. It was exactly the way I like to fish. It just set up perfectly for me."

He began the tournament throwing a 3/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Luke Clausen Compact Pitchin' Jig for fish that were a little bit deeper. When they moved closer to dry land and onto the beds, he switched to a 1/2- or 5/8-ounce Scott Canterbury Flippin' Jig.

"Some of those fish were on steeper banks, but they were still real shallow," he said. "I could see a light spot in 2 or 3 feet of water and I'd pitch it over there. I probably caught six or seven that I weighed in off of beds, even though I couldn't see them."

He'd been in position to win heading into the final day on several past occasions and had been unable to capitalize on those opportunities. This time was different as he started day 4 with a lead of more than a pound and surrendered only an ounce of it.

Four of the five locations where he caught weigh-in fish on day 4 were places that he hadn't visited during practice or the tournament.

"The places I fished were my favorite pockets on the whole river. At my second stop I caught a 4 1/2-pounder and it was just a matter of putting the timing together.

"I was just blessed. Every time I went by that pocket I'd look to see if there was another boat in there, but I didn't fish it until (day 4)."

Winning Gear Notes

> Jig gear: 7'6" medium-heavy Halo Twilight Series rod, Ardent Apex Grand casting reel (7:1 ratio), 15- or 20-pound P-Line fluorocarbon line, 3/8-ounce Dirty Jigs Luke Clausen Compact Pitchin' Jig or 1/2- or 5/8-ounce Scott Canterbury Flippin' Jig, NetBait Paca Chunk or Paca Slim trailer (green-pumpkin).

> The Clausen jig is brand new; he said it should be on the market sometime this week.

> He used the Paca Slim to catch one sight-fish on day 2 – a 3 1/2-pounder.

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – "I think the biggest thing was confidence. I wanted to fish down the lake because every tournament this winter and spring has been won down there and the mid-lake was the dirtiest section of the the lake, but I've developed a lot of confidence over the last 4 or 5 years fishing above the bridge. I know that area – I know every pocket."

> Performance edge – "Everything that I used had to play its part."

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