Canterbury Slugs 19-11, Leads Clausen By 12 Ounces

By BassFan Staff

It’s been said before and has been a familiar refrain again this week: A 10-pound day at Beaver Lake is considered a good day fishing. By that logic, Scott Canterbury did his best to cram 2 days into 1 today.

The Alabama angler walloped a 19-11 stringer, by far the best bag of the tournament, to become the third different leader in 3 days, coming from 13th place to unseat Luke Clausen with a 42-05 total. It’s worth noting that just last year Bryan Thrift parlayed a 20-08 bag on day 3 (coincidence?) into a victory at the Beaver Lake Tour Major, held in March during a pre-spawn bite.

At some of the fisheries on the tour-level schedules, a 19-pound sack is considered average, but it’s a banner day at Beaver and could prove to be a career-changer for Canterbury, who will take a narrow 12-ounce lead over Clausen into tomorrow.

“It would be awesome (to win)," Canterbury said. "I’ve been close a few times, but have never been able to pull it out. I’ve never choked or done anything wrong on the last day so I don’t have any regrets that way, but it would really mean a lot to me and my family and my career. It’s not just the money, which is a big part of it, it’s the win that matters. Just to get the win would be the pinnacle of my career so far.”

Clausen saw his production increase as well today, catching 14-05 to push his total to 41-09. It’s a 2 1/2-pound gap back to Glenn Browne, who sits in 3rd for the third straight day, with 39-00. Reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) David Dudley stuck 13-13 and crept up to 4th with 37-14 while Andy Morgan caught 11-11 to move into 5th with a 36-07 total.

The top portion of the leaderboard was pretty tightly packed through the first 2 days, but nearly 8 pounds separates Canterbury from 10th-place Jacob Powroznik now. After wholesale changes among the leaders on day 2, Canterbury was the lone angler to begin the day outside the Top 10 and seize one of the final-day spots. The rest of the leaders shuffled slightly with Scott Martin falling from 4th to 11th.

Here's a look at the Top 10 that will fish tomorrow, with deficit margin from the leader indicated by red numbers in parentheses:

1. Scott Canterbury: 42-05
2. Luke Clausen: 41-09 (00-12)
3. Glenn Browne: 39-00 (3-05)
4. David Dudley: 37-1 4(4-07)
5. Andy Morgan: 36-07 (5-14)
6. Jay Yelas: 36-05 (6-00)
7. Kelley Jaye: 35-08 (6-13)
8. Charlie Evans: 35-07 (6-14)
9. Brad Rightnour: 34-08 (7-13)
10. Jacob Powroznik: 34-06 (7-15)

The winds that rippled the water and shuffled the field on day 2 didn’t blow as fierce today. Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-70s tomorrow with a slight breeze out of the South. There’s an off chance that thunderstorms could move through the area as well.

It was only a matter of time before the umbrella rig made an appearance this week. Some competitors said they had limited success with it in practice, but just enough to have one tied up on the front deck for the tournament days. With so many fish suspending off shore, it’s proved to be a valuable tool for several of the leaders. Surprisingly, the rig has proved to be a critical tool for several of the leaders, while others have made it a part of their junk-fishing program.

Only the Top 10 will fish tomorrow when the winner will be determined by total cumulative weight.

Canterbury Knew Big Weight Was Possible

> Day 3: 5, 19-11 (15, 42-05)

Canterbury has six Top-10 finishes in Tour Majors on his résumé, including a runner-up at the 2008 Lewis Smith Lake event. To nail down his first tour-level crown, he might not need another 19-pound day, but he knows it’ll take another solid effort.

In three previous Tour Majors at Beaver, Canterbury’s average finish is 93rd with his best result coming in 2008 when he was 64th. This week, he seems to have unlocked what’s been a nemesis lake for a lot of pros over the years.

It’s not one particular pattern or program that has carried him to the top of the standings. In fact, he’s getting bit doing a number of different things, from throwing topwater plugs to cranking, pitching and throwing an umbrella rig. Judging from what he’s seen in practice over the years, he wasn’t all that surprised with his results today, which included a pair of 4 1/2-pounders.

“I know they’re out there,” he said. “I’ve caught a couple of big bags here in practice in the past, but I’ve just never put it together during a tournament. There’s the possibility of breaking 20 pounds. I didn’t do it today, but the possibility is still out there. I was just blessed to get the right bites.

“Everything I did just seemed to work. I’m junk fishing just like I like doing around the house.”

The mostly calm conditions today were similar to day 1 when he stuck 14-05, but he’s convinced he can score quality bites should the wind pick up again tomorrow.

“During practice, I really thought I would need the wind to blow to catch them,” he noted. “When the tournament started and we had calm conditions the first day, I caught them pretty good. When the wind blew yesterday, I thought I’d kill them, but I only had 8 pounds. Today, it was calm again and I caught them again, but I wouldn’t rule it out because I caught a big bag in practice with the wind blowing.

“It’s Beaver Lake. I could zero tomorrow or I could catch them again. I never know going out there. I’m fishing with confidence, but I don’t know that I’m going to go catch them. If I get the bites and it’s my turn, it’s going to happen.”

2nd: Clausen’s Big Day Overshadowed

> Day 3: 5, 14-05 (15, 41-09)

Clausen doesn’t anticipate having trouble sleeping tonight. He’s been through enough final-day dramatics that he knows what to expect so it’s unlikely nerves will get the best of the Washington pro, who’s chasing his fourth tour-level victory.

“I really don’t get nervous,” he said. “I’m going to catch as much as I can and see if they weigh more than everybody else. There’s nothing you can do about it so there’s no point in worrying about it. I’m going to plug away at it tomorrow and the stuff I’ve been fishing my weights have been really consistent. I’ve been catching 10 or 11 pounds, but I could catch 16. I just don’t know.”

He caught 15 keepers today and is mainly throwing an umbrella rig.

“My presentation changes every day and throughout the day,” he added. “I’m learning more about it as we go -- what depth and speed and different places at different times. The unknown is how many fish are here. I have a couple areas that I haven’t put much pressure on, so I guess I’m going to spend a little bit of time in them tomorrow.”

He quickly went those areas today and caught a couple fish, but left since he already had his weight.

“I may go there and catch none or catch three or four good ones,” he said.

He admits he was shocked by Canterbury’s weight, but isn’t quite ready to concede seeing he's the only angler left whose weight has improved each day.

“I was pretty amazed. If he hadn’t have caught what he did, maybe people would have clapped for me,” he said. “The good news is that opportunity is out there. The bad news is now I’ve got a little bit of a deficit. I know he caught 8 pounds yesterday so it could happen again tomorrow and I’m not sure I’m going to catch them tomorrow. It’s a grind.”

3rd: Browne Still Power-Fishing

> Day 3: 5, 12-15 (15, 39-00)

Browne has been plugging along on his largemouth-only pattern and even he was stunned by Canterbury’s weight.

“That was quite a shock to say the least,” he said. “That’s a huge bag on this lake. I’ve fished here eight or nine times and Bryan’s weight last year was impressive, but you just don’t catch that here. This lake just doesn’t have that many fish that are that big.”

He continued his power-fishing program today, targeting wood and laydowns. It resulted in just a handful of bites, but enough to guarantee an eighth career Top-10 finish in a Tour Major.

“You catch six or seven short ones and then you’ll catch a 2- or 2 1/2-pounder,” he said. “It’s just one of those deals that you have to keep working at.

“It’s taking me a good part of the day to catch them. It’s a hero or zero thing. Every morning I wake up and think, ‘I might go out and catch next to nothing.’ I keep pecking away and catch one here and there and I’m going to do the same thing tomorrow.”

He feels the reduced traffic in his area today may have led to a few more bites, a theme he hopes continues tomorrow.

“Luke’s catching them pretty consistently, it seems,” he said. “I’m not catching a lot of fish. I’m catching five or six keepers per day. It could go the other way real easy and I could not catch much of anything.”

4th: Umbrella Rig Key For Dudley

> Day 3: 5, 13-13 (15, 37-14)

Trailing Canterbury by 4 1/2 pounds doesn’t faze Dudley. In fact, he was encouraged after seeing his counterpart put up almost 20 pounds today.

“You never know what you’re going to do,” he said. “If you would’ve asked him yesterday if he thought he could catch 20 pounds, he would’ve laughed at you. Seeing him catch that gives everybody hope.”

He’s caught a fair amount of his weigh fish on the umbrella rig, which was effective in practice for him and is proving lethal on the clear, mountain lakes especially when fish tend to suspend.

“Here, it’s all about getting the bigger bites,” he added. “I only ran into one today. It was a 4-pounder, which isn’t a giant, but here it’s a good fish.”

5th: Morgan Impressed With Quality

> Day 3: 5, 11-11 (15, 36-07)

Morgan’s weight fell off nearly 2 pounds today from yestreday, but he managed to jump three slots in the standings.

“I’m kind of surprised actually,” he said. “It’s gone a lot better than I thought it would go. It’s typical Beaver. It is the land of opportunity as Canterbury proved today. There are some good ones in this joint. You just have to get lucky enough to catch them on a tournament day.”

Even though he’s won here in the past, he’s been impressed by the weights and size of he’s been catching.

“I went to some areas on day 1 and it was better than expected,” he said. “The lake is fishing better than it ever has. When I first came here years ago, it was pretty good. There were quite a few fish in here, including some nice largemouths. For several years, though, you had to catch some spots to even have a limit. Now, I guess the high water the last 4 or 5 years, the largemouths are doing a lot better. They’ve grown a little bit.”

He threw an umbrella rig all day today and got bites all day long.

“When the wind is blowing in and you have some colored water, it’s definitely the bait of choice this week,” he noted. “There are a lot of fish that are on the bank that are usually suspended out in the timber and are hard to catch. They’re up on the bank now after the shad spawn and I think that’s helped the weights out quite a bit.”

19th: Snavely Lost a Few

> Day 3: 5, 6-13 (15, 27-11)

Several lost fish that would have pushed him up the leaderboard undermined Derrick Snavely’s efforts this week. He lost a 3-pounder on day 1, a 6-plus pounder on day 2 and a few more today.

“I just try to put those things behind me and keep fishing,” the Tour rookie said after registering his first Top-20 finish.

He junk-fished most of the week and weighed fish caught on a shakey-head, crankbait and a jig. The majority of his fish came out of 2 to 12 feet of water.

“I had a pretty good week,” he said. “I had several different things going. I just ran out of fish today.

“I was real happy to make the Top 20. I felt I should have done better than I did, but I’m still learning.”

Notable

> Day 3 stats -- 20 anglers, 16 limits, 1 four, 3 threes.

Weather Forecast

> Sun., April 29 – Partly Sunny; Showers Possible - 71°/59°
- Wind: From the E/SE at 10 to 15 mph

Day 3 Standings

1. Scott Canterbury -- Springville, Al -- 14-05 (5) -- 8-05 (5) -- 19-11 (5) -- 42-05 (15)

2. Luke Clausen -- Spokane, Wa -- 13-09 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 41-09 (15)

3. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 14-08 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 39-00 (15)

4. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 12-05 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 37-14 (15)

5. Andy Morgan -- Dayton, Tn -- 11-03 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 36-07 (15)

6. Jay Yelas -- Corvallis, Or -- 14-03 (5) -- 12-02 (5) -- 10-00 (5) -- 36-05 (15)

7. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, Al -- 10-05 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 10-04 (5) -- 35-08 (15)

8. Charlie Evans -- Gilbertsville, Ky -- 12-12 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 10-03 (5) -- 35-07 (15)

9. Brad Rightnour -- Mingoville, Pa -- 12-04 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 9-07 (5) -- 34-08 (15)

10. Jacob Powroznik -- Prince George, Va -- 14-11 (5) -- 9-02 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 34-06 (15)

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.

11. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, Fl -- 12-03 (5) -- 13-07 (5) -- 8-07 (5) 34-01 (15) -- $12,500

12. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 9-01 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 11-11 (5) 32-11 (15) -- $12,500

13. Mark Rose -- West Memphis, Ar -- 10-11 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 9-15 (5) 32-07 (15) -- $12,500

14. Thanh Le -- Lake Havasu City, Az -- 13-04 (5) -- 9-08 (5) -- 9-05 (5) 32-01 (15) -- $12,500

15. Kenneth (Boo) Woods -- Hazard, Ky -- 12-02 (5) -- 9-10 (5) -- 9-14 (3) 31-10 (13) -- $12,500

16. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 10-13 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 8-10 (5) 30-00 (15) -- $12,000

17. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, Ca -- 11-01 (5) -- 12-08 (5) -- 6-01 (3) 29-10 (13) -- $12,000

18. J.T. Kenney -- Palm Bay, Fl -- 4-09 (3) -- 16-03 (5) -- 7-02 (4) 27-14 (12) -- $12,000

19. Derrick Snavely -- Rogersville, Tn -- 10-03 (5) -- 10-11 (5) -- 6-13 (5) 27-11 (15) -- $12,000

20. Chad Grigsby -- Maple Grove, Mn -- 8-04 (4) -- 12-15 (5) -- 5-01 (3) 26-04 (12) -- $12,000