Who is Scott Canterbury? He’s a Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League standout from the Dixie Division (Alabama) who won that circuit’s points title in 2006. He stormed onto the FLW Tour scene his rookie season this year by claiming a second-place finish at Smith Lake last month – just his second pro-level tournament.
How does that happen? A) He’s a good fisherman, and B) he’s obviously on a bit of a roll right now. It happens in even the most random of sports like fishing: Guys just get hot. Whether it’s their fishing technique, strategy or even just an affinity for certain lakes, anglers will find themselves unable to lose. Right now, if you’re going to be making picks based on pure momentum, Canterbury’s your guy – with Brett Hite a near second.
Obviously, Canterbury likes this run from Smith Lake to Lake Norman. They’re suiting his style to a tee – whatever that style is at the moment. As a rookie, he’s been a tough pick to green-light for fantasy players. If he made your list, congratulations and good work on your part.
I’m going to forego the top 10 surprises and disappointments from day one at Norman because, frankly, as wide open as this event is there are few of either one. Canterbury, yes, is a bit of an eye-opener in the top 10, as is Kevin Lasyone, but nobody beyond that.
Besides, even though right now there are 10 pros who make up the top, there are absolutely no guarantees that any one of them will remain there tomorrow. This tournament is still way to close to call. If you knock Canterbury’s anomalous 18-pound bag out of the equation, a mere 5 pounds separates second place from 100th. That’s the weight of merely one good bass. (In fact, it’s only 1 ounce short of Canterbury’s big-bass winner today.)
In other words, it’s still a free-for-all. And everybody’s catching limits. So if your picks didn’t do so well today, don’t fret. They very well could lead the tournament after tomorrow. On the other hand, if you’re feeling smug about that Brent Crow pick, don’t get too comfortable. He, along with everybody else near the top, could fall long and hard down the standings if they don’t follow it up tomorrow.
Like everybody’s been saying, this one’s going to boil down to the guy who can accidently bump into just one or two decent fish a day. And if you can predict who that will be, you should be spending a lot more time in Vegas.