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Gitcha Blaster social fix here!
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If your email program cuts off the bottom of the email click "View this email in your browser" up top to see the whole thing. Sorry bout that – email programs keep changing stuff.
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5 Qs with 2-time NPFL winner (this season!) Scott "E" Canterbury
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How 'bout them apples! This was his 1st season fishing the NPFLs and he got 2 wins in 6 tourneys – not too shabby! Wasn't able to catch up with him after the first win, on Douglas, TN, but got him this time. Here we go:
1. One's great but what's up with 2 wins in 1 season? Did you feel any different going into 2025?
> "Not not really. I like the format...just old-school fishing.
> "If Logan Martin [his home lake] wasn't on the schedule, I might not have signed up.... It was a chance I took. The win at Douglas was super special – it was a bonus for me. But this tournament [Logan Martin] was the one I looked forward to all year."
2. Is no FFS at the NPFL helping you?
> "Yeah. I've sort of adjusted a little [to FFS] now on the Elites. ...the last year or 2 I've tried to split my practice up – do 1 day with FFS, 1 day without it. It sorta has drove me crazy.
> "You can't compete to win a tournament that allows forward-facing without using it. It doesn't matter if they're on the bed or whatever – you need to use it shallow, deep, anything and you better be good at it."
3. Had you ever won at Douglas before?
> "No. I'd only been there 1 other time: I fished there in an Open and finished 2nd. So I've got a first and a 2nd."
I guess that lake sets up right for you?
> "This time it set up the way I like to fish. The previous time David Mullins won it...the shallowest fish I caught in that tournament was 18-20'.
> "Back when I was cutting my teeth 2-3 years before that on the TN River, Kentucky, Guntersville, Pickwick, Chickamauga, everywhere...spending with my time Lowrance electronics side-imaging and dialing in the offshore bite. We went there the end of May and those fish set up really good.
> "I was using a marker buoy and backing off and catching them out deep."
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4. Ever fish Logan Martin before? 😁
> "My whole life. I grew up...probably went to Logan Martin once a year. I grew up fishing on Lay Lake. Once I got 12 years old, I started more and more going to Logan Martin. In my teenage years, when I started driving and could pull a boat...I fished Logan Martin religiously.
> "One year I was in school at Alabama, and I fished like 89 tournaments that year. I'd drive back home from Tuscaloosa and fish Mon night...drive back home and fish Wed night...fish Fri night and then fish another tournament on Saturday. Most of those tournaments were on Logan Martin.
> "It is where I learned how to tournament-fish for sure. I was ate up with it.
> "I actually caught fish back then on some of the same places I caught fish this week. Every fish I caught in the tournament the 1st day was in a place I'd never even practiced...because I knew I was gonna fish it anyhow.
> "There was a place...I think I weighed in 3, it may have been 4 – it was a place my old partner, Charles Thomas...he's been gone for 23 years – he showed me a stump that long ago...."
Follow-up: Why does it seem like there's no more home lake curse?
> "That was something I was worried about going into it. ...it's like I ran out of time every day, trying to hit too much stuff.
> "The way I love to fish that lake – flip docks, fish seawalls and fish shallow...everybody in the tournament was fishing that way. ...we didn't have much current but I knew enough offshore stuff to practice it.
> "The 3rd day of practice I caught the biggest fish I caught in practice our in 18' of water. That's not the way I like to fish that lake. I think that helped me out a lot...having to fish in a way that I've never fished [Logan Martin].
> "I fished day 1 the way I fish every 1-day tournament there – super shallow, kept it simple. But I just couldn't repeat that water and stay up with that [weight] average."
5. Both your wins this year were tight. Do you like grinder tournaments?
> "Oh I do. I love grinder tournaments. I'm not the guy who goes out and catches 25 lbs off a starting spot or anything.
> "I love those grinder-type tournaments. It's tough mentally on you. I feel like that's the type of tournaments I have an edge in a little bit...staying mentally focused and making every bite count."
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How Scott caught 'em at Logan Martin – jigs!
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Deets about how he fished:
> "Day 1 I weighed 5 quality bass and had 15 lbs. Every one of them came really shallow – less than 5', maybe less than 4'. ...fishing docks and seawalls. All spotted bass – they were up there shallow.
> Day 2 I only had 1 spotted bass...shallow, and I caught 4 largemouths out deep. The largemouths were the biggest key. ...a 6-04, a 3-12 – on different types of structure. 1-2 were on hard places, others were on brush...big one came off a hard place that had some brush on it."
[Sounds weird but he says Coosa River spots are that way – they're shallow and the largies are deep. He was fishing the lower end and had a big 17=04 the 2nd day.]
> "The 3rd day I started shallow – I had 2 2s and a limit. Then I went deep and struggled all day.
> "At 2:00 they cut the current on and I started running some that that deep stuff. I ran up where the water started getting colored up...ended up catching a 2-lber and culling a 1-12."
Shallow fish
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> "I had 2 jigs tied on – a 1/2-oz Matt Herren Flipping Jig in gp with a gp Zoom Super Chunk, and a 1/2-oz [Dirty Jigs] Luke Clausen Compact Jig in 'magic craw' with a [Strike King] Baby Rage Craw in 'blue craw.'"
> Setups: 15-lb P-Line Ultimate Fluoro, KastKing MegaJaws Elite Reels, and a 7' 3" H Khaotic Kyle Welcher Rod for the Herren jig, and a 7' 3" MH Khaotic Rod for the Clausen compact jig.
> "I was mixing up retrieves, but it seemed like I had to drag it more than anything. I did hop it, but you had to keep it on the bottom. I'd reel it 4-5' and let it go back, or I was just dragging it."
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The NPFL goes to a 30-day no info rule
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Is it just me or does the NPFL seem to have a bunch of common sense? Then again they have Fat Cat Newton so...😆 Just kiddin' Cat! Love that dude.
Anyhow, obviously the NPFL went to no-FFS, which got a bunch of tour pros to sign up, which boosted their view #s. And now the winds of common biz sense seem to be blowing in their sails again – from here:
> The [NPFL] is amending Rule 4, the "No Information Rule," so as to reduce the no-information period – which previously began on Jan 1 of each year – to begin 30 days before official practice begins.... The revised rule will be in effect for the 2026 NPFL season.
There you have it. Makes sense to me. I understand the no-info rule and why it's there, but a couple things:
1. It was put in place on hte big tours mostly to protect rookies who did not have the established pros' info networks. Now the rookies don't care nearly as much because they have FFS...and waypoints. Digitally transferred waypoints kinda moot a chunk of the no-info rule's enforceability, in my 2c.
2. As we've seen on the Elites this year, using polygraphs to police all the rules isn't real solid. And the only way we (or at least I) would ever know that's the case is if this season happened.
More from the NPFL jefe Brad Fuller:
> "Decades ago, before the internet...it was a challenge [to enforce the no info rule], and that challenge is even more burdensome now. Polygraph examinations and other truth-detection methods certainly help, but it's impractical on a league level to test every competitor....
> "...prohibiting the gathering of information for months or the better part of a year creates another problem that's just as big.... We want our anglers to be 'out there'...talking to the fans. The anglers want that, too. Just as importantly, their sponsors want it.
> "...if the pros have to worry about having a casual conversation at a gas pump or in a tackle shop because someone makes an offhand comment about a favorite lure or worm color, it's gone too far, and it only serves to make our sport less accessible and fan-friendly."
Word! I don't even joke with some pros about baits anymore in case they'd be paranoid about it being a "tip." A tip from me to them is a literal joke...unless it's about guitars lol. Anyhow, you know what I mean.
My only Q to B-Rad is: What exactly are "other truth-detection methods"? What are NPFL pros subject to in those poly trailers?? 🫣
Also, I sure hope the NPFL gets rid of instant replay...and Chiefs-biased refs...and apathetic owners...😁
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New Lucky Craft FFS hard baits
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Yep a 110mm-long double-jointed swim/glide bait that Brent says you can make turn around right in the fish's face. Love this idea – not on TW yet.
Lucky Craft Wander Slur
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TW has 'em in 70, 80 and 90 mm. 90 weighs 3/8-oz. Says it has a "tight rolling action" and Brent says he can work it all kinds of ways with that blade acting as an attractor.
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1. We lost college kayak basser Peyton Hughes
Sounds from the post like he somehow drowned at the Toledo Bend at the Bassmaster Kayak Series tourney. He was just 21 and on the Campbellsville U Kayak Bass Fishing Team. The article says his dad died at the same age while serving in Iraq.
Incredibly tough. Please lift up his mom, family and friends in prayer.
Bless you bassin' brother. ✝️🙏 It can be real tough down here Lord, but we trust in you and you alone.
2. Patrick Walters is the NPFL AOY
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Beat last year's AOY, Kyle Welcher, by 1 dang point! Here's how the top 10 ended up – you might recognize some names:
AOY Standings – 2025
1. Patrick Walters -- 1464
2. Kyle Welcher -- 1463
3. Greg Hackney -- 1418
4. Scott Canterbury -- 1408
5. Brandon Cobb -- 1408
6. Jason Burroughs -- 1381
7. Caleb Kuphall -- 1376
8. KJ Queen -- 1370
9. John Cox -- 1369
10. Drew Cook -- 1361
3. Jacob Wheeler will run a Suzuki
Wow! To get the hottest bass fisherman there is must have cost:
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😁 All the guys who run Suzukis – every single one of them – say they've never had a problem. Believe Suzuki doesn't even have a service crew for 'em because never an issue. Asked because I've been very curious about 'em....
4. Easton Fothergill listed 5 baits for fall fishing...
...in the north, and only 1 is a FFS bait (jig 'n minnow). Just in case you think the younger guys only like the minnow...or can only fish the minnow....
5. Evan Kung was catching smallies in 60' at Champlain
> The ones I was fishing for tended to stay closer to the bottom. The deepest ones I caught were in about 60', but most were in that 40-45' range.
> I know a lot of guys were catching the ones that were up high on bait balls, but I think the ones on the bottom had already fed because they were all fat.
> ...found that using a 3/8-oz jighead helped with casting accuracy. I used a 3" Great Lakes Finesse Hover Minnow when I was targeting the fish that were around the bait balls, but for the ones on the bottom, I did better with larger baits up to 7".
> This tournament was a good example of how versatile the minnow really is. You can cast it, straight reel it and hold it right over their head. You can read the mood of the fish and adjust your presentation.
6. SC: Greg Hackney will be speaking Oct 11
11:00-3:00 at the Great Outdoors Expo in Simpson. If you go, make sure you have at least one bigfoot question for him. I'm serious.
7. New 6th Sense Ben Milliken Rods are out
Is 6th Sense making sense? Cents?? 😁
8. Matt Arey is selling his Ranger
2025 Z520R, Merc, all Lowrance. If you buy it, make sure you ask him for a couple Lunkerhunt Compact Frogs to sweeten the deal.
9. "Retiree" spotted at YETI Table Rock tourney?
Look closely at the guy on the left. Is it me or does that look like someone who "retired"...just like Zona "retired"? 😁 Starting to think these guys just say they're retiring so they can have a party. 🤔😆
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Craig Lamb (left) and Randy Hopper, big congrats to 'em. I love this story:
> Hopper went to work full-time when he was 15 years old after his father's passing. He called a man who was a fishing guide at the boat dock [later bought by Jerry McKinnis] his father used to work at on the White River. The man told Hopper to stop by his factory after school the next day.
> "I walked in that night – my first night at Ranger Boats – and here's a guy sitting behind an old Army surplus desk with a blue denim jacket on and a felt cowboy hat." That man was Forrest L. Wood....
In other words, he worked his way up from the bottom. Interesting to hear him praise Irwin Jacobs – I would say about the same thing about him (positive).
Craig also got his start in Flippin, AR. He's done a LOT in our sport, but his roles have been in the background so you might not know who he is. But guys like Randy, Clunn, Parker and many others absolutely know who he is. Good job giving God the glory Craig!
I always love the inductees' stories. Check their speeches on YT.
Couple more Hall of Jusdtice and Infamy deals:
The folks at PRADCO donated $22,500 which were the proceeds from the sale of the commemorative baits honoring members of the first HOF class:
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Couple GOOD Hank Cherry jerkbait tips
From an older Bassmaster post:
> ...I also don't buy into the idea that some jerkbaits should rise, some should suspend perfectly level and some should sink. Every jerkbait I fish with falls when I stop it. There are no exceptions to this.
> When I throw a jerkbait I'm trying to make it look like an injured or sick minnow. They sink.
> The only time I want my jerkbait to come straight back to the boat is when I'm trying to get it down as deep as possible. Otherwise I always want them to run a little crooked – left or right makes no difference as long as they run off to the side.
Dang! I've been doing it wrong!
Reminder that Hank helped design the Berkley Stunna Jerkbaits, and his new jerkbait is the BassMooch HC 115.
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"...I saw this year for bed fish that you would throw a bunch of different baits and then throw one of these in there and get bit on the first cast."
- MLF BPTer Nick Hatfield talkin' 'bout fuzzy dice baits.
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You know you've got it bad – maybe more than bad – when the end of your fishing day looks like this:
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Jay Kumar's BassBlaster is a daily-ish roundup of the best (sometimes worst) and funniest stuff in bassin', hand-picked by me – Jay Kumar. I started BassFan.com, co-hosted Loudmouth Bass with Zona, was a B.A.S.S. senior writer and a bunch more in bassin'. The Blaster is the #2 daily read on any given day in the wide world o' bass so thanks for readin'!
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