Canterbury 2nd &
Cory Johnston 3rd
BASS PRESS RELEASE
Big win for Blaylock a family affair! (Photo: BASS) |
Stetson Blaylock came to
the Bassmaster Elite at Winyah Bay with one goal in mind: don’t finish last. He
accomplished that goal — and then some.
The third-year Elite Series pro from Arkansas
tallied a four-day total of 50 pounds, 15 ounces and earned a victory that was
unexpected, to say the least. He capped the win with a Championship Sunday
limit of five bass that weighed 9-3.
“I came here with the intentions of ‘Don’t ruin
your season; don’t come here and finish dead last,’” said Blaylock, who earned
$100,000 for the victory. “When I found my area, I knew it had fish, so I
thought I’d get out of here with a Top 35 and roll on to the next one. I didn’t
know it had winning potential at all.
“I look back at every bass I lost this week and
think ‘Gosh, I should’ve caught that one.’ Today, I had one good one that
jumped off that would have been another 2 pounds. When that kind of stuff
happens, you’re not supposed to win, but when it’s your time, you can’t do
anything wrong.”
Time management was essential throughout the
week. While many of his competitors ran 100-plus miles to fish various areas of
the Cooper River, Blaylock earned his first blue trophy by staying in a pond
off the Waccamaw River, about 18 minutes from takeoff at Georgetown’s Carroll
Ashmore Campbell Marine Complex.
Lined with overhanging trees, the area held
deeper water and sprouted a few tributary canals. Here, Blaylock placed 11th on
Day 1 with 11-6, rose to sixth the next day with 12-7 and surged into the Day 3
lead by sacking up a limit of 17-15, the tournament’s heaviest bag.
Today, Blaylock faced a tougher bite, but his 9-3
was enough to hold off a dramatic charge by second-place angler Scott
Canterbury, who finished just 9 ounces behind Blaylock.
“I’ve never been here before, so I went to where
I knew there were some fish,” Blaylock said. “That gave me the entire day to
fish.”
Blaylock used this rig for skipping under tree
limbs, a technique that accounted for most of his bites. He also caught a
keeper on a P-70 Pop-R — and when he found bed fish, he pitched a white YUM
Christie Craw on a 3/0 hook and a 7/16-ounce weight.
“Going out this morning with the chance to win,
all day it seemed like I had given it away,” Blaylock said. “I figured I’d
finish sixth or seventh with the way I lost so many and fished so poorly today.
But it all comes down to those key fish you get in the box.
“Winning an event like this is everything to a
fisherman. The money’s nice, but the trophy is what it’s all about.”
In second place, Canterbury’s ambitious venture
was pure Bassmaster LIVE gold, as a long run up the Cooper yielded a limit of
16-2 — the day’s heaviest catch — and gave him a total weight of 50-6. Motoring
well past where other competitors fished, the Alabama angler, who started the
day in eighth place, made a key bait change that produced 10 pounds in two
bites — a 6- and a 4-pounder — within 30 minutes.
“I went up there yesterday and I was only going to
fish about an hour just to get away from everybody, because I struggled so bad
the second day,” Canterbury said. “When I got up there yesterday I caught a
2-pounder and then a 5-pounder 10-minutes later, so I ended up staying in that
area.
“Today, I went up there and threw the same Dirty
Jigs swim jig I threw yesterday and couldn’t get them to bite it. I hadn’t
thrown a buzzbait all week. But today, with muddy water and overcast weather,
it just felt like a buzzbait day. I caught every one of my fish on that bait.”
Earlier in the day, Canterbury took advantage of
the morning’s high water to fish around spawning areas. When the outgoing tide
started draining the areas, he moved outside to the main creek channel and
caught his fish on points of vegetation out of the main current.
“It’s all about making those adjustments and
today, I made some good ones,” he said.
In
third place, Canadian Cory Johnston also fished the Cooper River, but he
focused on the expansive flats that once served as rice fields. In practice, he
had marked several key area
with hydrilla clumps and isolated hard-bottom
spots.
Targeting these spawning sites was his plan, but
the day’s conditions were not favorable.
“The water was clear, but with cloudy skies, I
couldn’t see the beds and the clear spots and that hurt me,” Johnston said. “I
could get my bait in the area, but I wasn’t able to specifically throw it on a
bed, so I had to blind cast.”
Johnston added a limit of 9-1 and finished with
49-5. He caught his fish on a wacky-rigged green pumpkin stickbait and a
homemade swim jig with a Strike King Rage Craw trailer.
Rounding out the Top 5 were Jason Williamson with
46-3 and John Crews with 46-2.
Williamson won the $1,500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass
Award with a 6-10 largemouth.
Williamson and Crews were also the two highest
finishing anglers eligible for Toyota Bonus Bucks. Williamson finished fourth
and added $3,000 to his purse, while Crews finished fifth earning a $2,000
bonus.
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