Alabama pro leads the Bass Cat Boats NPFL Stop 6 at Lake Dardanelle powered by MillerTech Batteries with 18-5.

 

Day One of the final event of the 2026 season is complete, and Alabama angler Scott Canterbury leads the Bass Cat Boats NPFL Stop 6 at Lake Dardanelle powered by MillerTech Batteries with 18-5. Sunny skies and temperatures pushing into the upper 90s made for a tough bite across the board, but Canterbury found the quality bites needed to take the early lead. Josh Butler sits just seven ounces back in second with 17-14.

Hunter Sales finished the day in third with 17-11, followed closely by Jason Burroughs with 17-10 and Joey Bloom with 17-5 to round out the top five. Rickey Morris took Day One Big Fish honors with a 6-9 kicker.

Scott Canterbury

With practice tough and this being his first trip to Lake Dardanelle, Alabama angler Scott Canterbury was a bit frustrated after his three days leading into tournament morning. One day produced just one keeper, another three and his best day eight. The bigger bites were lacking, though—until Day One.

“I sure picked a good day to get a couple big bites,” said Canterbury. “But by no means was it ‘good’ out there today. Today was the best all-around day I have had. In practice, I fished dam to dam and saw every inch of this place, but it was hard to get anything figured out.”

Canterbury put 18-5 on the scales despite getting just seven bites throughout the day. Typically, tournament day can help anglers put together some of the clues they found in practice, but with the heat bearing down on Dardanelle, Canterbury still feels like things are somewhat random. He learned a little more Wednesday, but not enough to feel comfortable heading into Day Two.

“I think new water is key, finding something fresh,” he said. “But out here, there isn’t anything fresh. You are always fishing right ahead of or behind someone, so I think it comes down to small subtleties and throwing different things. I have a few adjustments I will make tomorrow, but it was a grind.”

Josh Butler

Similar to Canterbury, Josh Butler had never seen Lake Dardanelle before official practice began. Knowing the hot, sunny weather was likely to make fishing tough, Butler skipped the map study and videos beforehand, instead arriving with an open mind and spending three days looking for any clues the lake would give him.

“I really didn’t do any map study or watch any videos. I wanted a fresh mind for practice,” he said. “With the no-rain, hot, sunny conditions, I figured bites were going to be hard to come by, and they were. Overall, my best five in practice were only 11 to 12 pounds. Today, I treated it like a fourth practice day, but focused on the better stuff I had found.”

That fourth day turned out to be his best by far. Butler weighed 17-14 and found success both shallow and offshore, giving him a few more options to consider before Day Two.

“I found a few things today that surprised me,” he said. “One was a really shallow deal where I caught 12 to 14 fish today, including a weigh fish. After that is when it went down. I got into an area and had a flurry. With the pressure and a full field, I’m not sure how things will change, but I feel like I need to start there in the morning.”

On his way back to weigh-in, Butler made a quick stop on an offshore spot that produced another keeper and a last-minute cull. With roughly 30 minutes remaining, he used the rest of his time to look for more similar water rather than continue fishing, leaving him with a decision to make Thursday morning.

“Some guys saw me catch a few, but I don’t know if it’s timing or what,” he added. “I found some more offshore spots this afternoon that seemed promising. It’s probably going to be a decision I have to make in the morning.”

Queen Extends Work Sharp NPFL Lead

Birge struggled on Day One, finishing 73rd with 5-13, while Queen did exactly what he needed to do, putting 14-10 on the scales to finish 16th and create some separation in the AOY race. But Birge is far from done. He has made a habit of battling back from tough starts this season, and with two days remaining, Queen knows the race is not over yet. But his job is done for the first day.

Day One Leaderboard

Scott Canterbury 18-5
Josh Butler 17-14
Hunter Sales 17-11
Jason Burroughs 17-10
Joey Bloom 17-5
Brock Mosley 17-2
Gary Adkins 17-1
Matthew McBee 16-15
Ray Hanselman 16-5
Brad Staley 16-4
Wes Logan 15-15
Logan Latuso 15-7
Bill Lowen 15-1
Chip Harrington 14-14
Kyle Glasgow 14-14
Kristopher Queen 14-10
Austin Garland 14-9
Scott Suggs 14-8
Josh Hooks 14-5
Jason Williamson 14-3
Greg Vinson 14-2
William Fletcher 13-14
Garrett Smith 13-12
Troy Roder 13-8
Hunter Baughman 13-0
Adam Savage 12-15
Brad Whatley 12-15
Mitchell Webb 12-11
David Williams 12-6
Gerald Spohrer 12-5
Dustin Williamson 12-4
Cliff Crochet 12-3
Randall Tharp 12-1
Scott Wiley 11-12
Jordan Osborne 11-12
Luke Clausen 11-9
Gerald Swindle 11-7
Darrell Davis 11-1
Kevin Rogers 10-15
Drew Cook 10-12
John Cox (GA) 10-11
Timothy Reams 10-10
Derek Lehtonen 10-5
Greg Hackney 10-4
Jared Lintner 10-2
Rickey Morris 10-0
Brandon Cobb 9-9
Buddy Gross 9-9
Ryan Satterfield 9-4
Jon Canada 9-1
Jacob Powroznik 9-1
Matt Herren 9-1
Andy Morgan 8-14
Shane Lineberger 8-13
Paul Browning 8-11
Mike Quinlin 8-9
Nick Brown 8-4
Lavoyd Lemmond 8-4
Joseph Lineberry 8-1
Jason Reyes 7-13
Harmon Davis 7-12
James Watson 7-11
Alton Wilhoit 7-7
Darrel Robertson 7-7
Jason Wilson 7-4
Michael Comeau 7-4
James Niggemeyer 6-14
JT Russell 6-12
Chad Grigsby 6-6
Josh Watkins 6-3
Barron Adams 6-0
Chris Baker 5-15
Zack Birge 5-13
Dustin Reneau 5-12
Charlie Apperson 5-12
David Wootton 5-8
Troy Broussard 5-8
Christopher Whisenant 5-5
Fred Roumbanis 5-5
Stacey James 4-7
Todd Goade 4-6
Richard Cooper 4-5
Harry Moore 4-5
Sean Alvarez 4-5
Dylan Freeze 4-4
Johnnie Adams 4-2
Travis Jewell 4-0
Jason Meninger 3-10
Lendell Martin 3-7
Wesley Gore 3-5
Pete Ponds 3-5
Alex Davis 3-2
Quentin Cappo 3-1
Russ Lane 2-9
John Cox (FL) 2-7
Corey Casey 2-2
Ron Johnson 1-15
Chad Marler 1-15
Keith Bardolf 1-14