ROGERS, Ark. (April 13, 2014) – FLW Tour pro Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., caught a five-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 9 ounces Sunday to win $125,000 at the Walmart FLW Tour at Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac with a four-day cumulative total of 20 bass weighing 59-3.
Arey’s winning stringer gave him the win by a 1-pound, 9-ounce margin over Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., who caught a total of 20 bass weighing 57-10 and earned $30,000.
“The key for me this week was the jig pattern,” said Arey, who earned the first professional victory of his career since winning the Forrest Wood Cup as a co-angler in 2006. “I noticed in practice that the water level had come up quite a bit and I figured that during the tournament it would be falling. So I tried to fish areas that I thought were more consistent and not as affected by the weather.
“I knew the fish were wanting to spawn, so I keyed in on spawning areas,” Arey continued. “I was catching them on rock transitions from the mouth of the spawning pockets all the way back. My bait was a small green-pumpkin-colored finesse jig with a green-pumpkin Wackem Baits twin-tailed trailer. I used three different sizes, depending on the wind.”
Arey said that he loves fishing Beaver Lake each year and that the White River impoundment is his favorite lake in the country.
“I love these natural Ozark lakes because you can read the shoreline,” Arey said. “I also love this place because it features all three species of bass. It’s almost like saltwater fishing. When I set the hook I don’t know if I’m catching a 3-pound spotted bass, a 3-pound smallmouth or a 3-pound largemouth.”
When asked if this win compared at all to his win as a co-angler at the Forrest Wood Cup, Arey said there was no comparison.
“It’s not even close,” Arey said. “This one is special. I’ve been flying under the radar and I’m cool with that because I’m making my living by doing what I love. But winning events of this caliber, the biggest events in the world, can make you a household name in fishing. Lake Murray and the Forrest Wood Cup this year are only two hours from my house. I don’t have a whole lot of experience on it in the late summer, but I definitely will if I can make it.”
The top 10 pros finished the tournament in:
1st: Matt Arey, Shelby, N.C., 20 bass, 59-3, $125,000
2nd: Livingston Lures pro Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 20 bass, 57-10, $30,000
3rd: Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 54-14, $25,000
4th: Travis Fox, Rogers, Ark., 20 bass, 54-8, $20,000
5th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 20 bass, 53-2, $19,000
6th: Micah Frazier, Newnan, Ga., 15 bass, 52-7, $18,000
7th: Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., 20 bass, 50-0, $17,000
8th: Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., 20 bass, 48-14, $16,000
9h: Repel pro Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., 20 bass, 48-13, $15,000
10th: Walmart pro Mark Rose, West Memphis, Ark., 20 bass, 46-11, $14,000
Final results for the remaining field can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.
Overall there were 50 bass weighing 140 pounds even caught by pros Sunday. Each of the final 10 pros brought a five-bass limit to the scale.
Mike McDonald of Randleman, N.C., won the co-angler division and $25,000 Saturday with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 24 pounds, 10 ounces, followed by Todd Lee of Jasper, Ala., in second place with 14 bass weighing 23 pounds, 1 ounce worth $7,500.
Pros competed for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the 2014 Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. The top 35 anglers in the point standings from the six events on the 2014 Walmart FLW Tour will qualify. The 2014 Forrest Wood Cup will be in Columbia, S.C., Aug. 14-17 on Lake Murray and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country. Anglers could win as much as $500,000 – professional bass-fishing’s richest prize.
The FLW Tour stop on Beaver Lake presented by Rayovac was hosted by Visit Rogers. It was the fourth of six events in the Walmart FLW Tour’s 2014 season. The fifth Walmart FLW Tour event of 2014 will be held at Pickwick Lake June 5-8 in Florence, Ala., and is presented by Straight Talk. The event will be hosted by Florence/Lauderdale Tourism, and boats will launch from McFarland Park in Florence. For a complete schedule, visit FLWOutdoors.com.
Coverage of the Beaver Lake tournament will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when “FLW” airs June 14 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET. The Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.
For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.
ABOUT FLW
FLW is the industry’s premier tournament-fishing organization, providing anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2014 over the course of 229 tournaments across five tournament circuits, four of which provide an avenue to the sport’s richest payday and most coveted championship trophy – the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW tournament fishing can be seen on the Emmy-nominated “FLW” television show and is broadcast to more than 564 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the “Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water.” For more information about FLW visit FLWOutdoors.com and look for FLW on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube.
