Canadians Gustafson 42nd, Chris Johnston 59th & Cory Johnston 68th
By Bryan Brasher
By Bryan Brasher
BASS Press Release
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| Two 20lb limit vaults Arey into lead a shallow bite picks up. (Photo: BASS) |
For the first two days of the DEWALT Bassmaster Elite at Lake Eufaula, the burning question has been, “Should I fish shallow or should I fish deep?”
At least for now, the answer seems to be, “Both.”
North Carolina pro Matt Arey caught five bass during Thursday’s second round that weighed 22 pounds, 15 ounces. Combined with his Wednesday catch of 20-6, he now has a two-day total of 43-5 and less than a 2-pound lead over his closest competition.
A combination of shallow and deep fishing has led to Arey’s success.
“I’ve started shallow both days, but I’m bouncing back and forth between the two,” he said. “That works for me. I’ve never really had a ‘strength,’ so to speak. When I started fishing professionally, I wanted to learn a little bit of everything.”
Of the 10 bass he has weighed in so far, Arey said seven came from shallow water and three came deep. Those three deeper fish bit for him Thursday, but his biggest bass during the second round — a 6-5 largemouth — came from shallow grass.
“I rolled into a spot and saw some bream instantly, and I saw this bass cruising,” Arey said. “I couldn’t tell how big it was because it was pretty far down the bank.
“But I threw my frog in there, and it got hung on a piece of grass.”
Things got better from there.
“The bass turned immediately when it heard the frog touch the water, and I twitched it really fast to get it out of that grass,” he said. “It grabbed the actual legs of the frog, pulled it down and then just sucked it right in.
“If I hadn’t been able to see the fish, I would have jerked when the frog first disappeared and probably missed it.”
Arey said it’s no real secret that his deeper fish are coming off the brushpiles that seem to dot Lake Eufaula by the thousands. But rising water — the lake is up more than 1 1/2 feet — and an abundance of shallow cover are making it hard right now to leave the shoreline.
He said he’ll likely continue bouncing back and forth for the remainder of the tournament.
“I don’t have much experience here,” he said. “But obviously, you look around the bank and you see a lot of good stuff. It can draw a man to the bank pretty easily — and with the water up like it is right now, it’s hard to resist.”
Another North Carolina pro, former Elite Series Rookie of the Year Jake Whitaker, caught 20-8 Thursday and now sits in second place with 41-10. Unlike Arey, Whitaker spent all of his time shallow Thursday — and he didn’t seem sure he’d have enough fish left to keep his momentum rolling.
