It wasn't one of the many pros from our area who took home the prize out at the FLW Tour.
Matt Arey from North Carolina caught the limit of five bass Sunday (April 13) weighing 15 pounds, nine ounces to put him at a total of 20 fish weighing nearly 60 pounds over all four days. Arey took home $125,000. Arey has finished in the top 10 three times, but this is his first win. He says he has Beaver Lake to thank for that.
“The money, the hardware, the trophy is great, but just being able to do it here at Beaver Lake,” Arey said. “This is listed as my favorite lake online for many reasons. The terrain is just one of the beautiful places in the country, in the Ozark Mountains. The people here are great, the fan base. The turnout here today is one of the biggest ones I've seen in the history of a regular FLW series event. It's amazing. It's an overwhelming feeling.”
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.
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.