Update from Arey

“You want a mid day update,” asked Matt Arey. “Tell’em I’ve got a topwater in my hand throwing a Hail Mary hoping to get a big bite!” 
To Arey’s point, he’s got a line burner and a 1-6 to get rid of which means anything he catches with any significance will give him a better than average upgrade to his day. 
Arey’s been on an upward trajectory the last few events. Sitting outside of the Classic cut following the Elite Series event at Pickwick in March, Arey attended the 2022 Bassmaster Classic announcement at Lake Hartwell a week later and noted that he needed to turn things around if he was going to have a chance to make the Classic that’s just a short drive from home where he’s experienced some success in his career. 
Since then, Arey notched a 36th place finish at the Sabine River and an 18th place finish in the last Elite Series event at Lake Fork He now finds himself just inside the Classic cut. 
The Toyota AFTCO Pro needs to notch as many points as he can here at Neely Henry and in two weeks at Guntersville where he finished third in 2019 when Jamie Hartman came from 10th on the final day to win with an early morning topwater flurry. 
Arey’s one good flurry himself from making this derby more than a points collecting event. 
Photo/Blog: Neil Paul