ROGERS -- Matt Arey of Shelby, N.C., appeared to be a noncontender after Thursday's first round of the Wal-Mart FLW bass tournament on Beaver Lake, but he put himself in position Friday to win the event for the third consecutive year.
Arey cost himself about 90 minutes of fishing time Thursday when he hit a boulder and destroyed the lower unit on his outboard motor. He finished the first round with 12 pounds, 6 ounces.
With a full day of fishing and renewed confidence, he weighed in five bass Friday weighing 17-8 for a two-day total of 29-14. That was good enough to end the day in fourth place, which got him into today's top 20 cut behind former Forrest Wood Cup champion Darrel Robertson (31-2) of Jay, Okla., Scott Canterbury (31-1) of Springville, Ala., and Jimmy Houston (30-0) of Cookson, Okla.
Rounding out the top 10 were Jeff Sprague (28-8) of Point, Texas, Bryan Schmitt (28-5) of Deale, Md., Kurt Mitchell (27-15) of Milford, Del., J.T. Kenney (27-11) of Palm Bay, Fla., Benton's Stetson Blaylock (27-11) and Jeff Gustafson (27-11) of Keewatin, Ontario.
Robertson, who was the most consistent angler in the first two rounds, said he started Friday in a different spot than Thursday, but he didn't get the results he wanteduntil late in the day.
"Went to one place caught a limit, but they were all small fish," Robertson said. "I went to my 'big fish' place, and there were 20 boats in there. I went back to my 'limit place' and caught two big ones."
Robertson said it's easy to catch 8-9 pounds on Beaver Lake, but he can catch 10-12 pounds without a big fish. One big fish at that rate would boost him into the 14-16 pound range.
Canturbury, who trails Robertson by 1 ounce, boosted his first-day weight by more than 5 pounds, so he's riding a stronger trend. He said the lake is in perfect condition to suit his diverse style.
"I pretty much got it narrowed down to three baits, but I caught all the fish I weighed in today on two baits," Canturbury said. "It's not going to get better, but it could stay good."
Weather and water conditions are changing daily on Beaver Lake, but Canterbury said there's little that can happen that will derail him.
"I learned a long time ago on Beaver Lake that you have to fish they conditions, and you might have to change what you're doing several times a day," Canturbury said. "The first time or two I came here, I thought it was the worst lake on the whole tour. Since then it's been one of my favorites."
Houston, 71, whose television show Jimmy Houston Outdoors has been one of the most popular hunting and fishing programs for around 30 years , is fishing the same area as Arey, but he's catching smaller fish. Even so, he said he's fishing a comfortable style, and that a couple of good breaks could break the tournament open for him.
"I've got one really sweet pocket, but I had a lot of company in that area," Houston said. "Three out of the five fish I weighed in [Thursday] and and four of the five I weighed in [Friday] came out of that same pocket. There's big fish there. Maybe [today] will be my day to catch the big ones."
Houston said he's catching his fish on spinnerbaits, and Arey is catching his on jigs and probably swimbaits.
"Matt is catching more fish than I am," Houston said. "I felt like I could catch better quality, but he proved that wrong today."
Arey overcame Thursday's bad luck and an uncharacteristic case of flightiness Friday by settling into an area and working it thoroughly. Fish cooperated, and he capitalized.
"It put me in striking distance," Arey said. "It's Day 2 of a four-day tournament. It's halftime, and I have to catch them all four quarters."
Today's weigh-in begins at 4 p.m., at the Wal-Mart in Rogers on Walnut Street. The top 10 anglers after today's round will fish Sunday in the championship round.
Sports on 04/16/2016