With Water On Rise, Leaders Focused Shallow

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

Shallow then deep. Deep then shallow. Brush or ledges.

The decisions facing Elite Series anglers at Lake Eufaula right now don’t seem all that sophisticated, but with $100,000 on the line each move is laced with increased gravity. Timing when to change things up or to stay committed is a constant struggle being waged on the Chattahoochee River impoundment this week.

Through two days, Matt Arey feels like he’s played his cards right by opting to focus on mostly shallow areas. He backed up a 20-06 effort from day 1 with a day 2-best 22-15 to surge into the lead at the halfway point of the first Elite Series derby in four months. His 43-05 total has him 1-11 ahead of fellow North Carolina native Jake Whitaker, who also sacked 20-plus pounds for a second straight day.

“It’s always good to be on top,” Arey said. “A lot of guys say they don’t want to be leading, but I think they’re full of crap. You always want to be leading because these guys don’t cut you any slack. Any time you can get a leg up, I’ll take it. We’re only at the halfway point, though, so it’s going to be interesting from here on out.”

Reigning Angler of the Year Scott Canterbury tallied 20-13 today and sits an ounce behind Whitaker with 41-09. Rookie Kyle Welcher is 4th with 41-02 after he bagged 20-15. Fellow rookie Caleb Kuphall rounds out the top 5 with 40-14, which includes the 22-02 he caught today.

Day-1 leader Bill Lowen slipped to ninth after hauling in 16-08. Ten anglers cracked the 20-pound mark today and the threshold for day-3 qualification (top 40) wound up at 31-10.

With the water continuing to rise ever so slightly, it’s been tempting for some to meander toward the bank. Count Arey and Whitaker among that bunch. Arey, a two-time FLW Tour winner who’s now in his second Elite Series season, weighed the pros and cons of concentrating deep in the days following a three-day tournament that was dominated by ledge fish and landed on a shallow program that has him atop the leaderboard with the 87-man field now cut down to 40.

Mark Menendez withdrew from the tournament prior to day 1 with a lower back injury that he said won’t require surgery. Kelley Jaye also withdrew from the tournament late Wednesday afternoon for personal reasons, according to a post on his Instagram page.

The forecast calls for another day of blazing sunshine and temperatures in the high 80s Friday.

Arey was 13th after day 1, but he felt like he could’ve been leading.

“Yesterday I’ve never been more disappointed to weigh in 20 pounds,” he said. “I had a real opportunity at a mega-bag in the mid to upper 20s. Today, everything worked out. I didn’t lose any and executed well.”

Seven of the 10 fish Arey has weighed in have been caught shallow, where he’s mixing between flipping and some topwater baits. The three exceptions came today. His stringer was anchored by a 6-05 kicker.

“I’m not rotating through deep stuff like some guys,” he said. “My goal was to start shallow and do the brush-pile deal, too, but the water has been coming up for several days in a row and it’s about a foot higher than it was last week for the FLW Series. This lake has a lot of cover to offer so when it comes up a foot, that’s a lot in June.”

But he knows what he’s up against with some of his competitors zeroed in on the ledges or deep brush piles.

“This lake can torch you shallow because it’s so beautiful when you see it,” Arey said. “When the ledges are on fire, that’s tough to beat. My goal was to not fish ledges because the FLW Series guys busted up all of the schools. I tried to find some sneaky piles and see what the shallow bite would turn into with the rising water. It’s played into my hands and it’s working so far.”

Whitaker’s decision to go shallow is rooted in a simple concept that arose during practice. So far, his instincts have been correct.

“You get a little tired of idling for five hours, so you go check a few docks and catch some, then you realize there are some fish shallow,” he said after bagging 20-08 today.

He recycled some areas today, so his challenge on day 3 will be to locate some more productive stretches where he can target docks and throw a frog along the bank.

“I’m not saying I can’t back it up with another good day because I think I can,” he said. “They’re there. I’m just going to have to work a little harder. The water coming up has been a great thing. The lake being full is certainly helping the shallow bite. Whether it wins is yet to be seen.”

Canterbury arrived at Eufaula this week with his mind made up that he wasn’t going to get sucked in to fishing the bank. So far, he’s stayed mostly true to that, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to stay on the 20-pounds-per-day pace he thinks it’ll require to have a shot at winning. His key baits so far have been an 11-inch NetBait C Mac worm, a 5/8-oz. Dirty Jigs jig along with a crankbait.

“I’ve gotten my teeth kicked in here too many times shallow,” he said. “I know there are a lot of shallow fish, but staying deep has paid off. In the last two hours of practice, I found two of the best places I’ve been fishing.”

He noted the fishing was much slower today in terms of the number of bites he got, but the afternoon has been the best time for big fish each day.

“I don’t mind that because I feel like you’ll get good bites if you stay at it,” he said.

He stayed at it offshore until 1 p.m., then he sampled some shallow areas where he caught a 3- and a 4-pounder to help him upgrade his total. He’s leary the shallow bite may be a bit of a mirage as the post-front conditions set in. That’s why he’s committed mostly to brush piles, which are typically more productive the higher the sun gets.

Weather Forecast

> Fri., June 12 – Mostly Sunny - 89°/67°
- Wind: Light and variable

> Sat., June 13 – Mostly Sunny - 87°/65°
- Wind: From the NE at 5 to 10 mph

Day 2 Standings

1. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 43-05 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 20-06 -- Day 2: 5, 22-15

2. Jake Whitaker -- Fairview, NC -- 10, 41-10 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-02 -- Day 2: 5, 20-08

3. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 41-09 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 20-13

4. Kyle Welcher -- Opelika, AL -- 10, 41-02 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 20-03 -- Day 2: 5, 20-15

5. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 10, 40-14 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 22-02

6. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 10, 40-12 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 22-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12

7. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 10, 40-03 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 19-03 -- Day 2: 5, 21-00

8. Kyle Monti -- Okeechobee, FL -- 10, 39-15 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 22-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00

9. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 39-12 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 23-04 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08

10. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 10, 39-09 -- 91 -- $1,000
Day 1: 5, 22-02 -- Day 2: 5, 17-07

11. Drew Benton -- Blakely, GA -- 10, 39-08 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 20-12 -- Day 2: 5, 18-12

12. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 10, 38-15 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 21-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-02

13. Chad Pipkens -- Lansing, MI -- 10, 38-05 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 20-13 -- Day 2: 5, 17-08

14. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 10, 38-03 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 21-14

15. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 38-02 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 19-13 -- Day 2: 5, 18-05

16. Clent Davis -- Montevallo, AL -- 10, 37-10 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 20-05 -- Day 2: 5, 17-05

17. Patrick Walters -- Summerville, SC -- 10, 37-08 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 21-01

18. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 10, 37-08 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 19-03

19. Buddy Gross -- Chickamauga, GA -- 10, 37-05 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 16-14 -- Day 2: 5, 20-07

20. Drew Cook -- Midway, FL -- 10, 37-03 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 18-09

21. Todd Auten -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 10, 37-00 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 21-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01

22. Gary Clouse -- Winchester, TN -- 10, 35-15 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08

23. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 10, 35-12 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 18-13 -- Day 2: 5, 16-15

24. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 35-11 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 15-12 -- Day 2: 5, 19-15

25. Skylar Hamilton -- Dandridge, TN -- 10, 35-10 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-01

26. Garrett Paquette -- Canton, MI -- 10, 35-04 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 19-07 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13

27. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 35-04 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-00 -- Day 2: 5, 16-04

28. Lee Livesay -- Gladewater, TX -- 10, 34-07 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 21-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12

29. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 34-07 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 17-15

30. Frank Talley -- Temple, TX -- 10, 34-02 -- 71
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 18-02

31. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 10, 33-15 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 18-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

32. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 33-08 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02

33. Hunter Shryock -- Newcomerstown, OH -- 10, 33-05 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 21-08

34. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 33-00 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-01

35. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 32-05 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 18-03 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02

36. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 10, 32-02 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10

37. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 10, 31-15 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 19-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11

38. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 10, 31-13 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 14-05

39. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 31-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 18-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04

40. Brandon Card -- Knoxville, TN -- 10, 31-10 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 16-07 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

The following anglers missed the cut and will not compete on day 3.

41. Shane Lineberger -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 31-03 -- 60 -- $7,500
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 16-13

42. Taku Ito -- Chiba, Japan -- 10, 31-02 -- 59 -- $7,500
Day 1: 5, 18-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02

43. Jeff Gustafson -- Keewatin, Ontario -- 10, 31-02 -- 58 -- $7,500
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-10

44. Jesse Tacoronte -- Kissimmee, FL -- 10, 31-01 -- 57 -- $7,500
Day 1: 5, 15-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13

45. Derek Hudnall -- Baton Rouge, LA -- 10, 30-14 -- 56 -- $7,500
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 15-12

46. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 30-12 -- 55 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 16-14

47. Cody Hollen -- Beaverton, OR -- 9, 30-09 -- 54 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 20-14 -- Day 2: 4, 09-11

48. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 30-09 -- 53 -- $5,000
Day 1: 5, 17-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01

49. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 30-08 -- 52 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 16-12

50. Jason Williamson -- Wagener, SC -- 10, 30-08 -- 51 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02

51. Bob Downey -- Hudson, WI -- 10, 30-08 -- 50 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 15-15

52. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 30-08 -- 49 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-13

53. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 30-05 -- 48 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01

54. Quentin Cappo -- Prairieville, LA -- 10, 30-02 -- 47 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 18-07

55. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 10, 30-01 -- 46 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-15 -- Day 2: 5, 17-02

56. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 10, 30-00 -- 45 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01

57. Bill Weidler -- Helena, AL -- 10, 29-15 -- 44 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06

58. Chris Groh -- Spring Grove, IL -- 10, 29-12 -- 43 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-06

59. Chris Johnston -- Peterborough, Ontario -- 10, 29-09 -- 42 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04

60. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 10, 29-07 -- 41 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-02

61. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 10, 29-01 -- 40 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-12 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05

62. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 10, 29-00 -- 39 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12

63. Greg DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 9, 28-15 -- 38 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 4, 11-06

64. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, Australia -- 10 -- 28-13 -- 37 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04

65. Mike Huff -- Corbin, KY -- 10, 28-10 -- 36 -- $3,500
Day 1: 5, 18-06 -- Day 2: 5, 10-04

66. Micah Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 28-00 -- 35 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 14-00 -- Day 2: 5, 14-00

67. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 27-14 -- 34 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01

68. Cory Johnston -- Cavan, Ontario -- 10, 27-14 -- 33 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-13 -- Day 2: 5, 14-01

69. Rob Digh -- Denver, NC -- 10, 27-09 -- 32 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-08 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01

70. Rick Morris -- Lake Gaston, VA -- 10, 27-03 -- 31 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 11-02

71. Jay Yelas -- Lincoln City, OR -- 10, 26-08 -- 30 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13

72. David Fritts -- Lexington, NC -- 10, 25-07 -- 29 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-11 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12

73. Destin DeMarion -- Grove City, PA -- 10, 24-07 -- 28 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 09-04 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03

74. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 10, 24-05 -- 27 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12

75. Dale Hightower -- Mannford, OK -- 10, 23-13 -- 26 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 09-11 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02

76. Chad Morgenthaler -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 10, 23-12 -- 25 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-12

77. Brian Snowden -- Reeds Spring, MO -- 10, 23-09 -- 24 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09

78. Tyler Carriere -- Youngsville, LA -- 8, 23-03 -- 23 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 15-05 -- Day 2: 3, 07-14

79. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 10, 22-09 -- 22 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08

80. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, TX -- 10, 22-01 -- 21 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 10-07

81. Harvey Horne -- Bella Vista, AR -- 9, 21-15 -- 20 -- $2,500
Day 1: 4, 08-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03

82. Randy Pierson -- Oakdale, CA -- 10, 21-14 -- 19 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 08-04

83. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 8, 21-05 -- 18 -- $2,500
Day 1: 3, 08-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02

84. Robbie Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 20-14 -- 17 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 11-10 -- Day 2: 5, 09-04

85. Brett Preuett -- Monroe, LA -- 8, 20-04 -- 16 -- $2,500
Day 1: 5, 13-04 -- Day 2: 3, 07-00

86. Kelley Jaye -- Dadeville, AL -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00

86. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 0, 00-00 -- 0
Day 1: 0, 00-00 -- Day 2: 0, 00-00