“The water is about 4 feet higher than it was last year when I was here,” Arey said. “The fish are a lot more scattered and I feel like there are a few more up shallow, but I think the tournament will be won out deep.”

Arey said it took almost 50 pounds total the first two days to make the cut for the final day in 2014, but, with the field reduced from 50 anglers in 2014 to just 35 in 2015, it might take another 10 pounds to make the cut.

“I hate to say it, but I think it will take 30 pounds a day. That’s what I am fishing for,” he said.

And to get that sized bag each day, he added, anglers will have to wade through the tons of white bass mixed in with the largemouths.

“You have to figure out a bait that you are not going to catch 10,000 white bass on,” he said, “so that means big baits – big spoons, big swim baits, big crankbaits.”

Winner of the Forrest Wood Cup as a co-angler in 2006, the Shelby, N.C. angler made the switch to the front of the boat the following year and has steadily improved his game every year. He is currently ranked 24th on the FLW Tour with two top 15s, including a win on Beaver Lake in April.

Arey owns and operates a guide business (http://www.rackandreeloutfitters.com) on Lakes Wylie and Norman with Bassmaster Elite Pro Andy Montgomery. In the off-season he enjoys bowhunting for whitetails and spending time with his wife Emily and daughter Reese.

The 2015 final field is made up of the top 15 anglers in 2014 Angler of the Year points from both the FLW and Bassmaster Elite Series. Other notable anglers include 2014 Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Greg Hackney, 2013 recipient and 2014 runner-up Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Aaron Martens, and Andy Morgan, 2014 and 2013 FLW Tour Angler of the Year.

Along with the coveted title of TTBC Champion, the anglers will be battling it out for two additional awards: the Toyota Tundra Big Bass Award and the LEER Heavy Weight Award. The Toyota Tundra Big Bass Award is new to the 2015 event. The angler who catches the single heaviest fish from any of the three days of the competition will win a 2015 Toyota Tundra. The LEER Heavy Weight Award is awarded to the angler with the heaviest total weight of fish from any of the three days of the tournament will win a LEER truck cap.

Toyota Texas Bass Classic

May 23-25, 2015

Lake Fork

Sabine River Authority

www.toyotatexasbassclassic.com