Texas-based Toyota Motor North America proudly announces the expansion of their professional bass angling team to include Bassmaster Elite Series anglers Matt Arey and Brandon Lester.
Arey, who passed his driver’s test 22 years ago in a Toyota truck, has won nearly $1 Million in his pro angling career, and qualified for 10 Forrest Wood Cup Championships before joining the Bassmaster Elite Series this season.
“I passed my driver’s test in a 1993 four-wheel drive, extended cab, Toyota pick-up truck with BFG All Terrain tires on it. If you can’t tell that truck still means the world to me 22 years later,” smiles Arey, who holds a degree in Business Agriculture from North Carolina State.
“These days, I’m driving my fifth full-size Toyota Tundra,” says Arey. “It’s all about reliability. I’ve never had a mechanical issue with any of the five Tundras I’ve bought, and the Bonus Bucks program is a no-brainer if you’re a tournament fisherman.”
Brandon Lester is truly one of bass fishing’s brightest young stars, and he too has been a loyal Tundra owner during his short but illustrious career that includes (23) Top 20s and 3 Bassmaster Classics.
“I bought my first Tundra because I wanted to be eligible for Bonus Bucks, but it’s just a top-quality vehicle, and the huge 38-gallon fuel tank they have today is just awesome for those of us that tow a bass boat long distances,” says Lester.
“Honestly, I’m both honored and humbled to be a part of Team Toyota because there’s no other company in the world that has done more to support bass fishing during the six years I’ve been a pro than Toyota,” says Lester.
“Toyota is proud to have two Bassmaster Elite Series pro anglers who have been long-time customers, and successful in the Bonus Bucks Program join the Toyota Fishing Team,” concluded Matt Ozawa, Engagement Marketing Manager, Toyota North America.
Amid a fishing trip on the bass-starved Ohio River in the summer of 1987, Alan McGuckin’s Dad told a then 16-year-old “Guck” — “I don’t care what you do for a living, just promise me you’ll do something you love.”
Originally from Pittsburgh, McGuckin considers himself a blue-collar kid, who has been richly blessed to live-out the best piece of advice his dad ever gave him for many years now in the Tulsa area.
After earning a degree in ecology at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, where he placed radio transmitters in largemouth bass to track their habitat preferences, he moved his life to Oklahoma in 1992, where he earned a Masters in Zoology and Fisheries under the direction of Gene Gilliland at the University of Oklahoma, before then embarking on what’s now a nearly three decade long career as a marketing and media veteran in the fishing industry.
His career spans 28 years of wisdom-rich marketing experience working to strengthen brands and increase sales for Lowrance, Terminator Lures, Toyota, Yamaha Outboards, Boat U.S., Carhartt, Costa, Quantum, Vexus Boats, and Zebco.
- Member of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame voting committee, as well as a Board of Directors member for Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful
- Co-piloted the Terminator brand of premium lures from its birth to more than 10 Million pieces sold between 1997-2006.
- Has authored and published more than 800 stories on Bassmaster.com, along with several other popular bass fishing websites.
- He has generated $3 Million dollars’ worth of branded digital media since 2020, as a content creator.
- Serves as emcee for hundreds of guests at the annual Toyota Bonus Bucks Owners event.
- Avid angler, who fishes nearly every weekend when not on the road working.
- 13,000 followers on Instagram @GuckFishing.
“Guck” lives just north of Tulsa, OK at Lake Skiatook with wife Sherrie, an elementary school principal who also loves her job, and has a genuine passion for slinging a Rapala Brat crankbait on shallow points and habitat-laden flats.
