and a couple patterns I can run all over
the place.”
Despite an extremely slow start, Thrift
stuck to his plan in practice at Toho, idling
and graphing, looking for subtle clues on
the edges of grass beds.
Like other top pros I’ve observed, Thrift
was extremely keen on clues given by
nature. He watched and followed birds,
made reference to a 6-inch drop in bottom
contour and claimed to be able to smell
shad in open water, all the while scanning,
looking and computing.
“All it takes is one spot.”
Dialed in on Tech
Thrift is incredibly tuned in to advances
in technology, yet guarded at the same
time. He ran every type of sonar scanning
available, and did so masterfully well. He
used every mapping chip available, too,
noting small differences from one to the
next. (A tip: He often turned off his graphs
while fishing to dim the noise associated
with them.)
Despite an affinity for the best, new
technology must be proven before Thrift
trusts it in competition. His trolling motor
was last year’s model because he was
unwilling to gamble on the latest and
greatest until it was proven to be reliable.
Yet, he’s always studying what’s new. It’s
been noted that Thrift’s sole obsession
and hobby is bass fishing, which allows
him to spend all of his energy concentrat-
ing on the task at hand and improving his
skills. His off-season is undoubtedly filled
with tweaks and practice to become a bet-
ter angler.
“If you’re the first to get on a new bait
or trend a year ahead of everybody, you
can make a lot of money,” Thrift explained.
At one point he reflected on a previous
win in Florida that affirmed what he said.
He won it on a ChatterBait, back before
anyone else knew what a ChatterBait was.
Not surprisingly, Thrift’s lure selection
matched his rod and reel collection. I don’t
think I’ve never witnessed so much tackle
packed into a bass boat. Personally, I can’t
imagine processing all of his lure choices.
Yet, I wonder if that’s another one of
Thrift’s strengths. Perhaps his mind works
in a more advanced way than most people
with regard to all those potential choices.
He never seemed overwhelmed or disor-
ganized when searching out a new lure or
refining it to a masterpiece.
It must be mentioned that Thrift’s lure
choices were far from ordinary. Sure, there
was plenty of emphasis on the baits we all
know as Thrift staples, such as small swim-
baits and Damiki plastics. But nearly every
THIS SERIES OF PHOTOS WAS CAPTURED BY THE AUTHOR DURING HIS TIME
AS THRIFT’S MARSHAL AT THE LAKE TOHO FLW TOUR EVENT IN FEBRUARY