“All it takes is
one spot.”
lure he chose was somehow unique or
modified. His swimbait rolled a little bet-
ter. His topwater was customized to give it
more flash. When I asked him specifics
about a lure, Thrift had the blueprint for
perfection, as if he’d spent a lifetime
throwing it. Then he picked up a different
rod and did it all over again.
Later, during the tournament, I wit-
nessed how Thrift’s confidence, blended
with his perfection of technique, produced
one more fish, or one slightly bigger than
those of nearby competitors on a commu-
nity hole. Time and again, he’d sneak in
and steal one, leaving others to wonder
how he did it.
Sticking to the Plan
66
As a slow practice day dragged on,
Thrift stuck to the plan. It was Super Bowl
Sunday, and despite most of the other
competitors calling it quits early to watch
the game, Thrift idled on, stopping occa-
sionally to make a few casts. All the while,
Thrift appeared to be seeking out the type
of water he most preferred.
“I go with the mentality that I might as
well look for schools of fish in practice,” he
said, “and if I don’t find them, I’ll go and
fish the bank, because everybody knows
how to fish the bank.”
At the end of the day, Thrift was flagged
down by a buddy for a quick recap, and
mentioned he did poorly. His friend
offered a quick rebuttal: “Yeah, right. You
probably caught 20 pounds.”
This was the first time I observed the
“aura” around Thrift that’s recognized by
nearly everyone on Tour, including the
tournament officials. Without fail, no one
believed Thrift was ever struggling. His
track record is so strong that his stature is
nearly super-human. Throughout the
event, everyone perceived him as simply
more talented, and I often wondered how
that fed into his confidence. It certainly
couldn’t hurt. In fact, Thrift is about the
only one who seems to ever question it.
Come tournament time, Thrift’s plan was
to blend fishing with more looking. He was
never satisfied with his chosen areas. Again,
this is a trait I’ve noticed in a select few star
performers: they’re always practicing, even
in the tournament. As fish change, so must
the best fishermen, often by the hour. And
there’s always a bigger fish to catch.
Thrift’s observational mindset and flexi-
ble fishing methods allowed him to move
quickly throughout the tournament with-
out worry about running out of options.
He repeated water only a handful of times
when it was apparent other things weren’t
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