ON TOUR
FLW TOUR
FLW TOUR | LAKE CUMBERLAND
BURNSIDE, KY.
By Curtis Niedermier
WINNING ANGLER
Bryan thrift
Shelby, N.C.
Winning Weight:
70-02 (20 fish)
details:
April 12-15, 2018
Presented by General
Tire
98
ryan Thrift is widely regarded as one of the most ver-
satile anglers on the FLW Tour. His fishing style
requires him to be. Typically, Thrift loves to run and
gun and fish dozens of targets per day. It’s not out of the
question for him to toss a dozen lures in the process. Every
corresponding technique must be executed correctly, and
Thrift is master of many.
At Cumberland, Thrift’s versatility took an uncustomary
turn as he was able to operate from a different playbook.
Instead of running and gunning, the North Carolina pro
camped out in the waters in and around Indian Creek on
the reservoir’s lower end and targeted smallmouth bass
exclusively with finesse swimbaits. Showcasing that he can
do more than burn gas all day, Thrift notched his sixth win
on the FLW Tour, which moves him into a three-way tie for
third most victories all-time.
To catch his smallmouths, Thrift primarily threw a 3-inch
Damiki Armor Shad and a Keitech Swing Impact FAT 3.8. He
fished both on 1/8- and 3/8-ounce jigheads, and paired the
finesse swimbaits with 8- and 10-pound-test fluorocarbon
on baitcasting tackle. Thrift also used a spinnerbait with a
swimbait trailer, though it didn’t contribute much to his win.
Cumberland had recently experienced a bout of heavy
rains and wintry temperatures when the Tour rolled into
town. High water resulted, and the cold weather apparently
slowed the spawning progression temporarily.
fLWfIshIng.com I juLy 2018
B
Hosted by Somerset
Tourist & Convention
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Burnside Tourism
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