BRYAN THRIFT’S
TAKEOFF
THE DEAL
GReatest hits
at a CoUple monthS Shy oF 38
yearS old and only in hiS 11th
SeaSon on toUr, the Shelby,
n.C., pro haS already prodUCed
hall-oF-Fame-Worthy reSUltS.
We Compiled Some oF hiS moSt
impreSSive aCCompliShmentS.
By Curtis Niedermier
1. BacK-to-BacK co-anGleR WIns
Fishing as a co-angler in the Costa FlW Series
Southeastern division in 2005, thrift won back-to-back
tournaments at Santee Cooper and lake eufaula.
2. pRo WIn no. 1
the following season, thrift earned pro win no. 1 at the
Costa FlW Series Southeastern division opener at lake
okeechobee.
3. touR top 10 no. 1
thrift finished runner-up in his first-ever FlW tour event
as a pro at lake travis in 2007.
4. cup top 10 no. 1
in addition to making the top 10 at the 2007 opener, thrift
added another regular-season top 10 at lake norman en
route to finishing 28th in the standings and making the
Forrest Wood Cup, where he finished fifth in his Cup debut.
5. the RoY
thrift won the rookie of the year award in 2007.
6. aoY top 10s and 20s
28
thrift’s 28th-place aoy finish in his rookie season is the
lowest of his career. he followed it up with a string of
eight consecutive top-10 aoy finishes before winding up
19th in 2016.
7. aoY and a WIn In 2010
the 2010 season was a memorable one for thrift for the
good and the bad. his father, tommy, passed away that
year. despite the heartbreak, thrift got his first tour win
at lake norman, his home lake, and earned the angler of
the year title.
8. nIne WIns
thrift has won nine times with FlW – twice as a co-angler
in Costa FlW Series competition and seven times as a pro.
pro wins include two in the Costa FlW Series and five on
the FlW tour.
9. top 6 In touR-leVel WIns
With five tour-level wins, thrift is sixth all time behind
Scott martin (8), brent ehrler (7), david dudley (6), david
Fritts (6) and mark rose (6).
10. top 10 In top 10s
With 52 FlW top-10 finishes – 48 as a boater, four as a co-
angler – thrift ranks eighth all-time. he has fished 127
FlW tournaments as a boater, meaning he’s finished in
the top 10 about 38 percent of the time.
11. aVoIdInG the cellaR
bombs are rare for thrift. in 63 regular-season FlW tour
major events, he has only finished worse than 100th place
four times.
FlWFIshInG.com I maY-june 2017