Thrift steadily worked his way from Day 1 through Day 5 on Lake Norman with a gameplan based on his knowledge of the lake .
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
after getting that first ( FLW Tour ) win at the top level , it seemed like it opened a door , and I started winning a lot after that . It got the ball rolling for me . I learned to bass fish on that lake .”
Man on a mission
Rewind two years to REDCREST 2021 . Thrift went into that event on Lake Eufaula , Alabama , as a popular pre-tournament favorite thanks to a glowing résumé on that fishery . He wasn ’ t “ chalk ” on Eufaula … but he was darn sure close .
By all measure , Thrift dominated on Eufaula through the Qualifying and Knockout rounds , winning both by wide margins and establishing himself firmly as the man to beat heading into the Championship Round . Unfortunately , his title hopes evaporated on the final day as Thrift managed only two keeper fish and Dustin Connell claimed the REDCREST trophy .
“ It was just frustrating to have three or four really good days , and the last day just go out and fall on my face ,” Thrift admitted .
REDCREST 2023 , though , set up perfectly for Thrift to earn the trophy that eluded him in 2021 . A late-winter weather system rolling through the Carolinas dropped the temperature from a daytime high of 70 degrees in
practice to a nighttime low of 39 the night before Championship Sunday ( with a steady rain thrown into the middle of the tournament week ).
Also playing to Thrift ’ s advantage was an overhaul of the REDCREST tournament format . Instead of the “ every scorable fish ” scoring structure and zeroing of weights on the final day , REDCREST 2023 featured a best-fivefish daily limit and a cumulative weight for the two Knockout Rounds and the Championship Round to determine the winner . Thrift could work his way through the first two days with enough weight to advance to the Knockout Round , manage his encyclopedia of waypoints and fish , and adjust on the fly as conditions changed on Norman . Things went according to plan in qualifying competition . Fishing what he called a mid-lake “ ditch ” each morning with a 3 / 8-ounce Fitzgerald Fishing Bryan Thrift Tungsten Micro Jig and 3- inch Damiki Air Craw and a Damiki Underspin with a 3-inch Damiki Armor Shad , Thrift posted 13 pounds , 12 ounces on Day 1 and 11-7 on Day 2 to advance to the first Knockout day . He eschewed the process of picking out individual fish on forward-facing sonar ; instead leaning on his Humminbird electronics to tell him he was in an area with an abundance of bait and bass , and then fishing his way around the area until he was satisfied he had worked it thoroughly before moving on .
“( The ditch ) was a little drain in 25 to 30 feet of water , and full of baitfish and bass ,” Thrift said of his morning go-to spot . “( Forward-facing sonar ) lets you know how much activity is in an area . Humminbird MEGA 360 and MEGA Live are great tools that work together very well . I can see everything around me with the 360 without having to turn the trolling motor to it , but I have the MEGA Live that lets me scan around and find vertical structure better . If there ’ s a small stump or tree that doesn ’ t really stand out on the 360 , I can see it on MEGA Live .
“ I don ’ t like chasing individual fish , it doesn ’ t really fit me . It frustrates me a lot . I use it ( FFS ) more to see what ’ s in an area . It gives me the confidence to change up . I ’ m still fishing a small target versus chasing an individual bass . I wasn ’ t tracking fish and throwing at individual fish ; but when I would get in an area I would also pan around and see if there was baitfish in the area , see if I could see fish swimming around . To me , it ’ s just something to see if there was life and activity in the areas . That would make me calm down and slow down to fish the areas thoroughly because I knew fish were occupying the area .”
36 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2023