FIRST CAST : JOEL SHANGLE
Thrift ’ s win closed the circle on redcrest
Longtime readers of Bass Fishing magazine – and fans of the sport of tournament bass fishing – are very familiar with the content of the image gracing the cover of this April / May 2023 issue : North Carolina pro Bryan Thrift hoisting a championship trophy .
Thrift , who claimed the title of REDCREST Champion in mid-March on Lake Norman , made his most recent cover appearance in the Fall 2019 edition , cradling the Forrest Wood Cup . Two years prior ( the Summer 2017 edition ), it was Thrift showing off the 2017 FLW Tour Angler of the Year trophy on the cover . This issue ’ s REDCREST trophy photo ( snapped by MLF photographer Garrick Dixon ) represents a trifecta of trophies that only Thrift can claim : REDCREST , Forrest Wood Cup , FLW Tour AOY .
But Thrift ’ s REDCREST win on Lake Norman and the accompanying confetti and hullaballoo represented something a little more private and personal to him : a second chance .
Rewind to Lake Eufaula , Alabama , in late February of 2021 , the site of REDCREST 2021 . Due to a once-ina-generation weather event in Texas that forced an emergency venue change from Lake Palestine to Eufaula , Thrift entered REDCREST that year as a noticeable favorite . Eufaula was a fishery upon which Thrift had enjoyed a lengthy ( and extremely successful ) history , and he took little time proving that the “ favorite ” label suited him just fine . Fishing his first-ever championship event in the MLF every-scorable-bass format , Thrift dominated both the Qualifying and Knockout rounds by wide margins , and entered the final day on Eufaula with all the momentum in the world . It didn ’ t seem to matter that weights zeroed for the Championship Round , so great was Thrift ’ s momentum .
That momentum evaporated almost immediately . One day after catching 14 fish for 40 pounds in the Knockout Round , Thrift mustered only two fish for 6-15 on the final day , finishing ninth out of 10 .
That REDCREST loss naturally irked Thrift . He didn ’ t speak about it much publicly , shrugging his shoulders and downplaying the outcome when asked , but as an angler notorious for being a closer , I ’ m guessing that REDCREST 2021 irked him more than he let on . Coming into the week on Lake Norman , Thrift knew that he ’ d never have a more tailor-made opportunity to make up for the Eufaula final-day dud .
Not 10 seconds after confirming that he had indeed won REDCREST 2023 , Thrift finally came clean as fans watched on the MLFNOW ! live stream .
“ Two years ago at Lake Eufaula , I was leading going into the last day and thought for sure I had a really good chance to win and ended up barely catching a fish the last day ,” Thrift admitted . “ I have a little tear in my eye .”
On a fishery where he started his career as a pro , Thrift closed the circle on his biggest win as a pro , and on REDCREST . You can read all about Thrift ’ s path to the REDCREST trophy starting on page 34 .
joel shangle , editor-in-chief
6 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | APRIL-MAY 2023