Bryan Thrift caught an 11-11 limit today to rally from 5th place to win the Lake Norman FLW Tour Invitational.
Thrift’s three-day total of 34-12 was 6 ounces more than runner-up fellow North Carolina angler Scott Beattie. Thrift collected $71,000 and became the second angler – joining 2016 Forrest Wood Cup champion John Cox – to punch his ticket to the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup.
“This is the lake I learned how to fish on,” Thrift said in an FLW release. “I’m able to run to specific areas where I know fish are supposed to be. If I don’t get a bite, I can go somewhere else. This week I ran through what I normally run on this lake.”
He targeted docks and rocky shoreline with a vast array of baits.
“My biggest catches came from the docks,” he said. “I fished the entire lake all three days and I burned around 35 gallons of gas each day.”
Additional details of Thrift’s pattern will be published soon.
Beattie caught 10-12 today and finished with 34-06. Wesley Strader managed 10-02 to wind up 3rd with 33-09. Todd Hollowell sacked a final day-best 12-10 and finished 4th with 33-09 (Strader won the tiebreaker based on his higher day-2 standing).
Michael Neal rounded out the top 5 with 32-14.
Here’s how the top 10 finished up at Norman:
1. Bryan Thrift: 34-12
2. Scott Beattie: 34-06
3. Wesley Strader: 33-09
4. Todd Hollowell: 33-09
5. Michael Neal: 32-14
6. William Shelton III: 32-12
7. Scott Canterbury: 31-14
8. Tracy Adams: 31-07
9. Michael Stephens: 31-04
10. John Cox: 31-03.
