By MLF Communications Staff
Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 19 -15 to take the lead after day 1 of the Toyota Series Championship at Pickwick Lake out of Counce, Tenn. Thrift holds a 1-07 lead over Chris Digino of Dallas, Texas, who caught five bass weighing 18-08, securing his position in 2nd place.
“Today went a little better than I thought it would go, seeing as I didn’t catch any big ones in practice,” said Thrift. “I thought a good day would be 10 to 12 pounds on six keeper bites and I think I ended up catching seven keepers today, but that was pretty much it. It definitely wasn’t an easy day.
“I started in a spot where I thought I could catch a couple early, and I did, but after that it was a struggle. I ran 40 miles up and fished my way back – I burned a lot of gas today.”
Thrift said he has seen Pickwick plenty of times in the spring and summer over the years, and though he’s had success on other parts of the Tennessee River in the fall, Pickwick in the fall was all new to him.
“This is my first time being here this time of year and it’s really not as good as I thought it would be,” said Thrift. “I thought it would be easier to get bites, but it isn’t. I don’t know if it’s pressure on the fishery, the weather or what’s going on. My day looks good on paper, but I have no idea what I’m doing.”
Despite his lack of experience on the fishery this time of year, Thrift is a quick study. With a couple big bites today, there’s a good possibility he can repeat his good day tomorrow.
“I was shocked at the two 6 1/2-pounders I caught today,” said Thrift. “I didn’t expect that at all, but it gave me some ideas for tomorrow.”
Although Thrift has a stellar record in bass fishing, with many big wins, he has yet to win a Toyota Series Championship in his career and said he is looking forward to the opportunity this week.
“I would love to win,” said Thrift. “That’s $200,000, and the Toyota Series is the best deal in bass fishing. Paying less than $6,000 in entry fees for a chance to fish for a $200,000 championship is an amazing opportunity and literally the best deal out there – I’d love to win it.”
Anglers take off daily at 7 a.m. CT from Pickwick Landing State Park, located at 120 Playground Loop, in Counce. Weigh-ins are also be at the park and will begin at 3:15 p.m. Outdoor vendors will be onsite prior to weigh-in on Friday from 1 to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The full field of anglers compete on days 1 and 2 of the event, with the Top 10 pros and Top 10 co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day. The 2021 Toyota Series champions will be determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.
Day 1 Standings
1st. Bryan Thrift -- 19-15 (5)
2nd. Chris Digino -- 18-08 (5)
3rd. Mikey Keyso -- 17-10 (5)
4th. James Watson -- 17-02 (5)
5th. Aaron Johnson -- 16-08 (5)
6th. Cody Nichols -- 16-01 (4)
7th. Dakota Ebare -- 15-11 (5)
7th. Terry Fisher -- 15-11 (5)
9th. Todd Castledine -- 15-09 (5)
10th. Colby Miller -- 15-07 (5)
11th. Todd Kline -- 15-02 (5)
11th. Brent Anderson -- 15-02 (5)
13th. Harbor Lovin -- 14-14 (5)
13th. Kyle Weisenburger -- 14-14 (5)
15th. Derik Hudson -- 14-13 (5)
16th. Nathan Thomas -- 14-10 (5)
17th. Kevin Drake -- 14-09 (5)
18th. Rick Harris -- 14-08 (5)
19th. Wyatt Frankens -- 14-05 (5)
20th. Scout Echols -- 14-02 (5)
21st. Chris Baldwin -- 14-01 (5)
22nd. Greg Bohannan -- 13-15 (5)
22nd. Christopher Brasher -- 13-15 (4)
24th. Andre Dickneite -- 13-13 (5)
24th. Randy Blaukat -- 13-13 (5)
26th. Mickey Beck -- 13-10 (5)
27th. Robby Lefere -- 13-09 (5)
28th. Mitchell Webb -- 13-07 (5)
28th. Brent Crow -- 13-07 (5)
28th. Jason Bonds -- 13-07 (5)
31st. Nick Thliveros -- 13-05 (5)
32nd. Jeff Kriet -- 13-04 (5)
33rd. Joey Cifuentes -- 13-01 (5)
33rd. Laramy Strickland -- 13-01 (5)
35th. Josh Bensema -- 12-15 (5)
36th. Justin Kerr -- 12-14 (4)
37th. Josh Lockard -- 12-12 (5)
37th. Grae Buck -- 12-12 (5)
37th. Martin Villa -- 12-12 (5)
40th. Chad Mrazek -- 12-09 (5)
40th. Andy Newcomb -- 12-09 (5)
42nd. Andrew Loberg -- 12-07 (5)
43rd. Wade Curtiss -- 12-06 (5)
43rd. Nick Hatfield -- 12-06 (3)
43rd. Harmon Davis -- 12-06 (5)
46th. Derek Remitz -- 12-03 (5)
46th. Jeff McLain -- 12-03 (5)
48th. Jeff Reynolds -- 12-02 (5)
49th. Shonn Goodwin -- 12-01 (5)
50th. Jeff Bridges -- 11-13 (5)
51st. Barry Graves -- 11-12 (5)
52nd. Brant Grimm -- 11-11 (4)
53rd. Paul Browning -- 11-10 (5)
54th. Chase Henley -- 11-07 (5)
55th. Michael Caruso -- 11-03 (5)
55th. Evan Barnes -- 11-03 (5)
57th. Larry Puckett -- 11-02 (5)
57th. Brandon Cline -- 11-02 (5)
59th. Cooper Gallant -- 11-01 (4)
60th. Casey Martin -- 10-14 (4)
60th. Marco Vaca -- 10-14 (5)
62nd. Brian Latimer -- 10-13 (5)
62nd. Ryan Otto -- 10-13 (5)
64th. Tyler Woolcott -- 10-12 (4)
65th. Roger Fitzpatrick -- 10-10 (3)
66th. Jonathan Kelley -- 10-09 (5)
66th. Robert Crosnoe -- 10-09 (4)
68th. Blake Tomlin -- 10-08 (5)
69th. Kyle Kitts -- 10-07 (5)
70th. Eric Olliverson -- 10-06 (3)
71st. Mike H Davis -- 10-00 (4)
72nd. Josh Busby -- 9-15 (4)
73rd. Austin Schroeder -- 9-10 (4)
74th. Mark Rose -- 9-06 (4)
74th. Kyle Walters -- 9-06 (4)
76th. Leslie Brandenburg -- 9-05 (3)
77th. Tim Rath -- 9-03 (4)
77th. Michael Harlin -- 9-03 (3)
79th. Ryan Salzman -- 9-01 (3)
80th. River Lee -- 8-14 (3)
81st. Freddy Adkins -- 8-13 (3)
81st. Blake Schroeder -- 8-13 (5)
83rd. Lance Oligschlaeger -- 8-09 (2)
84th. Wesley Dawson -- 8-08 (3)
85th. Brad Jelinek -- 8-07 (4)
86th. Michael Iaconelli -- 8-04 (4)
86th. Jimmy Washam -- 8-04 (4)
88th. Russ Lane -- 8-03 (3)
89th. Troy Morrow -- 8-02 (4)
89th. Terry Segraves -- 8-02 (3)
89th. Daniel Johnson -- 8-02 (4)
89th. Cole Breeden -- 8-02 (4)
93rd. Russell Cecil -- 7-15 (3)
94th. Carl Limbrick Jr -- 7-14 (3)
95th. Steve Lopez -- 7-13 (4)
96th. Mike Morris -- 7-11 (3)
97th. Matt Cooper -- 7-09 (3)
97th. Devin Vandalen -- 7-09 (3)
99th. Drew Boggs -- 7-08 (3)
100th. Nick Salvucci -- 7-07 (3)
101st. Bryan Partak -- 7-04 (2)
102nd. Danny L. Shanz -- 7-03 (3)
103rd. Adam Wagner -- 7-00 (3)
103rd. B J Miller -- 7-00 (2)
105th. Keith Combs -- 6-12 (3)
106th. Cole Jezek -- 6-11 (3)
107th. William Beutjer -- 6-08 (3)
108th. Marty Robinson -- 6-07 (2)
108th. Phillip Dutra -- 6-07 (2)
110th. Jon Strelic -- 6-05 (3)
111th. Jordan Thompkins -- 6-04 (2)
112th. Chris Costello -- 6-03 (3)
113th. Thomas Wooten -- 6-02 (3)
113th. Alex Heintze -- 6-02 (2)
115th. Cody Harrison -- 6-00 (3)
115th. Bobby Bakewell -- 6-00 (3)
117th. Shawn Temple -- 5-15 (2)
118th. Kyle Minke -- 5-14 (3)
119th. Russ Barger -- 5-09 (2)
120th. Blake Dyer -- 5-08 (2)
120th. Teimuraz(tom) Balachvili -- 5-08 (2)
122nd. Casey Scanlon -- 5-06 (2)
122nd. Darryl Esterly -- 5-06 (2)
122nd. Jonathan Dietz -- 5-06 (2)
125th. Cole Hewett -- 5-02 (2)
125th. Garrett Hilton -- 5-02 (3)
127th. Joshua Weaver -- 4-13 (2)
127th. Hunter Mills -- 4-13 (2)
127th. Zachary Martin -- 4-13 (2)
130th. Kennie Steverson -- 4-09 (1)
131st. Chris Torkleson -- 4-08 (2)
132nd. Bryan Schmitt -- 4-07 (2)
133rd. Dicky Newberry -- 4-06 (2)
134th. Seth Davis -- 4-04 (2)
135th. Casey O'Donnell -- 4-03 (2)
136th. Todd Walters -- 4-02 (2)
137th. Jonathan Bowling -- 4-00 (2)
138th. Gregg Leonard -- 3-12 (1)
139th. Christian Ostrander -- 3-11 (1)
140th. Ricky Shabazz -- 3-09 (2)
140th. Josh Needleman -- 3-09 (2)
142nd. Harold Moore -- 3-06 (2)
142nd. Byeong Ho Kang -- 3-06 (2)
144th. Michael Moreno -- 3-05 (2)
145th. Brandon Marks -- 3-02 (2)
145th. Kirk Smith -- 3-02 (1)
147th. Jason Crone -- 2-13 (1)
148th. Scott Brummett -- 2-12 (1)
149th. Bruce Parsons -- 2-08 (1)
150th. Kyle Glasgow -- 2-07 (1)
150th. Christian Greico -- 2-07 (1)
152nd. Eric Panzironi -- 2-06 (1)
153rd. Chris McCall -- 2-05 (1)
153rd. Lance Freeman -- 2-05 (1)
155th. Willy Dennison -- 2-04 (1)
155th. Jordan Hartman -- 2-04 (1)
155th. Leonalrdo Benassi -- 2-04 (1)
158th. Stephen Albertson -- 2-03 (1)
158th. Matt Becker -- 2-03 (1)
160th. Joey Cantrell -- 2-02 (1)
160th. Hyun Dong Cho -- 2-02 (1)
162nd. Hunter Eubanks -- 2-01 (1)
162nd. Nicola Minaldoni -- 2-01 (1)
164th. Michael Conley -- 2-00 (1)
164th. Derek Mundy -- 2-00 (1)
164th. Cody Hoyle -- 2-00 (1)
167th. Blain Jackson -- 1-13 (1)
167th. Cameron Smith -- 1-13 (1)
169th. Kurt Mitchell -- 1-12 (1)
169th. Jason Conn -- 1-12 (1)
169th. Liam Macdonald -- 1-12 (1)
172nd. Ed Arledge -- 1-11 (1)
173rd. Brent Algeo -- 1-10 (1)
173rd. Mattia Magni -- 1-10 (1)
Tommy Dickerson -- 0-00 (0)
Keith Pace -- 0-00 (0)
Terry Olinger -- 0-00 (0)
Nick Aber -- 0-00 (0)
Steve Sendelweck -- 0-00 (0)
Jared Lintner -- 0-00 (0)
Blake Hall -- 0-00 (0)
Cameron Mattison -- 0-00 (0)
Carlos Gomez -- 0-00 (0)
Eduardo Flores -- 0-00 (0)
Patrick Whitaker -- 0-00 (0)
Kazuki Kodama -- 0-00 (0)
Robert Faaborg -- 0-00 (0)
Stephen Estes -- 0-00 (0)
Tim Reneau -- 0-00 (0)
Chad Hulbert -- 0-00 (0)
Anthony Ford -- 0-00 (0)
Lee Nunnally -- 0-00 (0)
Ty Faber -- 0-00 (0)
Austin Culbertson -- 0-00 (0)
Joshua Noel -- 0-00 (0)
Samuel Whitmire -- 0-00 (0)
Justin Patti -- 0-00 (0)
Nolan Gaskin -- 0-00 (0)
