(Editor's note: This is part 2 of a 2-part article on tour-level rookies to watch.)
North Carolina's Bryan Thrift and Louisiana's Craig Dowling both came to the FLW Tour this year with some impressive credentials from lower tournament levels. It didn't take them long to serve their notice at the top tier.
They placed 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the season opener at Texas' Lake Travis. Those showings, combined with their triple-A ledgers, make them the top FLW rookies to watch in 2007.
Bryan Thrift
Thrift's ascension up the tournament-fishing ladder has been rapid. Just 2 years ago,
he was fishing EverStarts (now Strens) as a non-boater.
"I've tried to work my way up through the ranks, and this is another step," he said. "I couldn't imagine having the success I've had so far. It's come awfully quick, and I feel like I still have a lot to learn."
He qualified for the Tour via a 4th-place finish in the 2006 Stren Southeastern points. He won the event at Okeechobee.
He prefers to throw a jig "about 90% of the time," but won the "Big O" Stren on a Chatterbait. That victory was the impetus for some of the high-profile exposure the bait received last year.
But nothing he's accomplished thus far has gone to his head.
"I was kind of nervous coming into the season because I'd never even heard of Travis and except for Norman, I haven't been to any of the other lakes we're going to. Not having memories to fish can help somewhat, but I think experience will win out most of the time.
"Even if you haven't done well on a particular lake, you still have some knowledge of the water you're fishing."
The stops that give him the most trepidation are Fort Loudoun-Tellico and the Detroit River.
"That's because they have smallmouth, and I don't have much experience with them, or on big bodies of water like that."
He'll be almost right at home at Norman, and he's also looking forward to the Potomac River. "The way everybody talks, you can have a good time and really catch a lot of fish there."
He has a simple goal for this year – finish among the Top 100 in the points to automatically requalify for the 2008 Tour.
"I'd love to make the (Forrest Wood Cup), but my main goal is just to stay up here."
> His sponors are Rad Lures (maker of the Chatterbait), Shooter Lures, Ranger, Yamaha and Great Outdoors (a sporting goods store in Cherryville, N.C.).
Craig Dowling doesn't have any great strengths as an angler – but he has no glaring weaknesses either.
Craig Dowling
Dowling said he can't be pigeonholed in terms of a particular fishing style.
"I wouldn't say I'm really good at any one thing," he said. "I think I'm pretty versatile. I like doing everything, and I'll do whatever I think is best in a given situation."
He was a rookie in two Stren divisions last year and finished among the Top 10 in the points in both (2nd in the Southeast and 9th in the Central). "I qualified (for the FLW Tour) through that, so I figured I might as well take advantage of it while I had the chance."
He's been to only one lake (Erie) on this year's schedule, but that doesn't deter him. He's convinced he fishes better when he goes in without any preconceived notions about what to do.
"I really don't know what to expect, but going to new lakes hasn't bothered me yet. I have my worst finishes on Toledo Bend and Rayburn – my home lakes – because I'm always going to places where I've caught them years before.
"That never seems to work out too good, so I prefer going to new places."
He hasn't set any solid goals for himself, but he would like to qualify for the Forrest Wood Cup.
"I really don't have a lot of expectations. I'm just going to go out at every tournament and try to catch fish, and let everything else take care of itself.
"I'd love to fish at Ouachita, if I'm lucky enough to make (the Cup). I love flipping and pitching in deep hydrilla, and it'd be great to get a chance to do that."
> His sponsors are Legend boats, Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits. and Tuf-Line braid.
Notable
> Both Thrift and Dowling are also fishing the FLW Series Eastern Division. Thrift finished 85th and Dowling 175th in the season opener at Okeechobee.
