Bryan Thrift knows just about every stump, dock, brushpile and run of riprap on North Carolina's Lake Norman. He's fished it his whole life. But you could say the same about two other Top 5 anglers at today's Norman FLW Tour – Thrift's good buddies Andy Montgomery and Brian Travis.
In the end, though, they all breathed Thrift's exhaust. He caught back-to back 16-pound bags on days 2 and 3, then closed with a stout 12-11 limit today. He absolutely smoked the field and won by a 9-pound margin.
For Thrift, it marked his final arrival inside the upper halls of the sport. In just 3 years of tour-level competition, the 30-year-old pro from Shelby, N.C. made six Tour cuts – one of them at the Forrest Wood Cup, another his 4th-place finish a few weeks ago at Table Rock. He currently leads the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race at the midpoint of the season, and finished 5th in the race the previous 2 years.
He's ranked 18th in the world and finally added the critical benchmark to his rapidly escalating career – a tour level win.
And it couldn't come at a better time. He and his wife are due to have a baby, and the $125,000 payday will certainly help alleviate the financial stress that comes from a ground-up career in pro fishing.
But it does arrive with some regret. Thrift's father, who was his travel and practice partner for many a year, passed away in January. So the father never got to see his son finally fulfill his lifelong dream.
California pro Rusty Salewske finished a distant 2nd. He began the day in 4th, but caught the day's best bag (13-04).
Montgomery, from South Carolina, caught 10-04 today and finished 3rd – 4 ounces behind Salewske.
Travis, a North Carolina pro, came in light with 8-15 but improved one spot to finish 4th.
And Rusty Trancygier fell from 2nd to finish 5th. The Georgia pro had trouble reaching his hot hole – the water dropped over night – and he limped in with just two fish for 2-08.
Thrift Emotional
Thrift followed a tried-and-true strategy. He stuck close the launch each morning until he had a limit of spots, then went and cranked the river in search of a kicker largemouth or two.
He got at least one kicker each day, and that made all the difference.
He said there was never a time until weigh-in when he knew he'd won, but he thought of his father often and had to fight back tears as the certainty of a win inched closer.
After Thrift caught a limit of spots each morning near launch, he'd head upriver to look for kicker largemouths.
"It feels good – I know that," Thrift said shortly after weigh-in. "And it feels good to get revenge on the ones that didn't bite last year for me.
"I was getting tore up pretty good today," he said of his emotions. "I got to thinking about my dad. I'm glad I finally got to win one, and I know he was watching. I would have liked him to be here – he passed away on Jan. 11. He practiced with me, traveled to all the tournaments, helped out with things. If me and Andy (Montgomery) had any problems, he'd go and take care of it for us. We didn't have to worry about anything."
There does appear to be a rising force in the sport in the form of Thrift and Montgomery. Alongside Thrift's accomplishments, Montgomery (also a fourth-year pro) has made three Tour cuts, and finished 2nd in two PAA Series events last year. But it was his friend Thrift who held the check aloft today.
And for Thrift, one factor this week was certainly his mental state, which is a sure sign of his maturation as a pro.
"I've been close several times, but it seems like every time I'm in the Top 5 or Top 10, I was always thinking about how I could screw it up somehow," he said. "But today, I wasn't thinking like that. I was more thinking along the lines of, 'I'm going to win this thing. I'm going to do what it takes to win and that's all I'm going to do.'"
Along with cranking a Damiki DC100 shallow-runner, he also skipped a Shooter jig. The full details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.
Rusty Salewske's happy with 2nd – that's what he was fishing for today, and he accomplished his goal.
2nd: Salewske Happy
"Bryan would have had to basically catch nothing to give me a chance, so I'm real happy – I couldn't be happier," Salewske said. "And I feel bad for (Trancygier). I would have probably done the same as he did though. When a hole's been that good to you, it's hard to leave it. Sometimes you have to run with the girl that brought you to the dance, and that's what he did.
"I didn't think they were going to bite for me today," Salewske added. "It was windy on the main lake, but when I got back to my area, it wasn't windy and it was bluebird skies. I was surprised that I caught them pretty good. I probably caught 20 fish."
About what's more important to him – the pride of finishing 2nd or the money that comes with it – he said: "You can never shrug your shoulders at the money. I'm tempted to say I don't do it for the money, but that's not true. But what I like most is really proving to myself that I can compete with these guys. I'm one step closer to that."
3rd: Montgomery Happy For Thrift
"I kind of wanted me and Brian to finish 1-2," Montgomery said. "I came up about 4 ounces short of that. He deserves it. He worked hard – as hard as anybody. He's been close before and he deserved to win. I'm happy for him. And what he caught – it's pretty amazing."
As Noted, Montgomery had two close calls last year. "I hope it's my time soon," he said. "I had two 2nds last year in back-to-back weeks by 4 ounces in the PAA. But I've made a lot of Top 10s and this is the one tournament where I got all my fish in. I only lost one fish all week, and I don't think it would have helped me much."
4th: Travis Happy For Thrift Too
"The coolest part of this week is that me and Bryan and Andy almost made it 1-2-3," Travis said. "We were cutting up about it at weigh-in. It was a good time. Bryan and I met fishing the TBF back in our early-20s, and we actually fished together in a Foothills Marine tournament and won a boat. That's the only tournament we ever fished together and we won. I'm happy for him."
Andy Montgomery, like his good buddy Thrift, has accomplished a considerable amount in a short career.
About his own finish, Travis said: "I'm tickled to death. And I couldn't have done it at a better place. My family was there, my girlfriend had to put up with me being nervous all week, and my new sponsor FrogTape – it's their home turf.
"You always want to win on your home water," he added. "Last year I finished 35th here, and I went away feeling like I left a lot on the table. This year, the fishing really hit my strengths. I fished the best I could and fished waters I always fished growing up. I fell a little short, but I didn't get the big bites I really needed. I have no regrets. It was a great tournament."
5th: Trancygier Was Committed
Trancygier got stung by a water-level change. He fished the same hole all week and it kept kicking out good fish. But things changed big-time this morning.
"I was a little disappointed," he said after weigh-in. "They'd pulled the water down last night. I was fishing a little backwater pocket, and I couldn't hardly get in it. I had to jump a couple sandbars to get in there today, and it takes to long to get back there, you're committed to it.
"It feels good to finish 5th, but I really thought I could catch enough of them today to at least make it interesting."
Notable
> Day 4 stats – 5 anglers, 4 limits, 1 two.
> As noted, Thrift now leads the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race. To view the updated standings, click here.
> Salewske noted that his sponsor is actually Shurtape, which manufactures DuckTape and FrogTape, among other brands. He represents FrogTape, which is a high-grade painter's tape that includes a special additive so paint won't bleed under tape when edging. "They coat the edge of the tape with the same stuff used in baby diapers, so the paint gels and won't bleed," he said. "It leaves an absolute straight line and there's no residue."
Day 4 (Final) Standings
1. Bryan Thrift -- Shelby, NC -- 5, 13-01 -- 5, 16-09 -- 5, 16-00 -- 5, 12-11 -- 20, 58-05 -- $100,000 + $27,500
2. Rusty Salewske -- Alpine, CA -- 5, 9-05 -- 5, 13-05 -- 5, 13-09 -- 5, 13-04 -- 20, 49-07 -- $38,879
3. Andy Montgomery -- Blacksburg, SC -- 5, 14-05 -- 5, 12-01 -- 5, 12-09 -- 5, 10-04 -- 20, 49-03 -- $29,146
4. Brian Travis -- Conover, NC -- 5, 12-07 -- 5, 10-08 -- 5, 12-07 -- 5, 8-15 -- 20, 44-05 -- $19,413
5. Rusty Trancygier -- Hahira, GA -- 5, 12-11 -- 5, 14-14 -- 5, 12-15 -- 2, 2-08 -- 17, 43-00 -- $17,466
