By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
At the very least, Bryan Thrift's Bass Pro Tour debut will result in a top-10 finish.
The longtime FLW standout punched his ticket to the Championship Round at Lake Eufaula by winning the two-day Group A qualifying segment at the 2020 season opener. He boated 10 fish for 34-06 on the day, giving him a two-day total of 54-01.
His haul was almost 15 pounds greater than what he amassed on seven fish two days earlier.
"I fished very similar to what I did on Friday," he said. "I really don't know what the big difference was – it was just one of those fortunate days."
Greg Vinson also had a big day to finish 2nd in the group, amassing 32-08 on 12 fish. Nonetheless, his 42-11 total left him more than 11 pounds behind Thrift.
Andy Morgan was the third competitor to surpass the 30-pound mark on the day as he caught 30-15 on eight fish for a 41-10 aggregate. Todd Faircloth was 4th with 40-02 and opening-round leader Chris Lane ended up 5th with 38-02. Lane managed just a lone 2 1/2-pounder on the day.
Aaron Martens claimed the group's final slot for Tuesday's Knockout Round with 21-01 (9-09 for the day). Paul Elias was first out of the cut, finishing about 3 1/2 pounds behind Elias with 17-10.
Brent Chapman, who was in 27th place after the opening round, caught 20-12 to make the cut in 11th. Alton Jones Jr. was another big mover with 18-15 on the day, jumping from 26th to 13th.
Thrift caught a 6-03 specimen (the day's heaviest fish) to take over the lead from Lane early in the third period. He quickly followed that up with a 2-08 and a 5-05 for an 8-pound advantage and he was never threatened the rest of the way.
He's staying in relatively shallow water, noting that he's caught fish from depths ranging from 10 inches to 6 feet. A crankbait and a jig (both flipped and casted) were his top producers for the day.
Greg Vinson was one of three anglers to exceed the 30-pound mark on the second day of Group A qualifying.
"It was just a good, fun day of fishing," he said. "I've got to think it'll continue to get better as the lake stabilizes and the fish get used to the muddy water rolling in. Some stuff cleared up today, but some got dirtier. They're pulling water so hard that things are changing about every couple hours."
Vinson, whose home in Wetumpka, Ala. is about a two-hour drive from Eufaula, said a pre-practice trip he made to the lake just before it went off-limits has paid off handsomely.
"I was able to get on a pattern that's a little different than what most people would do under these conditions," he said, opting not to reveal the specifics at this juncture. The Garmin LiveScope both in pre-practice and today, being able to see the structure I was fishing and how the fish are positioned on it.
"Most of the fish I'm catching are out away from the obvious cover."
Lane, who took the opening-round lead courtesy of a huge first period, has now caught just two fish in the last five periods combined. He was bewildered as to why he was able to generate only one bite on the second day.
"I had a lot of confidence in my areas that had cleaner water and the water looked really good," he said. "I felt I was mentally in it the entire time until I started falling back and then it just kind of snowballed.
"Covering as much water as I did today and getting that many bites in practice, today was a pretty big shocker, but that's why they call it fishing. I'm looking forward to getting some rest and putting the hammer back down on them on Tuesday. With everything warming back up, I know those fish are ready to go (toward the spawning grounds) and I could stroll back through the places I fished today and get 15 to 20 bites.
He was consoled by the fact that his 18-year-old son, Cal, finished 6th in a 250-boat Rat-L-Trap tournament back home at Lake Guntersville.
"At least one Lane caught 'em today," he said. "That's what we shoot for."
Weather Forecast
> Mon., Feb. 10 – Mostly Cloudy - 75°/63°
- Wind: From the S at 9 mph
> Tues., Feb. 11 – Scattered T-Storms - 76°/63°
- Wind: From the SW at 8 mph
> Weds., Feb. 12 – A.M. Showers - 77°/64°
- Wind: From the S at 10 mph
Group A – Elimination Round 2
1. Bryan Thrift -- 7, 19-11 -- 10, 34-06 -- 17, 54-01
2. Greg Vinson -- 3, 10-03 -- 12, 32-08 -- 15, 42-11
3. Andy Morgan -- 3, 10-11 -- 8, 30-15 -- 11, 41-10
4. Todd Faircloth -- 6, 25-13 -- 5, 14-05 -- 11, 40-02
5. Chris Lane -- 9, 35-12 -- 1, 2-06 -- 10, 38-02
6. Brent Ehrler -- 5, 17-14 -- 5, 19-08 -- 10, 37-06
7. Mark Rose -- 5, 14-08 -- 5, 17-03 -- 10, 31-11
8. Josh Bertrand -- 7, 26-06 -- 1, 4-14 -- 8, 31-04
9. Jacob Powroznik -- 4, 11-12 -- 5, 18-13 -- 9, 30-09
10. Jeff Sprague -- 6, 17-08 -- 3, 10-01 -- 9, 27-09
11. Brent Chapman -- 2, 5-08 -- 8, 20-12 -- 10, 26-04
12. Greg Hackney -- 5, 19-08 -- 2, 6-10 -- 7, 26-02
13. Alton Jones Jr. -- 2, 6-06 -- 6, 18-15 -- 8, 25-05
14. Anthony Gagliardi -- 4, 19-08 -- 2, 4-07 -- 6, 23-15
15. Scott Suggs -- 5, 12-02 -- 4, 11-12 -- 9, 23-14
16. Brandon Coulter -- 3, 16-04 -- 3, 7-10 -- 6, 23-14
17. Britt Myers -- 4, 12-12 -- 3, 10-02 -- 7, 22-14
18. Andy Montgomery -- 3, 9-12 -- 4, 13-00 -- 7, 22-12
19. Jordan Lee -- 4, 13-15 -- 2, 7-11 -- 6, 21-10
20. Aaron Martens -- 4, 11-08 -- 3, 9-09 -- 7, 21-01
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round.
21. Paul Elias -- 4, 9-12 -- 3, 7-14 -- 7, 17-10
22. Terry Scroggins -- 1, 3-12 -- 5, 11-11 -- 6, 15-07
23. Stephen Browning -- 4, 14-07 -- 0, 0-00 -- 4, 14-07
24. Mark Daniels, Jr. -- 4, 10-06 -- 1, 3-11 -- 5, 14-01
25. Boyd Duckett -- 5, 13-06 -- 0, 0-00 -- 5, 13-06
26. Shin Fukae -- 4, 9-01 -- 1, 2-06 -- 5, 11-07
27. Dean Rojas -- 2, 8-09 -- 1, 2-06 -- 3, 10-15
28. Jared Lintner -- 1, 3-10 -- 3, 7-03 -- 4, 10-13
29. Alton Jones -- 2, 5-15 -- 1, 3-13 -- 3, 9-12
30. Cliff Pace -- 3, 9-08 -- 0, 0-00 -- 3, 9-08
31. James Elam -- 2, 5-04 -- 2, 4-03 -- 4, 9-07
32. Randy Howell -- 0, 0-00 -- 2, 7-05 -- 2, 7-05
33. Timmy Horton -- 1, 2-00 -- 2, 4-15 -- 3, 6-15
34. Gary Klein -- 1, 2-00 -- 1, 2-09 -- 2, 4-09
35. Matt Lee -- 2, 4-00 -- 0, 0-00 -- 2, 4-00
36. John Murray -- 1, 2-12 -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-12
37. Jeff Kriet -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-10 -- 1, 2-10
38. Tommy Biffle -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-04 -- 1, 2-04
39. Marty Robinson -- 1, 2-01 -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-01
40. Roy Hawk -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-00 -- 1, 2-00
