Thrift catches 30 pounds, wins Costa FLW Series tourney on Santee Cooper
Category: press release
Mar 13th, 2016 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 13th, 2016 at 12:00 AM
FLW Tour star Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, weighed a monster five-bass limit totaling 30 pounds, 7 ounces Saturday to win the Costa FLW Series Southeastern Division event on Santee Cooper presented by Frabill with a three-day total of 14 bass weighing 79 pounds, 15 ounces. For his win, Thrift earned $48,200 and a new Ranger Z518 bass boat with a 200-horsepower Evinrude outboard engine.
“It’s really nice to get a win after the terrible start that I’d had to begin this season,” said Thrift, who earned his eighth career win in FLW competition and pushed his career earnings to more than $1.75 million. “The two poor finishes at Okeechobee were a pretty big monkey on my back. I had no idea how I’d do in this event after my practice, but it was a fun tournament and I brought in the biggest bag that I’ve ever weighed today.”
Thrift estimated that he caught 10 fish on day one, just four on day two, and around 20 today, the third and final day of competition. He junk-fished throughout the week, catching fish on a green-pumpkin Damiki Mamba jig with a Damiki Knock Out or a Zoom Super Chunk, a Damiki DC200 crankbait, an unnamed frog and a Rat-L-Trap.
“I’m pretty sure that I caught fish in all three phases of the spawn,” Thrift said. “The key for me this week was my signature series 6’9″ Fitzgerald Skipping Special rod. It has enough tip to get the bass out of the wood but is still small enough to be able to skip a jig into areas that a longer rod can’t.”
Thrift lived up to his nickname of “Smoke on the Water”, as he fished both Marion and Moultrie lakes in all three days of competition and estimated that he used 30 to 35 gallons of gasoline each day.
“I guarantee that I ran faster and farther than anyone this week,” Thrift said on stage. “My Ranger and (Evinrude) G2 ran flawlessly. I didn’t re-visit any of the same spots and ran all new water every day.”
The top 10 pros on Santee Cooper were:
1st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 14 bass, 79-15, $48,200 and a Ranger Z518 w/ 200-horsepower outboard
2nd: Pat Fisher, Colbert, Ga., 15 bass, 76-2, $19,500
3rd: Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., 15 bass, 71-3, $14,000
4th: Bradley Dortch, Bay Minette, Ala., 15 bass, 70-14, $12,000
5th: Preston Clark, Eagle Lake, Fla., 15 bass, 69-2, $11,000
6th: Tim Malone, Gatlinburg, Tenn., 14 bass, 61-0, $9,000
7th: Jay Kendrick, Grant, Ala., 14 bass, 57-9, $7,800
8th: Todd Smith, Summerville, S.C., 15 bass, 56-9, $6,800
9th: Rob Digh, Denver, N.C., 12 bass, 52-13, $5,800
10th: Zach Crider, Tunnel Hill, Ga., 11 bass, 49-15, $4,400
Complete results will be posted at FLWFishing.com.