Most anglers knew the Chevy Open on Lake Guntersville was going to be a grass tournament. But there was also a chance docks could play a role. In fact, skipping docks had been the winning pattern at more than one local event held recently on Guntersville.

But after speaking with Bryan Thrift yesterday afternoon, it appears the dock bite is completely dead. Thrift is widely considered as one of the best, if not the best, dock fisherman on the FLW Tour. He travels with friends and fellow Carolinians Andy Montgomery and Chris Baumgardner.

Combined, those three have not caught a single dock fish in practice. And that’s not for a lack of trying. Thrift said he spent a few hours Sunday focusing on docks and afterwards decided to completely commit to the grass.

But just because Thrift isn’t catching them on docks doesn’t mean he isn’t catching them. Truth be told, he caught over 20 pounds one day in practice, which included a 7-pound kicker. In addition to being a jig-skipping fool, Thrift is also deadly burning a ChatterBait over the grass. That ChatterBait was made famous by Thrift a few years ago in cold-water grass tournaments like the Chevy Open.

It is no secret that the Rat-L-Trap is currently the most popular bait, but don’t rule out the Carolina crew and their ChatterBaits.

“I’m confident in what I’m doing, I just need five of the right bites to do well,” Thrift said.