Reel Chat with BRYAN THRIFT

2011 Beaver Lake winner, 2010 AOY fields questions from the fans about his practice routine, favorite lake, Fantasy Fishing stock and much more

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Welcome to FLW Live Reel Chat. Today we’re joined by bass pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., who is fresh off of winning the FLW Tour 2011 event on Beaver Lake.

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After recording a top-five finish during the first three events of the 2010 FLW Tour season, including a victory at Lake Norman, Thrift kept his foot firmly on the accelerator, ultimately turning in one of the best overall performances ever recorded in a single season of Tour competition. When all was said and done, Thrift recorded only one finish lower than 10th place during the entire year (a 21st-place effort at Lake Ouachita). In addition, Thrift grabbed a top-10 finish at the Forrest Wood Cup and won the 2010 FLW Tour Angler of the Year title going away.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Cue up the 2011 FLW Tour season, and it appears that Thrift is picking up right where he left off. Although he recorded a 38th-place finish at the FLW Tour Open on Lake Okeechobee, Thrift turned right around and captured the tournament title at Beaver Lake during the first FLW Tour Major of the year. The win was good enough to earn him a first-place prize of $125,000 as well as vault him atop the leaderboard of the 2011 FLW Tour Angler of the Year race. With his recent win, Thrift now boasts 23 top-10 finishes as well as career earnings totaling over $815,000.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Today, Bryan Thrift is here to take questions from you, the fans. So, without further delay, let’s get started.

Q: Bryan, how does your recent win on Beaver Lake compare to your previous victory on Lake Norman?
— Pat Zak (Oakland, Calif.)
A: Oh, I mean it’s definitely up there. At Norman, I won at home with family and friends. But with Beaver, I was able to win with my newborn son in the audience, and he got to come onstage with my wife. I consider both of them great; I don’t think any one takes precedence over the other.

Q: Do you think that your wins from last year have helped you continue your winning ways starting out this year?
— Tim Laturell (Bishop, Ga.)
A: I don’t really know. I guess you’d have to say so. In this sport you can definitely get on a roll, and it’s nice to keep the momentum going.

Q: It’s probably safe to say that a few years ago, probably not many people would have known of the name Bryan Thrift. But now you’re the No. 1 ranked angler on the BassFan World Rankings. How do you explain the tremendous amount of success that has come your way over the past year or so? And, is it surprising to you, or did you see this coming?
— Jon Pageler (New York, N.Y.)
A: I take pride in working hard from daylight to dark. I always try to fish as hard as I can, and I think that really helps me. I don’t ever slack off, so to speak. I definitely look at one tournament at a time, and that’s really all I worry about. I don’t know. You can’t really prepare for success; you just go out there, work hard and hope good things happen.

Q: What are some old-school baits that tend to get overlooked in favor of newer ones, but still warrant rotation out of the tackle box and into the water? Do you have a personal go-to bait — old or new — that is emerging as a confidence bait for you this year?
— Frank (Hemphill, Texas)
A: Yeah, I like a lot of the old Luhr Jensen baits. As far as my go-to baits, I haven’t used it so much this year yet, but I know I’m going to later in the season. It’s the 5 1/2-inch Damiki Stinger. It’s a soft stickbait, and I can catch fish so many different ways on it: wacky rigged, Carolina rigged, Texas rigged, on a shaky head. You can do almost anything with it.

Q: Nice going, Bryan, on your win! What was your best bait during the tournament?
— Nathan Knapp (Brooktondale, N.Y.)
A: Definitely the MegaBass Vision 110. It’s just a good suspending jerkbait with no bells and whistles.

Q: Bryan, I was just curious: As a professional angler, what techniques are you most comfortable with during tournament time?
— Matt Hunt (San Diego, Calif.)
A: That’s a loaded question. During tournament time, I’m comfortable with almost anything. Basically, anything that’s working well in practice I’m comfortable with.

Q: How do you decide where to start and what baits to use? What are some factors in making a change on the run?
— Tim Laturell (Bishop, Ga.)
A: You just have to read the water and understand what the fish are doing. You just kind of learn that from experience. You just have to let the water, the bait and the fish tell you what to do. On a new body of water or a lake I’ve never been to, the first thing I want to make sure is that both gas tanks are full because I’m going to ride around all day. I might go 30 miles, just looking at the lake, without throwing out a line. If the fish are supposed to be spawning, I’ll try to find areas that look good for spawning fish. If there are other (seasonal patterns), I’ll just try to look for areas that suit the conditison.

Q: Is there a fix to remove that metal odor from my tackle box, maybe a scent pad of attractant or something? I don’t want to do away with my older baits.
— Shannon Holt (Berea, Ky.)
A: What I like to do is go to Walmart and get the 1-gallon freezer bag. If the baits are really stinky, I’ll put them in two freezer bags, and that really keeps the stinky scent out of the tackle box.

Q: On day three at Beaver, you said you caught fish all day long. How many keepers did you catch a day once you got dialed into your pattern?
— JR (Rogers, Ark.)
A: The first day I only caught three keepers. The second, third and fourth day I caught between six and eight keepers. But as far as catching fish overall, I probably caught about 15 fish each day total, but a lot of those were short fish.

Q: Bryan, what is your all-time favorite body of water to fish?
— Tom Suk (Minneapolis, Minn.)
A: My all-time favorite is probably a little lake near my house: Lake Hickory. It’s a small little lake that’s just fun to fish.

Q: After winning the AOY title in 2010, what would it feel like to win the award in back-to-back years?
— Jim Interlandi (Chicago, Ill.)
A: Oh, man, that’s something that would be awesome, but I’m not even thinking about it. The only thing I’m thinking about is my next tournament. But to win that award in back-to-back years would just be awesome.

Q: Looking ahead at the 2011 FLW Tour schedule, which lakes are you excited about fishing the most? I play Fantasy Fishing and want to make sure I have you on my top-10 list for all of the lakes you feel comfortable competing on.
— Titus Song (New York, N.Y.)
A: To tell you the truth, I feel comfortable fishing all of them. Actually, the only one I don’t feel comfortable with is the Red River. I hate fishing rivers. To me a river comes down to who is crazy enough to beat up their boat up enough to win. Whoever wants to jump over a log and go through two acres of forest to win is going to do well.

Q: Congrats, Bryan! Could you try to explain a little about your practice routine.
— Anon. (Roswell, Ga.)
A: My practice routine, once again, includes burning a heck of a lot of gas in a few days. I tend to do better when I get a chance to get a good look at everything in the lake. Even if I don’t catch a whole lot in practice, it’s important for me to really understand what the lake look likes and how it fishes.

– MODERATOR COMMENT –
Unfortunately, that’s all the time we have to chat with Bryan today. Thanks once again to all the fans who tuned in and participated in today’s Reel Chat. And a special thanks to Bryan Thrift, the recent FLW Tour winner on Beaver Lake, for giving us his time and insights into bass fishing. Check back shortly for a complete transcript of today’s FLW Live Reel Chat.