One of the newest members of the 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field is Bryan Thrift. He’s a household name in the bass world, with an impressive resume that includes two FLW Tour Angler of the Year Titles, an FLW Cup win, over 3 million dollars of winnings with FLW, and 12 victories (including two on Lake Eufaula) with FLW.
He’s had an outstanding career so far, but one thing he hasn’t done was fish in the Major League Fishing format. Today was his first taste of SCORETRACKER® and the unique aspects of this format.
He more than held his own during the Qualifying Round, finishing in fourth for the day with seven bass for 19 pounds, 11 ounces.
The constant update of fish catches is something that affects every angler differently. It may make them fish faster or to slow down, but Thrift said it wasn’t that bad his first time experiencing it.
“It didn’t get in my head, but it might have been different if the fishing was better today, and everyone was catching them all day long,” Thrift said. “That was just the conditions we were dealt with. We had cold, muddy water after several warm days, and that is never good for fishing. SCORETRACKER® wasn’t firing off that much, so it didn’t affect me that much.”
While Thrift has never fished with MLF previously, he does have some experience with knowing the totals of other anglers, via the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. You can also add a 2012 win at that event to his lengthy accolades.
“I’ve had a little experience with listening to what everyone else has, but this is so much different,” he said of the every-fish-counts format.
Another adjustment Thrift had to make was the ride-around period and being told “Lines In” and “Lines Out.” He enjoyed this aspect of the MLF format during his first day on the Bass Pro Tour.
“It was great to just stop fishing and putt back at the end of the day,” he admitted. “Being able to utilize all of your time during the day fishing was nice.”
The 15-minute break between periods was something that Thrift admitted he dreaded…until he experienced it.
“Ever since I got the invite to fish MLF, I was thinking ‘who wants to stop fishing?’ and I didn’t think I would like it at all,” Thrift began. “But I was wrong, and it was great. It gave me time to check my knots, check my baits, and to get a bite to eat. I really enjoyed it.”
It’s only been a day of his MLF career, but so far, so good.
“I made an effort to fish slowly today and to try to not fish too many places and run around too much,” Thrift said. “I’m happy with my day, and I did everything I wanted to do.”