JONESTOWN, Texas (Feb. 16, 2017) – Pro Bryan Thrift of Shelby, North Carolina, brought a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 12 ounces to the scale Thursday to take the early lead at the FLW Tournament at Lake Travis. Thrift will bring a 4-pound, 7-ounce lead into day two of the four-day event that features 164 of the top bass-fishing anglers in the world competing for a top cash award of up to $125,000.
“I’m at a complete loss for words right now,” said Thrift, who has amassed nearly $2 million in FLW competition. “In three days of practice I couldn’t catch a third of the weight that I caught today. Each fish was truly a gift from God.”
Thrift said he spent the majority of his day working through an area with a 6½-inch Watermelon Candy-colored Damiki Finesse Miki worm rigged on a shaky-head jig.
“It was a big area, probably 2 to 3 acres long,” said Thrift. “There were some bushes, rocks and points. I caught four fish there, including a 6-pounder. I picked it apart for nearly five hours. There were some other boats nearby, so I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to catch as many bass as I possibly could.”
After 2:30 p.m., Thrift said he made a couple more stops and capped off his limit with another 6-pounder.
“I caught it on a jig in an area that I went to on a whim,” said Thrift. “It was mind-blowing.”
The top 10 pros after day one on Lake Travis are:
1st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 24-12
2nd: Stephen Patek, Garland, Texas, five bass, 20-5
3rd: Bradley Hallman, Norman, Okla., five bass, 19-4
4th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., five bass, 17-3
5th: Christopher Brasher, Longview, Texas, five bass, 16-8
6th: Justin Atkins, Florence, Ala., five bass, 16-0
7th: Dean Alexander, Georgetown, Texas, five bass, 15-0
8th: Dylan Hays, Sheridan, Ark., five bass, 14-15
9th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 14-13
10th: Grae Buck, Harleysville, Pa., five bass, 14-12
Joseph Webster of Fulton, Mississippi, earned the day's $500 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth. Overall there were 641 bass weighing 1,405 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 158 pros Thursday. The catch included 85 five-bass limits.
David Larson of Mound, Minnesota, leads the Co-Angler Division with four bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces, followed by Benjie Seaborn of Guin, Alabama, in second place with four bass totaling 13 pounds, 15 ounces. The top 10 co-anglers after day one on Lake Travis are:
1st: David Larson, Mound, Minn., four bass, 16-11
2nd: Benjie Seaborn, Guin, Ala., five bass, 13-15
3rd: Thomas Martens, Jonestown, Texas, five bass, 12-3
4th: Ronald Young, Lake Wales, Fla., five bass, 11-6
5th: Sterling Martin, Beeville, Texas, five bass, 10-11
6th: Jason Smith, Forney, Texas, five bass, 10-8
7th: Wayne Hauser, Mooresville, N.C., five bass, 10-1
8th: Tim Beale, Hernando, Miss., five bass, 9-10
9th: Anthony Ferdinando, Spicewood, Texas, five bass, 9-7
10th: Mike Casanova, Frisco, Texas, four bass, 8-13
Larson also earned $250 for the Big Bass award in the Co-Angler Division with an 8-pound, 5-ounce largemouth.
Overall there were 323 bass weighing 597 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 127 co-anglers Thursday. The catch included 18 five-bass limits.