FLIPPIN, ARK. - Ranger Pro Bryan Thrift came into the FLW Tour event on Lake Eufaula as one of the tournament's clear favorites. His resume, beyond being one of the most feared anglers on Tour, included two second place finishes in his last two major events held on the lake. His final day's total of five bass weighing 15 pounds, 5 ounces was enough to propel him to the fourth FLW Tour victory of his career and a $125,000 payday.
"This is my favorite lake in the country. I absolutely love it," said Thrift. "I've wanted to win here so bad for so long...so to finally get over the hump feels pretty good."
In his last 10 tour-level events, Thrift has now reeled off two wins, four top-10's and 10 straight top-30's. His victory on Eufaula also moved him into 2nd place overall in the race for FLW Angler of the Year.
Thrift's pattern on Eufaula consisted of something he does perhaps better than any other angler on tour; fish a high-speed, run-and-gun numbers game. With nearly 200 waypoints, Thrift put on a clinic in efficiency. Primarily throwing a swimbait to isolated cover, each target would only get a few casts to produce, sometimes without even deploying the trolling motor, before running off to the next one.
Thrift also pointed out the type of cover wasn't nearly as important as the size of the object. "I don't really care about the big stuff," he said. "I like for it to be small and compact; something that others won't fool with and that I can cover in about two to three casts. It might only hold a single fish, but that's why I want to have so many of those places to throw at. If I throw at enough of them I'm going to get five bites. It's a numbers game, simple as that."
Thrift brought five-fish limits to the weigh-in stand each of the tournament's four days, finishing with 69 pounds, 14 ounces and held off second-place finisher and fellow Ranger Pro Troy Morrow, who finished with 66 pounds, 15 ounces. With the win, Thrift earned the $100,000 first-place prize from FLW Outdoors as well as the $25,000 Ranger Cup bonus.
In total, six anglers who finished in the Top-10 at Lake Eufaula were members of the Ranger Pro Staff.
"My Ranger Z520C was such an advantage in this event," said Thrift. "I did a ton of idling during practice and then ran as hard as I could for four days and my Ranger never skipped a beat. To make an extra $25,000 for running the best boat on the water is icing on the cake."
The Wal-Mart FLW Tour resumes June 11-14 on Tennessee's Lake Chickamauga for the fifth stop on the 2015 schedule.
About Ranger Boats
Headquartered in Flippin, Ark., Ranger Boats is the nation's premier manufacturer of legendary fiberglass and aluminum fishing boats, which include series of bass, multi-species, fish 'n play, waterfowl utility and saltwater boats. Founded in 1968 by Forrest L. Wood, Ranger Boats continues its commitment to building the highest-quality, strongest-performing boats on the water. For more information, go to RangerBoats.com.
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