Last year, Bryan Thrift won REDCREST on his home lake, Lake Norman, North Carolina. It surprised nobody as he knows the fishery extremely well and is a threat to win everywhere he fishes. This time, he’ll be fishing Lay Lake in Alabama, a lake he’s never seen, but he should still be considered one of the favorites.
Bryan Thirfit Has Chance to Repeat As Redcrest Champion
REDCREST is a fairly new event with this being just the fifth edition, so the chance to win more than one is pretty special. Thrift hopes to be the first two-time winner; Edwin Evers and Dustin Connell have also won and are qualified for this event.
“It’d be awesome to win again, and I’m the only one who has a chance to repeat this year,” he laughed.
While he’s never been to the lake, Thrift says signs indicate it being a shallow water event with many different techniques in play. “Mid-March in Alabama is always heavy prespawn with the chance for some spawning fish,” he said. “It should be similar to the conditions we had last year on Lake Norman, with fish doing all kinds of things and anglers catching them many different ways.”
Junk-Fishing Approach To The Win
Thrift is known for his ability to run and gun, while mixing and matching different techniques to get bites. That will be his plan when he launches his boat for the first day of practice and he thinks it will take a little bit of everything to do well.
“From what little I know about the lake, it’s pretty diverse,” he said. “There’s largemouth and spotted bass and both should play. Guys can also choose to fish the grass or get up shallow and fish docks, which should both be a good way to catch them.”
One thing that Thrift sees playing a significant role is spinning tackle. “The lake is pretty small and will start to feel the pressure so finesse tactics should be a big deal,” he said. “I’ll have at least four or five on the front deck with everything from a ‘Damiki Rig’ to wacky rigs and shaky heads.”
He likes P-Line’s Spin-X braid and Spin-X fluorocarbon leader material for all his finesse setups. “For braid, I use between 12 and 16-pound depending on the bait,” he said. “I’ll also use a lot of 9- and 11-pound Spin-X leaders. It’s a lot thinner, so instead of using 7 or 8-pound like I used to, I can go up in size and take advantage of the added strength without affecting my baits.”
Fishing Lay Lake At RedCrest 2024
Lay Lake is known for swim jigs in the grass along the bank and Thrift believes they could be a factor, with a frog bite also possible.
“For both these techniques, I like 50-pound P-Line EndurX No Fade Braid,” he said. “I like the strength and the fact that it holds its color so well, so I don’t need to bring a Sharpie anymore to fix the faded line. 50-pound is also a nice balance of power that also casts very well. I’ll go up to the 65-pound in real heavy cover when I’m punching, but 50 is more than strong enough for these two techniques.”
Thrift says that jigs and Texas rigs should also shine, as well as a reaction bait bite with crankbaits and jerkbaits. For all of them, he uses fluorocarbon line but chooses a different one based on the technique.
“For baits where you really set the hook, like a jig or Texas-Rig, I like the original P-Line 100% fluorocarbon in the blue box,” he said. “It holds up well to the shock from a hard hookset. For jigs, I like 20-pound if I’m using a ½-ounce or bigger jig and will drop down to 15-pound test for lighter jigs and most of my Texas-Rigs.”
For reaction baits, Thrift likes P-Line Tactical Fluorocarbon. “It’s a lot softer and has a little bit of stretch, so it’s good for techniques where you reel down to set the hook,” he said. “It’s very forgiving, which is important for baits with treble hooks. I use a lot of 10 and 12-pound for jerkbaits and will use either 12 or 15-pound for crankbaits, depending on how deep I want the bait to dive.”
When REDCREST begins, Bryan Thrift will be one of the favorites to win. He has championship experience with his win last year and a Forrest Wood Cup title in 2019, so he knows how to perform when it matters the most. His plan to repeat includes keeping an open mind and fishing in a variety of different ways, as junk fishing is one of his biggest strengths.
Advertising