Thrift, Bertrand Have Big Days In The Rain

By MLF Communications Staff

MASSENA, N.Y. – Even the remnants of Hurricane Debby drenching the St. Lawrence River couldn’t extinguish the red-hot fishing Friday at the Bass Pro Tour regular-season finale.

The 39 anglers finishing out Group B’s Qualifying Round on Friday consistently caught fish throughout the day, led by Bryan Thrift, who registered 31 bass for 91 pounds 6 ounces for a total of 160-3 over two days. Thrift ended the round just 4 ounces ahead of a hard-charging Josh Bertrand, who wound up with 159-15.

The big winner of the day was the 10th-place finisher, Wheeler, who clinched the 2024 Angler of the Year honors and the $100,000 payout – Wheeler’s third AOY title in the last four years.

In addition to the battle for the top of the group and the Angler of the Year title, there was plenty of movement on ScoreTracker throughout the day. Still, only two anglers below 10th place at the start of the day will advance to the Knockout Round – and both made big jumps as Jared Lintner (14th to 4th) and Mark Daniels, Jr. (17th to 8th) replaced Skeet Reese and Fletcher Shryock.

Thrift was firmly ahead of Group B for much of the day until Bertrand made a run and briefly passed him in the final 10 minutes. Thrift immediately added a 3-3 to take the lead for good. Thrift caught fish early and remained in control of the lead most of the day by fishing his strengths – using baitcast gear and a jig that he designed.

While other baits caught a few late fish for Thrift, a 1/2- and 3/4-ounce green pumpkin yellow Fitzgerald Fishing Bryan Thrift tungsten micro jig was his primary weapon, helping him land nearly 60 pounds in the first period alone.

"The day started really good, catching 50-something pounds," Thrift said. "That allowed me to start looking for new areas, and I spent most of the day just fishing around. I looked for new stuff and went shallow to places I hadn't fished all week."

While he caught a handful of fish on new areas in the late afternoon, Thrift is all in on a particular stretch of the massive river.

"That's where I've caught most of my fish on both days," he said of his location. "I have no idea if that’ll be good enough and don't know what the changing weather will do to them. I don't expect them to bite as well as they did today."

Ever the one to downplay his success, Thrift believes it will take big weights to make the Championship Round and thinks he'll need everything to line up for him to advance.

"I have to think it will take 60, 70 pounds to move on," he said. "I have that one main area, but don't have a lot of other stuff that's real good."

Here are the totals for the 10 Group B anglers who are advancing:

1st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 56 bass, 160-3
2nd: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 51 bass, 159-15
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 45 bass, 147-5
4th: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 50 bass, 143-9
5th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 48 bass, 137-11
6th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 41 bass, 137-8
7th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 42 bass, 136-6
8th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 45 bass, 132-8
9th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 45 bass, 128-6
10th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 45 bass, 123-3

The $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award for the day went to pro John Murray, who caught a 5-15 largemouth with just nine minutes remaining in Period 3. It was the second largemouth bass to win the daily award this week. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, showcases 78 of the best professional anglers in the world competing for a purse of more than $805,000, with a top prize of $100,000 going to the winner.

The 39 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday, with the 39 anglers in Group B on the water on Wednesday and Friday. The anglers who finished 1st through 10th from each group will comprise Saturday’s Knockout Round.

In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round, when weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers depart at 6:45 a.m. ET each day from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Highway 131. Anglers are allowed to trailer to any ramp of their choosing within the fishing boundaries, and competition will begin on the water at 7:30 a.m. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch beginning at 4 p.m.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live starting from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

The event features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)

1. Bryan Thrift -- 68-13 (25) -- 91-06 (31) -- 160-03 (56) -- 4-01

2. Josh Bertrand -- 60-14 (21) -- 99-01 (30) -- 159-15 (51) -- 5-05

3. Spencer Shuffield -- 83-14 (24) -- 63-07 (21) -- 147-05 (45) -- 4-04

4. Jared Lintner -- 52-13 (19) -- 90-12 (31) -- 143-09 (50) -- 4-04

5. Drew Gill -- 100-04 (36) -- 37-07 (12) -- 137-11 (48) -- 5-01

6. Michael Neal -- 64-03 (19) -- 73-05 (22) -- 137-08 (41) -- 5-11

7. Justin Cooper -- 61-10 (18) -- 74-12 (24) -- 136-06 (42) -- 4-05

8. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 48-04 (16) -- 84-04 (29) -- 132-08 (45) -- 4-13

9. Chris Lane -- 59-02 (22) -- 69-04 (23) -- 128-06 (45) -- 4-06

10. Jacob Wheeler -- 74-05 (29) -- 48-14 (16) -- 123-03 (45) -- 4-06

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

11. Ron Nelson -- 53-05 (18) -- 58-03 (19) -- 111-08 (37) -- 4-10

12. Brandon Coulter -- 35-11 (11) -- 74-02 (23) -- 109-13 (34) -- 5-02

13. Fletcher Shryock -- 65-06 (23) -- 43-09 (17) -- 108-15 (40) -- 3-05

14. Skeet Reese -- 63-07 (20) -- 41-10 (15) -- 105-01 (35) -- 4-01

15. Keith Carson -- 54-03 (17) -- 50-05 (15) -- 104-08 (32) -- 5-03

16. John Murray -- 54-10 (17) -- 48-03 (17) -- 102-13 (34) -- 5-15

17. Terry Scroggins -- 23-07 (8) -- 78-06 (29) -- 101-13 (37) -- 3-15

18. Nick LeBrun -- 32-01 (11) -- 63-11 (22) -- 95-12 (33) -- 4-04

19. Shin Fukae -- 40-03 (12) -- 55-03 (19) -- 95-06 (31) -- 3-15

20. Jeff Sprague -- 41-01 (14) -- 53-15 (18) -- 95-00 (32) -- 4-09

21. Martin Villa -- 52-12 (17) -- 41-13 (13) -- 94-09 (30) -- 4-05

22. Casey Ashley -- 40-03 (15) -- 51-06 (18) -- 91-09 (33) -- 3-15

23. Wesley Strader -- 33-13 (10) -- 52-06 (18) -- 86-03 (28) -- 4-06

24. Cole Floyd -- 38-08 (14) -- 46-10 (17) -- 85-02 (31) -- 3-15

25. Takahiro Omori -- 29-11 (11) -- 53-00 (17) -- 82-11 (28) -- 5-10

26. Adrian Avena -- 49-02 (17) -- 32-15 (10) -- 82-01 (27) -- 5-08

27. Jeremy Lawyer -- 43-03 (15) -- 37-03 (11) -- 80-06 (26) -- 4-09

28. Dylan Hays -- 37-03 (12) -- 41-07 (13) -- 78-10 (25) -- 5-07

29. Matt Lee -- 35-00 (12) -- 39-01 (13) -- 74-01 (25) -- 4-04

30. Alton Jones -- 47-04 (15) -- 26-03 (9) -- 73-07 (24) -- 4-05

31. Andy Morgan -- 39-03 (13) -- 32-08 (11) -- 71-11 (24) -- 3-15

32. Andy Montgomery -- 33-03 (11) -- 36-07 (12) -- 69-10 (23) -- 4-08

33. Ryan Salzman -- 25-04 (9) -- 39-05 (14) -- 64-09 (23) -- 3-14

34. Jacopo Gallelli -- 28-12 (8) -- 33-04 (11) -- 62-00 (19) -- 5-03

35. David Walker -- 17-09 (7) -- 43-02 (15) -- 60-11 (22) -- 3-15

36. Randy Howell -- 25-13 (9) -- 24-11 (8) -- 50-08 (17) -- 4-04

37. Gerald Spohrer -- 20-03 (7) -- 29-05 (9) -- 49-08 (16) -- 4-11

38. Todd Faircloth -- 16-15 (6) -- 21-00 (7) -- 37-15 (13) -- 3-14

39. Colby Schrumpf -- 12-09 (4) -- 22-15 (7) -- 35-08 (11) -- 5-06