Thrift Leads FLW at Beaver Lake

Chevy pro Bryan Thrift takes Day 1 lead at FLW Tour stop on Beaver Lake

Thrift Leads 1 Windy and warm conditions greeted the FLW Tour pros on Day 1 of FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake out of Rogers, AR. Damiki pro Bryan Thrift, winner of the Sam Rayburn FLW Tour event a couple of weeks ago, brought in a limit weighing 16 pounds 2 ounces. Pro Spencer Shuffield is in second with a weight of 15 pounds 5 ounces.

Rounding out the Top 5 are in third veteran two-tour pro Steve Kennedy weighing 14 pounds 15 ounces. Fourth goes to Pro Eric Olliverson who brought in 14 pounds 12 ounces. Costa pro Casey Ashley and Rigid Industries pro Adrian Avena are tied for fifth with 14 pounds 10 ounces.

Thrift blessed.

"I had a good day today," said Thrift. "I was blessed. I've never caught this many fish on Beaver Lake. I was just running up and down the lake. I'm not on a particular spot or a particular pattern.

"I caught my biggest fish using 6-pound line and a Damiki 4 ½-inch finesse worm on a 1/8-ounce shaky head. The line broke when I got it in the net. I was truly blessed."

Shuffield worked with the wind

"I ran that wind today, man," said Shuffield. "I got right out in it. My trolling motor was constantly coming in and out of the water, and I stayed on those windy banks. It worked out for me today."

Kennedy's fish were on

"They were eating today when you got around them," said Kennedy. "My first fish was my biggest fish. I watched that fish eat the bait. He came right in and just sucked it in."

Ashley practiced

"I tell ya, I had a rough practice," said Ashley. "I knew it was gonna be tough. I've never been here before. I went out and started practicing again today. I ran around a lot. I'm gonna go do that tomorrow."

Last minute surge for Avena

"I caught my big fish with three minutes to go," said Avena. "Talk about pulling one out. I caught three fish on my last three flips and had to hustle in."

Local weather forecast for tomorrow is calling for mostly cloudy skies early becoming partly cloudy later in the day. High around 74 with winds south/southeast up to 10 mph.