I feel like I always start these stories out with something about how I personally know about the said person on ‘The Catch‘. And today will be no different.

First time I ever met Thy Dinh he was covered in mud, standing on the back of Tony Dean’s (also mud-covered) Ranger bass boat fishing down the bank having what you would call … ‘a good ole time’. It was the opening morning of the very first tournament I put on for the Marshall Bass Trail in West Virginia on Sutton Lake. That morning we drove up the lake to go get pictures (I believe) and there we found Thy and Tony after they may have or have not hit the mud flat past the railroad trestle. Covered in mud after they had been stuck in the mud for three hours and pushed their way off of the flat, Tony and Thy were still both smiling and having a great time as usual.

And that same attitude still hasn’t changed to this day. Thy has grown up around fishing, but his love for bass fishing just recently came about just a few short years ago.

“I have always loved fishing since I was introduced to it when I was about 10 years old,” said Dinh. “The type of fishing that was taught to me was more cat fishing, sturgeon fishing and pan fishing. Then I was introduced to stripe bass fishing later on in life when my family moved to California.”

Dinh claims it was when a friend took him bass fishing with artificial lures that he got ‘hooked’ into bass fishing. He always used live bait growing up fishing, so seeing artificial lures was something he kind of laughed at until his friend showed him what artificial lures can do.

“I thought to myself there is no way a fish would eat that,” he said. “Since I was so used to fishing with live baits, I brought live bait onto the boat. We had a little competition that day, I used live bait and he used artificial bait and sure enough, he won and he caught the biggest fish I have ever seen as far as a largemouth bass goes. I would say it was an eight-plus pounder from the California Delta.”

Thy got into tournament fishing when he moved back to West Virginia. Through a co-worker who just happens to be one of the same fishing partners, he fishes with today. Columbia Gas had sponsored the COBB Fishing Tournament on the Elk River and that is when he crossed paths with Tony Dean.

“I didn’t know Tony tournament fished and that he had a boat when I met him the first time at work,” Dinh said of his friend. “It was about two years after having worked with him and talking to him, I told him one day ‘man I would love to go fishing and do some tournament fishing.’ That was when he said come and talk to me some more at my house and I went. That was when it all started.”

“He brought me into the tournament fishing world and showed me his boat and how he had his garage setup for all his rigs. It was like a mini Bass Pro Shops. Fast forward we did a couple of tournaments together before we found the Marshall Bass Trail.”

And since then Thy has been with the Marshall Bass Trail and has always been a guy I look forward to seeing at the ramp. Never I have seen him show up to the ramp not excited about going fishing and for me just getting that ray of positivity at 5 o’clock in the morning typically got me fired up for the day.

Thy and Tony have qualified for The Cup three times since its existence and notched an eight-place finish in 2019 in it. Since 2019, I have noticed Thy has progressed as a fisherman and I can only expect it is just a matter of time before he can knock down some wins.

“My goal for 2023 is to do a little more winning if not placing in these tournaments,” said Dinh who will have a lengthy tournament schedule. “I am currently planning on fishing the Marshall Super Series, Ferguson’s Great Outdoors Marine tournaments, Fish On Bassmaster Club tournaments, and the Kanawha River Bass tournaments. 32 total tournaments I believe. That includes other tournaments that are not listed in the trails.”

If you are a guy that plays on odds, 32 tournaments gives you pretty good odds to grab a win in one of those 32 tournaments.

Another goal for Thy he explained was giving back to the community through fishing.

“So a guy that sticks out to me and someone who encourages me is Rob Ciarapica,” Dinh said. “He’s a great guy and gives back to the community by doing his part by just cleaning up and picking up each time he goes fishing. That is what we should do each tournament, I know we don’t always make messes but hey, if you see something on the ground? Pick it up and throw it away.”

Something I think we can all applaud is anyone who sets out to help the youth get into fishing. Even if it isn’t bass fishing, getting the youth involved in fishing is important. Thy wants to be involved in helping more kids get into fishing as well.

“I do want to show others such as kids getting into fishing more, maybe not just tournament fishing but fishing in general,” he said. “Once I got into the Marshall Bass Trail just trying it out, I have learned a lot from every angler I have met ever since and made friendships through fishing. Our anglers in West Virginia are a great bunch of guys doing what they love to do who are all good friends and such. That is what I am all about. Bass fishing with friends and meeting more friends.”

And that is why Thy has always been a positive influence on me and others.