Shelby Shopper Shelby NC
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Page 26 - shelby shopper & info - 704/484-1047 www.shelbyinfo.com Thursday, August 15-August 21, 2019 Thrift wins Professional Bass Fishing's 2019 FLW Cup HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (Aug. 11, 2019) – Pro Bryan Thrift of Shel- by, North Carolina, brought a fi ve-bass lim- it to the stage weighing 10 pounds, 13 ounc- es, Sunday to claim the title of FLW Cup Champion at the FLW Cup on Lake Hamilton. Thrift, with a three-day total of 15 bass for 38 pounds, 7 ounces, won by a 5-pound, 1-ounce margin over pro Kyle Walters of Grant Valkaria, Florida, who caught a three-day to- tal of 15 bass weighing 33-6, good for $60,000. Sunday's fi nal weigh-in marked the fi nale of the 2019 FLW Cup, which featured 52 of the best professional bass an- glers from across North America. Thrift led the tournament on all three days of competition and took home the top prize of $300,000. "I feel like this tournament was an event that everybody thought I would eventually win one day, except for myself," said Thrift, who pushed his career earnings to more than $3 million dollars and is now the No. 2 all-time leading money winner in FLW history. "I felt like I would eventually get a chance, and I felt like this tournament was the fi rst Cup that I truly had a chance to win. I still can't believe that I won it, this is an amazing feeling." Thrift said that his tournament was a "mixed bag" each day. Of the 15 bass that he weighed in, he caught them on eight different baits, in- cluding a buzzbait, a topwater walking bait, a Texas rig, a drop-shot rig, fi ve different crank- baits, a frog, a Damiki Underspin and a Dami- ki Armor Shad Paddle Tail swimbait. "Fishing in August, you have to fi sh every- thing," Thrift said. "Every morning I'd start fi sh- ing shallow – the bank and shade lines – then I'd fi sh a few boat docks, and then I'd move out and fi sh some brush. I even caught some fi sh that weren't around anything, just around bait and suspended. I caught them on seven or eight different patterns, and you have to have that in August because two or three of them will let you down." The only time that Thrift really stuck a lot of fi sh in a hurry was Sunday when he pulled up to his fi rst spot and fi sh were busting the sur- face over a 200-yard span. "Today started out actually pretty good," he said. "I ran to a place that I knew [Bryan] Schmitt was catching them schooling, and I knew he didn't make the cut. So I went in there, and sure enough they were school- ing like crazy. I caught a limit fairly quickly at probably about 8 or 8:30. It didn't weigh much; maybe 7 or 7 1/2 pounds. And I'm thinking, 'Shoot, I've got all day to upgrade. This is good. We're good to go.' "So that helped slow me down and give me confi dence. But at about 12:30 I hadn't had another bite. I had one area that I'd caught most of my weight in in the last hour and a half each day in Hot Springs Creek. So I ran in there at 12:30. I said, 'If I'm gonna win it, I'm gonna win it back here.' I didn't crank the boat until 3:30 and ended up culling three." The spot was a small dead-end pocket with deep water running all the way to the back. The bass were pushing bait up not quite to the bank, but close. "It's just a shallow fl at," he said of that fi nal spot. "It's got a lot of shad back there. There were three little brush piles. They weren't big. They were maybe the size of the hood of a truck; just three small, little brush piles. I'd just rotate between them. One of them, they were kind of schooling around a little bit, and I caught a couple around it while they were up schooling." For complete details and updated informa- tion visit FLWFishing.com. For regular up- dates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the sport's top anglers on the FLW Tour on FLW's social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Submitted by FLW Bryan Thrift with his family. Cleveland Community College Firefi ghter Academy graduates twelve Cleveland Community College held its 2019 Summer Firefi ghter Academy graduation cer- emony on Friday, August 9, 2019 at the LeG- rand Center. Twelve men and women were honored during the ceremony. This ceremony marked the 10th anniversa- ry of the Firefi ghter Academy graduation and the 21st class to graduate. "The fi refi ghter academy at Cleveland Community College is well known throughout the state and attracts students from Cleveland County and beyond," said Dr. Jason Hurst, president of CCC. "This is an important program at our College and one that benefi ts our community and others as we prepare these men and women for one of the most important jobs you can have. We wish them much success and pray they stay safe throughout their career as fi refi ghters." Dr. Hurst welcomed everyone and graduate Greyson Godwin gave the invocation. Bruce Mack, vice president of Economic and Work- force Development, provided the opening re- marks. Class president Clif Decius addressed the family, friends and supporters gathered for the occasion. Coordinator and Instructor of Fire and Rescue Training Richard Carroll gave the keynote address. After Dr. Hurst presented graduates with their certifi cates, each one was pinned by an individual he or she selected. Dr. Hurst admin- istered the fi refi ghter oath, and Carroll made the fi nal presentation of the class. As Carroll closed the ceremony, he remind- ed the newly graduated fi refi ghters that, "En- tering this profession means you automatical- ly have the trust and respect of the community. Small children look up to you; adults count on you. This is a noble call, to be a fi refi ghter. It's up to you to live up to that call." The next Firefi ghter Academy will begin January 6, 2020 at the Brown Emergency Training Center. Call 704-669-4015 for more information. Submitted by Paula B. Vess Pictured left to right are: (seated) Jared Beal, Rhett Ballard, Zachary Tomer-McKinney, Allie Edwards, Steven Christmas, Dafari Tanner, (standing) Greyson Godwin, Chase Hudson, Patrick Webber, Clif Decius, Connor Bardin and Sean Moore. EVEN WHEN IT'S JUST AROUND THE CORNER. VISIT SAFERCAR.GOV/KIDSBUCKLEUP NEVER GIVE UP UNTIL THEY BUCKLE UP.