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Bruce Camp's Local Fishing Report March 10th edition
Bryan Thrift
 Thrift Wins, Arey Strong Top 5
In the world of bass fishing there are names that even people who aren’t into fishing know and recognize. Names like Dance, Martin and more recently VanDam. One Shelby angler is well on his way to making his name a household name in the bass fishing world. Bryan Thrift, from Shelby, had a great year in 2010. He won his first FLW Tour event on Lake Norman and as the year wound down, he was the 2010 Angler of the Year. Being AofY consist of being the most consistent angler and amazing the most points in the given year. 
So this sets the stage for the first Tour event of 2011. Days one and two, Bryan is catching fish and in the hunt, but day three saw the new proud father bring in the largest catch EVER in an FLW Tour event on Beaver Lake, 20.8 which landed him in second place just 13 ounces behind leader Ron Shuffield.  Also sharing the top five with Thrift was another Shelby angler, Matt Arey. Matt had been catching the most keepers of any angler in the top ten during the first 3 days. This had him in a tie with Stacey King for third going into the final day. As each of the top ten were led to the scales it was apparent that the top five wasn’t going to change much, if any, except within themselves. As Shuffield was brought the scales to weigh his fish, Thrift was standing there as the leader. Shuffield brought out his first few fish and it was looking like it would be a close “down the last fish” battle, and as he brought out fish number three, the bag was void of another keeper bass, thus giving Bryan Thrift the win with 54.08, and the early lead in the 2011 Angler of the Year race. Stacey King ended up with 52.06 and second place followed by Ron Shuffield with 49.04. Randy Blaukat took fourth with 48.08 and Shelby’s Matt Arey nailed down fifth with 48.04.
Now lets rethink the last 2 days of this MAJOR bass fishing tournament. Not just one, but two Shelby, North Carolina anglers were in the top five. That is an awesome feat. Something that in this angler/writer’s, opinion or even the FLW officials didn’t pump up. This would be like having two players on the Superbowl championship team from the same town and them winning co-players of the game award. The next event should play well into both Thrift and Arey’s arsenal, as it will be held on Lake Hartwell at the end of March. Best of luck to both and a huge congrats to both on a great showing at Beaver Lake in Arkansas.
Moss
Anglers keep in mind that next Thursday, the 17th, the weekly Thursday night bass tournaments kick off. These events are 6pm blast-off and 9:30 weigh-in, with a 5 bass limit, all fish measuring at least 14 inches. Entry fee is $30 and that includes big fish for the event. Also next week on Saturday, the 19th is the second annual David Baptist Church benefit tournament on Moss Lake. A-1 Welding will host the event, which has a 7am blast-off and a 3:30 weigh-in. Entry fee is $60 in advance or $70 the morning of the event. Entries can be found at the Moss Lake office. Robert Fitch, who is conducting this second annual event, can be reached at 704-750-4065.
If anyone has any suggestions on stories or pictures of their catch or kill, you can e-mail me at plail5@carolina.rr.com. TITLE THE E-MAIL STORY OR PICTURE “FOR SHOPPER” OR I WILL ASSUME IT’S JUNK MAIL AND NOT OPEN IT.

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