Harvey Horne Wins Bass Open at Arkansas River
As the tournament drew closer, he still hadn't uncovered anything reliable. "On the last day of practice, I went to one area I hadn't been to and got a big bite - a 6-plus," he said. "I reeled it in and shook her off. I went back to the camper after that. I had that one big fish in that area and that's all I had to go on." It turned out to be a pretty valuable clue as Horne milked that area and another spot nearby, never leaving the launch pool for the duration of the tournament. His weights, comprised entirely of pre-spawners and fish that had moved onto beds, increased by a pound each day and he won in wire-to-wire fashion with a three-day total of 52-07, the highest total in a three-day Bassmaster tournament at the Arkansas River. "It was pretty special to be able to do that," Horne said. "I never would I have imagined going wire to wire, especially after the practice I had." Here's a rundown of how Horne got it done.
Practice:
Horne finished 8th at the Grand Lake Central Open last fall, which helped him secure an invitation to the 2018 Elite Series. He had to turn down the Elite bid, but it was the tough practice followed by a good tournament there that prepared him for this event. "Grand was tough because I was limited on what I could go to, but I stuck with the game plan I put together after day 1 and it all fell into place," he said. The spots he wound up focusing on last week had brush on them, but the key was the water in both areas was warming and protected from the main river current. "The water would warm each day," he said. "The main river was staying around 55, but I was seeing 58 to 59 where everything else was cooling off. Guys who went to Kerr said it got tougher because their water was cooling versus warming." That brought more fish to Horne's areas and gave him the best-case scenario.
Competition:
Horne came up empty at his first two spots on day 1 of the tournament, then visited the area where he caught the 6-pounder in practice. "I caught five in the next 15 minutes and had a feeling I was on something that was good," he said. "I just didn't know the potential it had." He then moved to another spot and culled three times with 4-pound class fish to get to 16-08, good enough for a seven-ounce lead. "The spots were about a half-mile apart. Both areas, when I found them, I thought they were just spawning flats," he said. "It was one of those rare opportunities. I had to only put about six gallons of gas in the boat each day. Very seldom at this level do we get opportunities to go out and have fun in a tournament. After day 1, I felt good and felt like I was on the right places to do well. After day 2, I realized I had a shot to win this thing. I just had to stick with what I was doing and capitalize on every bite I got."
On Friday, he figured he needed to have just as good or a better day to stay in the hunt, let alone the lead. "I went to that first spot and got on it and saw it was a hole nine feet deep with some brush in it and beds in the area," he said. He caught a 5-pounder and two more solid keepers before heading to his second spot where he added one more keeper. At that point, he wanted to expand in case those spots were starting to feel the pressure. "I went looking for new areas in case they didn't hold up," he said. "I caught another about 4 to fill my limit, then just stayed in the area to see if other boats were coming in. I saw one boat, but he didn't quite get to where I was at, so there was minimal pressure on those spots."
It was more on the same on the final day as he left the dock with a 2 1/2-pound cushion. He boated a couple solid keepers early on and eventually filled out his limit before culling with a 4 1/2-pounder on his second spot. Three of the fish he weighed in were caught sight-fishing as the males had started to move onto beds. He said the water in his primary area was super clear and he could occasionally see some fish moving around, but could tell they were skittish. By the final day, they'd pulled up and were locked on beds. The secondary spots were dirtier, much like the rest of the river system.
Winning Pattern:
Horne said he tried to stay off his trolling motor as much as possible and turned his electronics off to limit the "human noise." "I'd drift up against the bank and make fan casts across the brush piles," he said.
The presentation of his creature bait on a swing-head jig was critical, he added. "After I'd cast out, it was a slow, steady retrieve," he said. "I'd hit the brush and lift the bait over it and let it fall on slack line. Most of the bites came then. They were nestled up against that brush and when that bait dropped in front in them, that would trigger the bites."
Winning Gear:
Swing-head jig gear: 7'6" heavy- and extra-heavy Duckett Fishing Micro Magic Pro casting rods, Shimano Curado 200 K casting reel, 20- and 25-pound Sunline Super FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, 3/8-oz. All-Terrain Tackle Swing Rock Jig (green-pumpkin), 6/0 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Hybrid worm hook, 5 1/2" Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog (tilapia, confusion, hematoma).
Horne said he opted for the larger Fighting Frog because "it's one of those baits that not a lot of people throw it and the fish hadn't seen a lot of it. Its size imitates a big crawfish or bluegill. It's big and bulky and aggravates them a little bit."
He used the tilapia and confusion colors in clear water and went with hematoma in dirtier areas.
He caught one weigh-in fish off a bed using a fluke-style bait.
Main factor: "Not having a lot of options. I didn't have a lot of places to run and check. I had two area and that's all I had to go to."
Performance edge: I'm running a 2017 Xpress with a smaller gas tank so I knew I could concentrate on fishing and not have to worry about the locks. Running that boat, I could access shallower water and my Yamaha performed flawlessly and my T-H Marine products were spot on. I used the HydroWave and that seemed to help them bite a little better."
Notable:
The victory qualifies Horne for the Open Championship and if he's able to qualify again for the Elite Series, he'll likely accept this time around. "Last year, it was not necessarily part of my goals, but it worked out that I qualified," he said. "I wasn't able to get the financial backing I thought I was going to get. This year, I'm getting things lined up sooner so if I get an opportunity again, I'll be fishing the Elites in '19."
Bass Open Arkansas River Winning Pattern BassFan 4/25/18 (Todd Ceisner)
