By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Most of Harvey Horne's rookie season on the Bassmaster Elite Series was a pretty rough experience. He finished no higher than 37th in any of the first eight events and half of those placements were 63rd or worse in a 75-angler field.
He concluded the campaign on a positive note, however, with a 16th-place showing at Oklahoma's Lake Tenkiller in the regular-season finale. He opened this year with another strong effort – 12th at the St. Johns River in early February – but due to one event being canceled due to weather factors and the coronavirus pandemic postponing others, he hasn't had much of an opportunity to sustain his momentum.
He said he's been told that the season is likely to resume with the Sabine River event in Texas in late May/early June. He's been to that quirky fishery once before and is itching to get back.
"I fished an Open there (in 2017) and didn't get to go to the fish I'd found," he said. "I had some mechanical issues on day 1 and some other things going on the next day (he wound up finishing 48th).
"I really do like the place – it's different from anything else we go to except for maybe Winyah Bay (in South Carolina). The tide doesn't fluctuate as much as some other places that have it, but it's tough. Those are the kind of tournaments I usually do best at, so I'm looking forward to getting the season started again there."
St. Johns Rebound
Horne's debut Elite Series event at Florida's St. Johns River last year didn't go well at all and his 66th-place finish laid the quaking foundation that culminated in him ending up at No. 62 on the final points list – a number that would've been more unsightly if not for his solid final outing at Tenkiller.
The 44-year-old Arkansan exacted some revenge on the sprawling St. Johns system this year, however, as he posted his best tour-level placement to date.
"The amount of water there is pretty intimidating when you don't know the specific places in the grass like some of the guys who'd been there before," he said. "I could've gone and fished on top of Rick Clunn (who'd won there in 2016 and would do so again in '19), but I'm not that guy. I'm not going to go where a TV show has shown me that he won the tournament. I like to do my own thing and find my own fish.
"I practiced in the north last year and caught a few decent ones, but I decided that Crescent Lake was where I needed to be and I finished terribly. This year I went south on day 1 and caught four little fish, but then I went north on days 2 and 3, although not as far as (winner Paul) Mueller. Spending time away from the grass paid off. Down there, you just don't have time in three days to learn how to find fish in that grass."
Not Out of Practice
One of the things Horne has focused on during the forced hiatus from competition is social media content creation. That's kept him in his preferred element fairly frequently.
"I've been shooting video and things like that, just fulfilling my duties to myself and the companies I'm partnered with," he said. "That entails spending some time on the water and we're lucky here in that our ramps have stayed open and I've been able to get out and fish a lot.
"I've stayed pretty close to home – Beaver and a couple of other local lakes. I've been doing quite a bit of fishing for crappie, which is one of my favorite things to do when I'm not out chasing the green fish. We haven't caught any giants, but we've gotten some decent ones, 14-inchers or so."
He said his position in the points standings after the season's initial event will likely alter the way he approaches the upcoming tournaments.
"Last year I went in knowing I was guaranteed two years (on the circuit) and I swung for the fences in every tournament. Starting this year 12th in the points, I'll probably be a little more conservative. Instead of going out and trying to catch five 5-pounders, I'll focus on getting a good limit every day of 2 1/2- to 3-pounders.
"If I can maintain what I've done in the last two events, maybe I can have one or two bad ones and still qualify for next year's Classic. And who knows, maybe I'll be in contention for Angler of the Year."
