Horton, Negatives Behind, Can't Wait For '07

(Editor's note: This is part 1 of a 2-part story with Alabama BASS pro Tim Horton.)

Push the back button on your bass-controller for a moment, and wait until you reach the 1999-2000 season. There – that guy with the blond hair. The rookie. Who's that?

It's Tim Horton, who in one season reached near superstar status when he won the BASS Angler of the Year (AOY) title in his rookie season. Overnight, he became the young, energetic face of the sport.

He wasn't a ripple in the water, either. He continued to circle around the upper echelons of the stats – the BASS AOY Race, and the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten.

The irony is that Horton was exactly the type of young-blood leader the sport needed, but he stepped into the role just as pro bass fishing entered its most tumultuous period ever. Shortly after he won AOY, ESPN purchased BASS and ushered in the post-modern era of the sport.

Horton didn't back down and took the lead in a lot of angler issues. He was elected to the now-defunct BASS Athletes Advisory Council (BAAC), and was vocal on a number of controversial issues. A little while later, he took a lead role in the formation of the new Professional Anglers Association (PAA), and now serves as a board member.

Through it all, BassFans tended to hear more about his opinions on the sport, and less about his fishing. His 2006 season ended on a bad note, too, when he suffered a boating accident at the lake of the Ozarks FLW Series, and then had to work through some trademark issues with the Tim Hortons chain of donut stores.

The good news, Horton said, is all that stuff's behind him now. He doesn't regret the work he did on angler issues, but is more than ready to get back to being Tim Horton the pro, where he wakes up thinking about which lake's next, and how he's going to catch them once he gets there.

And don't forget that he's from Alabama, so the upcoming Bassmaster Classic is just down the highway from his home (read: he's a pre-tournament favorite).

Yep, Horton has a lot to look back on, but even more to look forward to.

Rankings Watch

Horton knows his performance hasn't been where he likes it. When asked about that, he pointed immediately to the World Rankings, where he dropped from 16th to 60th during the 2006 season.

"A lot of anglers say they don't pay attention to the Rankings, but I can assure you I do," he said. "It's something I don't take lightly. We're in the sport of competitive bass fishing, and we judge ourselves by how we're doing in competition.

"I'm not happy where I am. I've never been that low. Since the Rankings have been around, I've usually been in the Top 20 or Top 10. (My current low ranking) was a culmination of having some real bad tournaments toward the end of the year.

"I want to get back up to where I've been most of my career, and I'm real excited about doing that this season."

Boat Vocalist

Horton, as noted, has traveled a lot of miles in this sport already – some roads were paved in performance, some in politics. About the political detours, he said: "I've had a lot on my plate the last 2 or 3 years. There have been a lot of changes, and a lot of turmoil in the sport the last 2 or 3 years.

"I was elected to the BAAC and the PAA as a board member, and it's something I didn't take lightly. I had a lot of things the anglers were telling me we had to have happen, and I worked hard to make sure they did happen."

One issue he worked especially hard on was the quest for anglers to be able to use their own boats in BASS competition during TV days. For a period, the anglers had to use BASS-supplied boats for the final 2 televised days of every tournament.

He runs a ProCraft, and fellow anglers in Bass Cats, Nitros, Rangers and other rigs cared heavily about a chance to expose their boat sponsors on TV. They also cared about being able to use their own electronics, trolling motors and everything else within reach in their personal rigs.

The work he and a few others did through the BAAC was instrumental in reforming BASS policy. But it came with a cost.

"I think now, we're in our own boats for around 80% of the TV days," he said. "There were only three or four guys who were vocal about it – Edwin Evers, myself, Kevin VanDam and Denny Brauer. But I can assure you 98% of the guys felt that was something we had to get done.

"A few guys said that wasn't an issue, and I find that mind-boggling to this day. But those guys are kind of like the little-leaguer's dad who talks to the coach all the time so they can get playing time."

Looking back he's happy he took the lead role. But he's even happier it's done and in the past.

"I'm thankful that BASS officials, and (former BASS GM) Don Rucks in particular, made the move to allow us to have days to promote our sponsors," he added. "But when you put yourself out there in the public, trying to get something done the way we did, you put yourself in a situation for people – whether your peers or others in the industry – to take shots at you.

"You have to know that going in, and it was a very tough part of it. But looking back, I feel it was worth it."

Effect on Performance

As he was smack-dab in the middle of the fray, he found himself concentrating less on fishing. Not a good thing for a pro angler. His stats don't really bear that out – he finished 17th in the BASS AOY race in 2005 – but remember that he's a superstar, expected to soar near the very top.

Tough to do when the weight of the pro fishing world is bearing down on your shoulders, and you're trying to speak for 150 other guys.

He noted: "I think one of the most intriguing things that relates to this period of my career is a quote from Ichiro (Suzuki) – the star outfielder from the Seattle Mariners – who said, 'The best way to be successful in a sport is to have your mind clear of any other distractions.'

"To be at the highest level of competition, you have to have that hunger of where to go next, and how you're going to catch them. But when I finished a tournament, what I had on my mind was how I'd deal with problems.

"That took away from my ambition to perform at a high level like I did the first 3, 4 or 5 years of my career."

Notable

> Horton is currently second among active anglers in consecutive Bassmaster Classics fished (7). Kevin VanDam is first (16).

> He's fished two FLW tournaments since 2003, and both times, something unforeseen happened. The first was the 2003 Wheeler FLW, where he finished 2nd to Aaron Martens. Many BassFans felt Horton should have been declared the winner, because Martens was unable to produce a current Alabama fishing license. The second tournament was the 2006 Lake of the Ozarks FLW Series, where the accident occurred.

> About the accident, Horton said he spoke with Leon Williams – his co-angler who was injured. "I've been in communication with Leon, and he's doing great. I talked to him a couple of days before Christmas. His spirits are high and he's doing really well."

– End of part 1 (of 2) –