After catching another limit today, he is in position to win again on the Ouachita River as he leads the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship bass fishing tournament with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 26 pounds, 3 ounces.
“I am feeling pretty good,” said Horton, a four-time BFNC qualifier and 2002 Bassmaster Classic contender. “I kind of thought it would take 33 pounds to win, and now I am just hoping I can duplicate that. I had to work pretty hard today. I never could figure out what the big fish were doing. Yesterday I figured out what the big fish were doing pretty quickly and I was able to run with it. But today it took me a little longer to figure out what to do.”
Horton went to the same area as he did yesterday. “You can’t help but fish some of the places where you caught them the day before because a lot of these fish live in certain little areas. It was just something a little bit different today; they weren’t sitting as high on stuff like they were yesterday.”
The closest challenger to Horton is Tennessee’s Mark Pierce, who has 22-1. “I am doing the same thing as I did yesterday,” said Pierce, who had an 11-6 limit yesterday and 10-11 today. “I am doing a milk run on the river, throwing a reaction bait.”
The overall winner of this event will take home a fully rigged Skeeter/Yamaha boat and motor package worth more than $45,000 and receive an invitation to enter the 2012 Bassmaster Elite Series.
The 54 amateur anglers are also competing for six Federation Nation divisional berths to the 2012 Bassmaster Classic taking place Feb. 24-26 on the Red River out of Shreveport-Bossier City, La. The top angler for each of the six divisions will be awarded a Classic seat and receive automatic qualification into the 2012 Central, Northern and/or Southern Opens.
Tournament leader Horton continues to top the Southern Division, and the leading anglers in the other five divisions include New Hampshire’s John Diaco with 19-11 in the Eastern; Josh Polfer of Idaho with 19-6 in the Western; Indiana’s Matt McCoy, 19-5, Northern; Jared Miller of Oklahoma, 18-7, Central; and Maryland’s Chris Price, 17-9, Mid-Atlantic.
The final day takeoff will begin at 7:15 a.m. CT tomorrow at the Forsythe Park boat ramp (2201 Riverside Dr., in Monroe).
Day 2 – 2011 B.A.S.S. FEDERATION NATION CHAMPIONSHIP – WEST MONROE, LA
2011 BFNC 11/3-11/5
Ouachita River, West Monroe LA.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Jamie Horton Centerville, AL 10 26-03 0 $500.00
Day 1: 5 16-04 Day 2: 5 09-15
2. Mark Pierce Clarksville, TN 10 22-01 0
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 10-11
3. John Diaco Rochester, NH 8 19-11 0
Day 1: 4 11-15 Day 2: 4 07-12
4. Josh Polfer Nampa, ID 10 19-06 0
Day 1: 5 11-03 Day 2: 5 08-03
5. Matt McCoy Indianapolis, IN 8 19-05 0
Day 1: 5 14-01 Day 2: 3 05-04
6. Todd Serfoss Bath, SD 9 19-00 0
Day 1: 4 06-13 Day 2: 5 12-03
7. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 10 18-14 0
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 08-05
8. Jared Miller Norman, OK 10 18-07 0
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 07-14
9. Chris Price Church Hill, MD 10 17-09 0
Day 1: 5 08-00 Day 2: 5 09-09
10. Josh Wray Omaha, AR 10 17-01 0
Day 1: 5 08-08 Day 2: 5 08-09
11. Tom Jessop Dalhart, TX 10 16-15 0
Day 1: 5 08-11 Day 2: 5 08-04
12. Tom Reynolds Lyme, CT 10 15-06 0
Day 1: 5 05-07 Day 2: 5 09-15
13. Justy Varkevisser Johannesburg SOUTH AFRI 10 15-04 0
Day 1: 5 07-00 Day 2: 5 08-04
14. Skip Sjobeck Randolph, VT 10 14-11 0
Day 1: 5 06-00 Day 2: 5 08-11
15. Stephen Dyer Mt Plesant, NC 10 14-08 0
Day 1: 5 06-15 Day 2: 5 07-09
16. Bryan McNeal Enon, OH 10 14-02 0
Day 1: 5 07-05 Day 2: 5 06-13
17. Michael Smith Laurel Hill, FL 9 13-14 0
Day 1: 5 09-03 Day 2: 4 04-11
18. Pat Klausen Lincoln, NE 8 13-13 0
Day 1: 3 04-00 Day 2: 5 09-13
19. Aaron Leon Henderson, NV 10 13-04 0
Day 1: 5 05-08 Day 2: 5 07-12
20. Chris Morrison St. Mary's, WV 9 13-04 0
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 4 05-05
21. Daniel Stark Eldon, MO 7 13-01 0
Day 1: 2 03-01 Day 2: 5 10-00
22. Jason Pecoraro Youngsville, LA 10 12-14 0
Day 1: 5 06-08 Day 2: 5 06-06
23. Heath Martin Louisville, KY 10 12-10 0
Day 1: 5 04-10 Day 2: 5 08-00
24. Jared Roos Paradise, UT 9 12-03 0
Day 1: 5 05-09 Day 2: 4 06-10
25. Carlo Alberto Tenchini Verona ITALY 9 12-00 0
Day 1: 4 04-01 Day 2: 5 07-15
26. Aaron Echternkamp Moses Lake, WA 10 11-13 0
Day 1: 5 06-04 Day 2: 5 05-09
27. Richard McCrone Cream Ridge, NJ 6 11-09 0
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 1 00-15
28. Jesse Reynolds Muscatine, IA 7 11-05 0
Day 1: 5 07-14 Day 2: 2 03-07
29. Scott Sirakos Houston, MA 7 10-08 0
Day 1: 4 06-11 Day 2: 3 03-13
30. Tony Choe Fairfax, VA 8 10-07 0
Day 1: 3 03-15 Day 2: 5 06-08
31. Ed McCaw Ingacio, CO 6 10-00 0
Day 1: 1 01-04 Day 2: 5 08-12
32. Mike Cumberledge Virginia Beach, VA 7 09-10 0
Day 1: 4 04-04 Day 2: 3 05-06
33. Paul Gietka Abingdon, MD 8 09-04 0
Day 1: 3 03-02 Day 2: 5 06-02
34. Jeff Jones Marietta, GA 7 09-00 0
Day 1: 2 02-01 Day 2: 5 06-15
35. George Cooper Buxton, ME 6 09-00 0
Day 1: 5 07-15 Day 2: 1 01-01
36. Boyd C Golightly Preston, ID 8 08-14 0
Day 1: 3 02-10 Day 2: 5 06-04
37. Andrew Nitchals Willmar, MN 8 08-14 0
Day 1: 5 05-13 Day 2: 3 03-01
38. Darren Thornton Harare ZIMBABWE 6 08-06 0
Day 1: 1 02-10 Day 2: 5 05-12
39. Don Edmonds Sacramento, CA 7 07-13 0
Day 1: 2 02-05 Day 2: 5 05-08
40. Destre Dedeaux Meadville, MS 7 07-13 0
Day 1: 5 05-02 Day 2: 2 02-11
41. Curtis Spindler Missoula, MT 6 07-12 0
Day 1: 5 06-12 Day 2: 1 01-00
42. Nicholas Fitzsimmons Lyle, WA 7 07-10 0
Day 1: 4 04-07 Day 2: 3 03-03
43. Jay Salisbury Aztec, NM 7 07-08 0
Day 1: 2 02-03 Day 2: 5 05-05
44. Gerald Kimzey Willcox, AZ 5 07-04 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 07-04
45. Jeff Green Gaffney, SC 5 07-01 0
Day 1: 5 07-01 Day 2: 0 00-00
46. Beau Branine Haysville, KS 8 06-09 0
Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 5 00-14
47. Thomas Kiefer Fowlerville, MI 4 06-04 0
Day 1: 1 01-09 Day 2: 3 04-11
48. Andrew MacColl CHEPACHET, RI 5 05-09 0
Day 1: 2 02-08 Day 2: 3 03-01
49. Greg Heindselman Lewistown, MO 4 05-02 0
Day 1: 2 03-02 Day 2: 2 02-00
50. Brian Christianson La Crosse, WI 2 05-01 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 1 03-03
51. Edgar Romero Leon MEXICO 4 04-14 0
Day 1: 3 03-11 Day 2: 1 01-03
52. Takuya Wakebe Odawara Kanagawa JAPAN 2 03-03 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-03
53. Edward Robak Weymouth, MA 2 02-02 0
Day 1: 1 01-03 Day 2: 1 00-15
54. Craig Denham Fenlon Falls ONTARIO CA 1 01-00 0
Day 1: 1 01-00 Day 2: 0 00-00
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BIG BASS
Day
1 Jamie Horton Centerville, AL 05-02 $0.00
2 John Diaco Rochester, NH 05-01 $0.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 28 200 314-10
2 31 206 311-15
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59 406 626-09