Pro Jamie Horton of Centreville, Alabama, grabbed the early lead at the FLW Tour at the Harris Chain of Lakes presented by Lowrance Thursday with five bass weighing 24 pounds, 13 ounces. Horton will bring a 1-ounce advantage over second-place pro Koby Kreiger of Bokeelia, Florida, into Day Two of the event that features 368 of the world’s best bass-fishing professionals and co-anglers casting for top awards of up to $125,000 cash in the Pro Division and up to $25,000 cash in the Co-angler Division.
“I didn’t really have much of a game plan coming into today – things just kind of worked out,” said Horton, a third-year FLW Tour pro who is seeking his first win on the circuit. “I made a lot of bad decisions out there, but I also made five good ones. I didn’t get complacent – I changed areas and kept moving.”
Horton said he fished two lakes today, and that he split his time between bass feeding on shad and bass that were spawning. He said he ended up weighing two from the shad pattern and three from the beds.
“I knew I could catch a limit because I knew where enough bucks were on beds,” said Horton. “I didn’t catch many, but I caught a big one late.”
The Alabama pro said he hopes he can piece together another solid day Friday and make the top 30 cut Saturday.
“Can I catch another bag like this one tomorrow? I’m pretty sure I won’t,” said Horton. “But if I can catch a big one and a limit, then maybe I can hang around.”
The top 10 pros after day one on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:
1 Jamie Horton, Centreville, Ala., five bass, 24-13
2 Koby Kreiger, Bokeelia, Fla., five bass, 24-12
3 John Devere, Berea, Ky., five bass, 24-4
4 Jordan Osborne, Longview, Texas, five bass, 24-1
5 Randy Haynes, Counce, Tenn., five bass, 22-8
5 Harry Moore, Valley, Ala., five bass, 22-8
7 Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 22-7
8 Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., five bass, 21-13
9 Glenn Browne, Ocala, Fla., five bass, 21-3
10 Kerry Milner, Bono, Ark., five bass, 21-1
For a full list of results visit FLWFishing.com.
