9:40 a.m. The wind has picked up as Horne hits the point at the end of the channel bank with a Megabass 110 jerkbait in a discontinued color pattern Horne describes as “purple-y pink.”
9:44 a.m. Horne rounds the point and casts the jig to another seawall.
9:53 a.m. Horne makes a short run downlake to a tributary arm. “There’s a 7-foot ditch running parallel to shore here; that’s a perfect transitional setup for early winter bass.” He casts the jig to the ditch.
10:07 a.m. Horne catches keeper No. 3, 1 pound, 4 ounces, off the ditch on the jig. “There’s some rock and a little brush down there; I’m reeling the jig slowly along the bottom, pausing for a few seconds when I feel it contact some cover, then reeling again. That fish hit on the pause. Some guys have trouble believing that a bass will strike a lure that’s not moving, but think about it: When confronted by a predator, live prey often ‘freezes’ instead of fleeing, so ‘deadsticking’ is actually a highly realistic presentation.”
10:10 a.m. Horne sticks another bass in the ditch on the jig; this one comes unbuttoned.
4 HOURS LEFT
10:19 a.m. Horne cranks the mud point at the end of the ditch bank with the RkCrawler.
10:32 a.m. Horne has moved to the opposite side of the point and is alternating between the RkCrawler and jig. What’s his take on the day so far? “I don’t have ideal conditions today, but the bite has been fairly good so far and I’ve managed to catch one big fish, so I’m pumped! So far, dragging that jig has been my most successful presentation. I’ll probably spend my remaining time hitting main-lake cover and structure with some depth nearby.”
10:41 a.m. Horne idles to another main-lake point and cranks the RkCrawler across the structure. He hangs the lure in a submerged stump and retrieves it.
11:03 a.m. The north wind bites hard as Horne cranks a main-lake rockpile.
11:09 a.m. He drags the jig across the rockpile and lets it free-fall down the side. “Should’ve been one there!”
3 HOURS LEFT
11:17 a.m. Still hammering that rockpile. Horne finally lays down his jig rod and stows his trolling motor. “I’m sure some bass will eventually move up on this spot to feed, but I can’t wait on ’em all day. Let’s take a ride!”
11:23 a.m. Horne has made a bone-chilling, high-speed run to the extreme upper end of Lake N. The sky is clearing as he fishes an inflowing ditch with the jig, RkCrawler and Little John.
11:27 a.m. Horne hangs the RkCrawler in an unseen obstruction and breaks it off.
11:29 a.m. Horne dredges up a gnarly wad of fishing line with the Little John. “Must be a lot of bank fishermen on this lake. Not everybody can afford a boat.”
11:36 a.m. Horne ties on a firetiger Spro Little John MD crankbait. “This lure runs a little deeper than the regular Little John, and you gotta love that old-school color!”
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