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Grant and Muscle Shoals, Ala. – The bass fishing world saw one of the most impressive rookie seasons in history in 2007. Derek Remitz put on a show that most fishing fans will never forget. Remitz’ season mimics the result of the 1999 season when Timmy Horton made the same sort of noise when he stole the spotlight.
The fishing world is still fresh with memories of Remitz’ early season charge which saw him take the lead in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year race after his victory at Amistad, and a 2nd place at the Delta; he was in contention for the Angler of the Year title midway through his rookie year. He finished the year with three top 10 finishes and claimed the Toyota Rookie of the Year crown and finished the 2007 Elite Series season in 25th position.
What may not be quite so fresh in the fishing industry’s mind is that Timmy Horton not only claimed the Rookie of the Year crown in 1999, but he also rode four top 10 finishes; including a win on the Potomac River to the Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown in the Bassmaster Top 150 tour, a predecessor to the Elite Series.
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Each of these anglers shares a common bond, and between them, they place in first and second position as the most remarkable rookie seasons in Bassmaster tournament history.
Remitz on 2007
Remitz, at 25-years-old, has a demeanor that is easy going, and his unassuming nature has not yet allowed his accomplishments to dominate his consciousness. “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Remitz said from his home in Grant Ala. “I look up on the shelf every once in a while and see the Rookie of the Year trophy sitting next to my Amistad trophy and think of how cool it is; but, it hasn’t really set in.”
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He has experienced some of the fruits of what his success has brought him, but instead of his earnings and accomplishments defining him, Remitz merely sees them as a way to do what he loves. “I didn’t get much of an opportunity to do too many promotional days this year,” he said. “The winnings allowed me to just do what I do; fish.”
His success didn’t stop at the Elite Series schedule, being a tournament fisherman; Remitz entered as many events as he could in 2007. He fished all four of the FLW Series BP Eastern Division tournaments, finished in 5th place at Dardanelle, and qualified for the East West fish off with a chance at qualifying for the 2008 FLW Tour Championship.
His plan for 2008 is to fish all of the Elite Series tournaments, all of the FLW Series Eastern Division, and a couple of the FLW Tour events, if time allows. “It’s what I do,” he remarked. “I fish tournaments.”
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He told The BASS ZONE that he owes a lot of his success this year to sticking to what he knows best, fishing an Omega Jig, and that the his confidence in it helped him override some shaky practices. “I only felt confident at Amistad,” the tournament he won. “So, I just buckled down and fished hard with my Omega Jig, and let my gut tell me where to fish.”
But, despite his string of less than fruitful practice rounds, Remitz said that his confidence rose as the year progressed. “I spent a lot of time in trial and error mode,’ he said. “Through it I learned that I could still catch the fish I needed; so I grew to trust myself more, and that helped me.”
He said that he comes away from the year with the knowledge that he needs to learn to better manage his time, especially when things get tough. “I spent a lot of time chasing my tail this year,” he said. “I will have to work on learning to slow down and working the water, that’s part of my learning curve.”
Remitz will spend the off season preparing his gear and tackle and working to build on the 2007 success. “I really appreciate the help all of my sponsors have been,” Remitz said. “I really appreciate what Omega, Triton, Mercury, St. Croix, Yamamoto, Yakima and Yozuri have done for my career.”
Horton Remembers
1999 was a remarkable year for a man who started the season with only one paying sponsor for a total of $250 a month, and a full time guide business between tournaments. By the time the season ended, Timmy Horton had earned not only the Rookie of the Year crown, but he had also claimed the Bassmaster Angler of the Year title as well.
“The opportunities that presented themselves after that season enabled me to buy my first home and move out of the apartment that I was in,” Horton told The BASS ZONE. “Plus, I was able to give up my full time guide business and focus on fishing tournaments.”
Ironically, Horton feels it was his anonymity that first year that allowed him to achieve the level of success he did. “While I was paying for most of it myself, I also didn’t have the sponsor obligations that year to distract me,” Horton said. “So, I was able to focus on catching fish, and not think about everything else; I think that was a big factor in my result that year.”
Horton said he really didn’t think about the Angler of the Year title during the season that much. Instead, Horton said that his primary goal was to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. “It was hard to think about being the Angler of the Year,” said the Bomber Lures pro. “Kevin VanDam and Larry Nixon were breathing down my neck the whole time, so I was focused on the fishing.”
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But, by the midway point, he had taken the lead, and heading into Megabucks at Lake Murray he felt that he had control of the race. “At the time, Megabucks was a points earning event,” Horton said. “By the time it was over, I felt like the race is over.” He finished the year at Lake Wheeler with an 11th place finish, and the title was his.
Horton said that he has a trophy case at home that has all of the trophies from the season and his Angler of the Year in it. “I put that year’s worth of trophies in my trophy case to remind me of how good things can be,” Horton said. “It’s really neat to look back and see how my rookie year ended up; I still get amazed that I was able to win the most coveted title in bass fishing against this group of anglers; they are the highest caliber.
Wrapping it up
Both anglers have experienced success very early in their careers, and in the case of Horton, that success has carried on into four BASS victories, eight trips to the Bassmaster Classic, a Rookie of the Year title with an Angler of the Year crown as well. The result of his 118 career entries and his success is thus far a $988,637.30 combination; and he sees a lot of that same potential in Remitz.
“Derek seems to be a real easy going guy, and I think that will help him keep building on his success,” Horton said of his Elite counterpart. “Having success early was a big boost to my career, and I’m sure Derek will find that as well, he has the demeanor to go a long way in this sport.”
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