I was really looking forward to Norman because it is full of fish and really suits my style of fishing.  Practice was very good.  I found a very strong swimbait pattern around docks.  Two days before the event I had a 40 bite day on a swimbait that was amazing.  The fish were in a spawn/post-spawn phase and really preferred a bluegill colored 5 inch swimbait.  Wacky worms and shaky head worms also were key around docks for fry guarders and post spawn fish on wood and docks. 

Going into the tournament I really felt confident that I was going to do well in the event.  The first morning of the tournament was very frustrating.  I had about 16lbs worth of fish follow my swimbait but never connect.  I only caught one fish on the bait.  I eventually tried different swimbaits but never found the correct one that they would actually take.  Swimbaits to me seem to be the best bait going when they are on it (hence the Clear Lake Bassmaster tournament last month) or they can be the biggest burner in a tournament.  Fish are very finicky about those baits.  So after a few hours I started to catch fish on the backsides of docks with a shaky worm.  I ended up catching several limits of fish and just never landed a good quality fish to push me over the top.  The dock deal was very specific for me.  Find docks with a gazebo or platform in about 3 feet of water and there was a fish on every one.  It was very simple after I figured it out.  Going into day 2 I was ready to make up some ground.  I figured a limit would be fairly easy after I had it dialed in the first day and all I needed was a little luck with a solid kicker fish and things would be fine.  Day 2 came and once again no luck with the swimbait, just a bunch of 3+ pounders swimming behind the bait again.  So back to the shaky head to catch a limit.  For some reason it just wasn't working the second day.  I stayed with it and only caught two fish until 12:30 then I had to bail.  I finally went sight fishing to try and finish my limit but only managed two more when time ran out.  Overall I am very frustrated about the event.  Off to Dardanelle next week.  

On a side note the Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge Regional qualifiers have been going well.  I just came home from Las Vegas over the weekend from the last qualifier and it was really exciting!  Three of the six are now complete.  The next one is this weekend at the Chicago Bass Pro Shops.  You can sign up to compete at any of the events by 11:00 a.m.  Come out and compete it is a lot of fun!  There are also events left in Baltimore and Nashville in the coming weeks!  Check the Field & Stream website for dates.  The shows are set to air on the Versus network in September & October.   

Magnolia, TX , April 9, 2007—FLW Tour angler Sean Hoernke has signed an endorsement and appearance agreement with Field & Stream, The World’s Leading Outdoor Magazine.  As part of the agreement, Hoernke, who competes in the FLW Tour and FLW Series, will finish the remainder of the 2007 tournament season in a Field & Stream wrapped Skeeter boat powered by a Yamaha engine.

Hoernke, who was the top money winner on the FLW Series in 2006, qualified for the 2007 FLW Championship and closed the 2006 season by winning the FLW Series event on Smith Lake in Alabama. His new Field & Stream boat will debut at the FLW Tour event on Lake Norman. In addition to his fishing accomplishments Hoernke, was featured on the May 2006 cover of Field & Stream and competed in the 2006 Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge presented by Jack Daniel’s.

Starting this spring Hoernke will be balancing his fishing career with his new duties as the on-air host for a new television show based on the 2007 Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge presented by Jack Daniel’s. The three-part series is set to air nationwide on the Versus network in September and October of 2007. The Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge is a nationwide search for the country’s best all-around outdoorsmen, with the winner receiving $25,000 in cash and prizes and coverage in Field & Stream and on Versus.  Regional qualifiers for the event will be held at the six Bass Pro Shops stores, listed below, in April and May 2007.  Hoernke will be on-hand at each location, where 60 sportsmen will compete in baitcasting, fly-casting, archery, and air rifle challenges.  The top overall finisher at each location will advance to the final event in Springfield, Mo., August 24 & 25, where shotgun, endurance and ATV handling will be added to the mix. To register, please visit www.FieldandStream.com/totaloutdoorsman

FIELD & STREAM TOTAL OUTDOORSMAN CHALLENGE SCHEDULE:

Qualifiers:

• Fort Lauderdale: April 14, 2007
• Dallas: April 21, 2007
• Las Vegas: April 28, 2007
• Chicago: May 5, 2007
• Baltimore: May 19, 2007
• Nashville: May 26, 2007

National Championship:

• Springfield, MO: August 24-25, 2007

Some tournaments you can really dial into what the fish are doing and some tournaments you have a good idea of what is going on but never really get it honed in perfectly.  In this event I never felt 100% confident at any point in the event.  There were so many different ways to catch them that I think that may have had a major role in that feeling.

I had never been to these lakes before so I actually went a little early to learn the new lakes.  I really liked what they had to offer and was pretty impressed by the place.  In practice they were in a typical pre-spawn situation.  I actually figured out a pretty good crankbait bite up Loudoun in the off-colored water.  You could fish little pockets with a lipless crankbait or square bill and catch some decent fish if the pockets had bait in them.  It warmed up so quick up there and the bait pulled up into the shallow pockets and the bass were soon to follow.  I really felt like this was going to be the deal in the tournament.  As the days progressed the above average temperatures eventually put the fish into the mood for love and that changed the whole thing.  There were a ton of fish up spawning by the time the tournament started and a lot of them were very fickle.  I never found any good concentrations of Smallmouths on beds but a lot of some guys did and it really paid off they are generally a lot more aggressive on that lake.  I did manage to catch some nice pre-spawn fish on docks with shade on wacky worms and flukes rigged weightless.  Marinas and wooden docks were holding a bunch of fish on the backside and shallower areas.  I could get several good bites a day doing that and it didn't seem like those areas were getting a lot of pressure.  So that is what my plan was for the first day of the event.

Day 1 of the tournament was overcast and rainy most of the day.  I ended up catching a decent limit of 13-1 the first day around the marinas on the weightless baits, with a 5 pounder coming on a fluke in a boat stall.  I ended the day in 30th and felt pretty good about the second day because I have been getting better bites when the sun was out and it would position them better on the docks.

Day 2 of the tournament was mostly sunny and I was really looking forward to the day.  Overnight they pulled the lake down and it really ended up dropping the overall weights quite a bit the second day.  I ran the dock deal for several hours catching about 15 fish that were just short of the keeper range.  I realized pretty quick that something had really changed because I was not getting many non-keeper bites before around the docks.  I worked the dock deal a feel a little too long before finally refocusing my efforts on something else.  I felt so confident that when the sun came out I would hammer them that I stayed on it a little too long.  By midday I realized that I needed to do something else.  I really wasn't on much else so I simply turned the trolling motor on 100 and burned down the bank in search of a few on the beds that might cooperate.  I locked on a 4 pounder and worked it for a while and it eventually bit.  Then I caught another small keeper, and finally came across a 3+ that had been fished for by about 20 other guys and was super skittish.  I only had about an hour and a half left in my day before check-in so I had to make a good decision.  I feel that in most tournaments there is always a clutch decision you have to make that eventually determines if you have a "successful" or "unsuccessful" event.  I realized that this was that time.  I really wasn't around as many fish as other guys and I knew I only had little time left.  If I left this fish then I could very easily go another hour without finding another one because a lot of the fish were picked off the first and second day.  This fish was in an obvious place and I had noticed several other guys trying for it the previous two days.  I feel very confident in my sight fishing skills mainly because I grew up in a state that you spend so much time fishing that way in tournaments.  I generally feel that if I can see them I can catch them.  So I fully committed myself and the tournament to catching that fish.  I spent a little over an hour on the fish without much luck.  I eventually learned exactly what position the fish needed to be in and how to properly present the bait till I finally got her to bite.  It is really nerve racking when you are running out of time and you know the whole tournament comes down to this fish...if you catch her you salvage a decent finish...if you don't you blew it.  I think you just get better with time in that situation because you learn to have confidence in your own abilities and believe in yourself and positive things happen, fortunately it worked out for the best.  I finished the tournament in 27th and salvaged a decent finish.  The next event is Lake Norman.  I have fished this lake in the past in a BASS Tour event a couple years back and really like it so I am looking forward to it.  It looks like I will not be able to make the Lake Fork Texas Bass Classic PAA tournament next week.  It really breaks my heart because I feel like this is such a great event for the anglers and fans.  If you live around the area make sure you don't miss it, it should be exciting with that format.  I had some other positive news that I will be involved with during that time period that we will be announcing soon!  Take care.