Pair Of 13s Wins
Hoernke Scrambles Once Again, Claims Norman By 4 1/2

Photo: FLW Outdoors/Rob Newell Sean Hoernke says that map study last night, and the quest for out-of-the-way places today, made a big difference.

He competed last week in the PAA-sanctioned Toyota Texas Bass Classic (TTBC), then humped it up to Norman for a shortened 2-day practice. He never found anything solid and basically winged it each day of competition.

He led the cut with nearly 28 pounds. And across the final 2 days, as the bed-fish began to disappear and quality bites turned exceptionally rare, he weighed back-to-back 13-plus-pound sacks. While the standings had been separated by ounces the first 3 days, his 13-pound sack today gave him 27-00 total and a comparatively massive 4 1/2-pound margin of victory.

He woke each morning not knowing where he'd start, and flew fast and loose all 4 days – a strategy that he said helped him in the end, because last night he studied the map and tried to pinpoint locations that were "tough to get to."

He hit those today and landed the bites when it mattered most.

Jim Moynagh rode his docks 1 more day, but a disappointing 9-14 left him in 2nd.

Rookie Scott Canterbury, who finished 2nd at Lewis Smith 3 weeks ago, never could recapture the glory of his 18-pound day 1 and finished 3rd with 22-05.

Finishing 4th was Greg Pugh, who weighed 11-03 to end with 22 pounds even. Pugh remains red-hot, and like Canterbury, also finished in the Top 10 at Smith. He's currently at the center of some controversy though, after he was protested on day 2 for being inside an off-limits area. For that story, click here.

And Glenn Browne, yet another angler who also made the Top 10 at Lewis Smith, rounds out the Top 5. He caught 10-09 today to finish with 20-06.

Conditions did change today, when a front delivered the first clouds since practice. However, the predicted downpours never appeared until weigh-in time, and the threatening thunderstorms never materialized during competition.

Still, the change was enough to throw off several of the anglers, most notably Moynagh.

In the end, it was Hoernke's flexibility and free-wheeling style that made the difference. He burned fuel in the search for bed-fish, and in the end, his map study last night, followed by his all-over search and execution today, made the difference.

Hoernke 'Closes It Off'

Hoernke won the Lewis Smith FLW Series 2 years ago, before that circuit was split into Eastern and Western divisions.

"It's great – this kind of closes it off," he said. "Now I've won in the BFLs, the Strens, the Series, the Bassmaster Opens, and now the Tour. Now it's time to kick back for a couple of days and set some new goals. After last year, I wasn't doing as well as I'd like to, so I really took a lot of time this year and focused.

"I think it's paying off, at least in the first two tournaments. At this one, it finally came together every day."

About his fast-and-loose strategy, he said: "I just fished every day. I stayed and fished the TTBC, which to me was one of the most phenomenal tournaments I've ever participated in. I was pretty positive coming off that tournament, but I practiced for 2 days (here). I didn't really have a lot of time to mark hundreds of different bed-fish.

"So I just went out and found some general patterns. Then last night, I sat down and looked at a map and looked for some areas that were harder to get to – the out-of-the way pockets that wouldn't have had 100 boats through them the last 8 days."

He said it took him longer to get into those areas today, but that made a difference.

Photo: FLW Outdoors/David A. Brown Jim Moynagh has no idea what he could have done to catch Hoernke.

He threw a couple of different baits. His main bait the first 3 days was his own Hoern Toad Tackle Porky's Revenge shakey-head with a Zoom Trick Worm. The clouds "loosened" the fish up and they were suspended above the beds, he said, so he downsized and switched to a dropshot with a Zoom Finesse Worm.

The full details of his winning pattern, plus pattern information for the other top finishers, will be posted soon.

2nd: Moynagh Pleased

As noted, the clouds hurt Moynagh today and he weighed his lightest bag of the event.

"Something really changed for me in that respect," he said. "And Sean really put the hammer down every day of this tournament right up until the end. You look at each day's catch – his compared to mine – and he had more weight than me every single day. So I feel like he's the man.

"I'm just happy," he added. "I'm pleased I got to where I did. I don't know what I could have done differently today to get a better stringer in these conditions."

3rd: Canterbury's 'Dream'

For Canterbury, two Top 10s in a row is almost too much to imagine. Yet he's living it.

"Man, it's just a dream come true – it's amazing," he said. "It's a blessing. I've been blessed all month long. I don't know if it's hit me yet.

"I never missed a fish the whole tournament," he added. "I wasn't on the fish to win the tournament, but the first day I had that huge bag. If the fish would have kept moving up I would have had the chance to win it. But I ran out of fish and had to go to new areas the last few days. I just made it work out as well as I could."

Additional Notes

4th: Greg Pugh

"I'm fishing relaxed this year, and I'm hoping I can keep doing well. Also, (Berkley's) Tammy (Cox) had given me a 7'6" spinning rod yesterday, a (Fenwick Techna AV), and I've been using it with the Spiderwire fluorocarbon. That line's just awesome, and I broke that rod in today."

5th: Glenn Browne

"I feel pretty good. Of course I wish I'd won or done better, but I caught what I had available to me. You can only catch what you can catch.

"Me, Sean and Scott were all kind of fishing the same section of river. We'd run into each other up there, and we were all kind of running the same basic pattern. They just found the better fish."

6th: Brent Ehrler

"I kind of made a mistake yesterday. I told myself I'd go out and prefish and run around. I kind of hunkered down and didn't really junk-fish enough. Today I think I only went to one of the spots I practiced on. Then I just ran around."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 10 limits (one more than yesterday).

> Hoernke's a Skeeter pro, so he wasn't eligible for the $50,000 Ranger owner's bonus.

> The Spiderwire fluorocarbon Pugh referred to is in prototype stage and not yet available.

> Andy Morgan is the new leader in the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race. For the updated standings, click here.

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Sean Hoernke -- Magnolia, Tx -- 5, 13-05 -- 5, 13-11 -- 10, 27-00 -- $150,000

2. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 5, 12-11 -- 5, 9-14 -- 10, 22-09 -- $50,000

3. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, Al -- 5, 11-06 -- 5, 10-15 -- 10, 22-05 -- $40,000

4. Greg Pugh -- Cullman, Al -- 5, 10-13 -- 5, 11-03 -- 10, 22-00 -- $35,000

5. Glenn Browne -- Ocala, Fl -- 5, 9-13 -- 5, 10-09 -- 10, 20-06 -- $30,000

6. Brent Ehrler -- Redlands, Ca -- 5, 8-06 -- 5, 11-05 -- 10, 19-11 -- $28,000

7. Bud Pruitt -- Houston, Tx -- 5, 8-09 -- 5, 9-11 -- 10, 18-04 -- $26,000

8. Mike Surman -- Boca Raton, Fl -- 5, 10-06 -- 5, 7-04 -- 10, 17-10 -- $24,000

9. Art Ferguson Iii -- St. Clair Shores, Mi -- 5, 10-13 -- 5, 6-12 -- 10, 17-09 -- $22,000

10. Chris Baumgardner -- Gastonia, Nc -- 3, 4-03 -- 5, 8-11 -- 8, 12-14 -- $20,000