Texas Pro, Sean Horenke, Wins FLW Tour Event By Over Four Pounds

Story by Dru Smith - Photos by Dan O'Sullivan & Matt Pangrac

Charlotte, N.C. – The Wal-Mart FLW Tour event took center stage on Sunday as fans packed the Charlotte Convention Center to witness the final weigh-in of the Lake Norman event. Prior to Sunday’s finally, 2057 fish had had been placed on the scales. Competitors and fans alike waited patiently as the last 50 bass were brought on stage.

After nine of the remaining ten contenders marched to the scales with their final day limits, Sean Hoernke, the leader since Friday, only needed just over 7 pounds to take home his first Tour win. Placing five fish on the scales that totaled 13-11, his second heaviest stringer of the event, Sean won the Lake Norman FLW Tour event by a margin of 4 pounds, 7 ounces. Not qualified for the Ranger Bonus money, Sean settled for adding $150,000.00 to his career earnings which now total almost $500,000.00. His victory on Lake Norman also completed the “Grand Slam” as Sean has now earned a victory at the BFL, Stren, FLW Series and FLW Tour levels.

Jim Moynagh’s last day weight of 9 pounds, 14 ounces gave the Minnesota angler his third Tour level runner-up finish. Jim has come close to victory several times since he broke on the pro scene in 1997 with a Tour win at his home Lake Minnetonka. 

Scott Canterbury could not duplicate his day one success where the young Alabama angler posted 18 pounds to take an early lead. Day two saw Scott just fish for a spot in the finals as he brought only 8 pounds to the scales. Over the next two days, Scott would amass 22 pounds, 5 ounces to settle into the third position earning the Rookie $40,000.00 for a second consecutive top five finish.

Art Ferguson’s day two Snickers Big Bass weighed in at 6 pounds, 5 ounces earning him an additional $1000.00 for the tournaments biggest fish.

Consistency Pays Big For Hoernke 
Sean Hoernke has tasted victory at every level of the FLW organization. Having notched wins at the BFL, Stren and FLW Series levels, Sean showed persistence pays off with his Tour win at Lake Norman. “I caught another consistent limit, he said. “The weather forced me to switch to a small wacky worm and I had the confidence to make that change.”

Relying heavily on a Horn Toad Tackle Porky’s Revenge Shacky Head when the fish where locked on the bottom, Sean made the change to wacky worm on Sunday. “The fish wouldn’t stay on the beds today so I put the four inch worm on and it made the difference. I needed something that would still invade their territory and that I could keep in the strike zone longer.”

Having fished the PAA on Lake Fork, Sean didn’t get his full share of practice and that might have been a blessing in disguise. “Lake Norman is such a pattern lake and once you figure it out, you can go anywhere and catch fish. I didn’t have time to mark a lot of bed fish so I fished fresh every day. I covered a ton of water and I think that was the difference between me and other anglers.”

Sean didn’t stop for every fish he found. He was selective with his casts and believes that was a big part of his success. “If it wasn’t a decent fish, 2.5 pounds or better, I wouldn’t stop. A lot of guys would waste time on a 2 pound bass only to cull up a few ounces. I didn’t find a lot of good fish, but I guess I found enough.”

Bridesmaid Again for Moynagh
Jim Moynagh has earned more than $800,000.00 dollars from FLW with one victory and four second place finishes. His only win came at Lake Minnetonka in 1997, a year before he became a full time pro. Jim finished in 6th place at Lake Norman in 2007 and with a final two day combine total of 22-09 this week, Jim earned another second place finish.

After scrambling around the first part of Sunday morning, Jim finally made the right move. “I switched to a different stretch of bank and started catching fish,” he said. “I caught my best two fish back to back.” With the cloud cover, Jim utilized the hand-crafted Salmo Skinner to catch four of the five fish he brought to the scales on the final day. “With the weather we had today, I felt like I would catch some real quality fish. It started off nice but then the better fish just quit biting. I still caught a lot of fish today.”

Jim felt good about his decisions all week as he moved between the Salmo, a swim bait and a weightless worm. He credits Hoernke with beating him as opposed to losing the tournament. “He had more weight than I did every day of the tournament. Averaging 13 pounds a day, he really put the heat on everybody.”

Rookie Rises to The Top
Rookie, Scott Canterbury shocked the entire field with his 18-05 limit on day one. However, he could not repeat Thursday’s performance when it matter most and settled for third place. On the heels of his second place finish at Smith Lake, Scott has now taken a commanding lead in the Rookie of the Year race.

“It has been an unbelievable week,” he said. “Day one was amazing and I caught a ton of fish all week.” Alternating between a four inch Cross Cut Tail Shad made by Jackal and the Berkley Hollow Belly Swim Bait, Scott stayed up the river each day. “If the fish didn’t commit totally to the Hollow Belly, I would turn around and pitch that Cross Cut Shad to them. I caught all but one fish that saw the shad.” Scott also used a Net Bait Lizard when pitching to fish in heavy cover.

Sean is enjoying success early in his FLW career and realizes how special the last two events have been. “It is like a dream come true. To make another top ten was great and I would have been happy with tenth place.”

Missed Opportunity for Pugh
Greg Pugh also fished in his second consecutive top ten finally after he posted a fifth place finish at Smith Lake. Pugh brought a five fish limit to the scales each day with his final day weight being 11-03. “My day was kind of slow, but I still had a chance to blow the doors open on this tournament. I missed some big fish on the Bomber Long A this morning and basically ran out of time later in the day”

Greg had saved a place for the last day, but didn’t leave himself enough time to fully work the area. “I get in there with just 45 minutes left to fish. The bass were stacked up under the docks and I caught a couple before I had to leave.” Greg relayed that having jus a short time to capitalize on the bite hurt his performance. “I rushed things a bit and didn’t perform the way I should have. I definitely made some mistakes this week that could have been the difference.”

Scotts primary baits of choice for this tournament were the Bomber Long A, 7 inch Berkley Shaky Worm and a PJ’s Jig. Known for his sight fishing ability, Scott realizes missed a great opportunity at Norman. “To win an event like this you have to fish perfectly. I didn’t and that poor performance hurt me.”

Quotes From Glenn Browne On:
What He Did Sunday
“I stuck with my game plan today and went back to the same areas. I didn’t find the quality fish today. The weather didn’t hurt, but I couldn’t find the better fish” 

What He Used 
“I caught all my fish on either the Berkley Sink Worm or the Berkley Fat Dover Crawler.”

How He Got To the Finals
“Day two was incredible. I probably culled out a 12 pound limit. My smallest fish was a 2-10.”

Quotes From Brent Ehrler On:
His Performance on Saturday
“I wasn’t open mined. I went back to water I had already fished and didn’t make the adjustments I should have. I should have moved around more. Saturday really hurt my chances.”

What He Used
“I caught most of my fish on a Picasso Shakedown Jig Head, a Senko and Berkley Shaky Worm when I was fishing docks. I also used the Berkley Hollow Belly, a G-Splash and a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver.”

What Could Have Made a Difference
“I didn’t learn anything on day three. If I had fished smart on Saturday, I might have made a run at the lead. I feel like I could go out tomorrow and catch a decent limit with what I figured out today.”

FINAL STANDINGS