Hoernke Wins Lake Norman

Congratulations to Sean Hoernke on his first tour level victory! I am excited to see him win because I know how hard he has worked over the last twelve years to notch wins on every level from the BFL up to FLW tour and even a BASS Open.

So stop by Sean's blog and congratulate him on his recent win. You should also check out HoernToad Tackle and read about his impressive finish in the 2007 Baja 1000. You can read the full story about Hoernke's win here. Congratulations, Sean! Keep the pressure on 'em and we'll catch a few in September!

2008 BASSMASTER CLASSIC ~ props to Hartley

I just finished watching the coverage of the 2008 Bassmaster Classic. I knew who won since it really ended yesterday, but I like to watch the highlights and hear Zona and Tommy Sanders babble. I thought the coverage this year was pretty good; they had a descent amount of fishing highlights and the interviews were at least entertaining. The only place I can say ESPN blew it was on the first day. And I guess you really can't fault them because hey, how do they know who is going to catch 'em, but I got a laugh from seeing the "darlings" of B.A.S.S (the guys with cameras in their boats on day one like Skeet Reese, KVD, and IKE) get the smackdown from the rookies and underdogs. Granted KVD and IKE hung right in there, but the rookies, brought it hard.

First of all, I have to congratulate Alton Jones on his win. After all his years on the circuit he was out their just dropping (in the words of Zona),"quiet bombs" and grinding out a Classic Victory. But the guy who really impressed me is Charlie Hartley. Admittedly, I didn't know much about Hartley before the Classic. I had watched him fish on ESPN's Day On The Lake, but he never had any camera time because, well, "disappearing Charlie", as his wife refers to him, never made it to the last day of any Elite Series tournaments - except for the 2007 Capitol Clash where he finished sixth.

But I have got to tell you - I am now a real big Charlie Hartley Fan. Not because he kicked ass for the first two days of the Classic - showing the "darlings" that he was in-it-to-win-it, but because Charlie Hartley has a lot of heart.

Hartley wore his heart on his sleeve (no pun intended) and was beside himself during the entire Classic. I can tell he felt exactly like I would have if I was standing on the Classic stage for the first time. He was in awe, having the time of his life and "waiting for an alarm clock to go off". I could totally relate to him. If you missed the coverage, try to catch a rerun - it is worth it to see how excited this guy is to be on that Bassmaster Classic stage and doing what he is doing. So next time someone asks me who my favorite angler is I am going to say Charlie "DC" Hartley. Of all the high profile superstars in the sport he has the most heart. A real class act in my book. Congratulations Charlie.

Charlie Hartley's Classic ~ Day One