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Who is Sean Hoernke?

Category: article

 May 15th, 2008 by OutdoorsFIRST 

Modified May 15th, 2008 at 12:00 AM

	Sean Hoernke (FLW Outdoors Photo)

Who's Hoernke?

Sean Hoernke is certainly not a famous bass fishing pro. It's likely more people know who Babe Winkleman is than Hoernke. Heck, even those who follow the FLW and BASS pro circuits wonder who he is.

Hoernke is one of those rare anglers who have come on the scene with almost no fanfare. He has successfully avoided the limelight, even though his tournament resume is exceptional. He has won an FLW Tour and Series event along with a Stren Series tourney and a BASS Open event. He's also qualified for the Wal-Mart BFL All-American.

With all of this success Hoernke is still unknown.

Ride Your Bike

Unlike many bass pros, Hoernke didn't start his life wanting to be a tournament pro.

"I was into competitive motorcycle riding," said Hoernke. "My family is into that sport and I am, too. As a kid, that's what I dreamed of doing for a living.

"It wasn't until I was about 16 that I thought about fishing tournaments," he said. "Tournaments really interested me and that's when I decided to try them."

College to Pro

Hoernke followed the logical approach to becoming a pro angler. He went to college, continued to fish tournaments, and then used an atypical approach to fund his pro dreams.

"I went to school and earned a degree in marketing," said Hoernke. "I knew to be successful I had to have a sound background in how to market myself and whatever products I would pursue for endorsements.

"While I was in college, I qualified for the All-American and I still fished tournaments.

"When I graduated, I financed myself as a pro," he said. "Actually, I had two credit cards and put everything on them. It paid off for me, but I wouldn't suggest anyone to do it that way. It's risky."

Future Plans

Like most pros, Hoernke plans to continue to strive to become the best he can be.

"I'd like to win Angler of the Year and the Championship," he said. "I'm pretty fortunate right now. I have terrific sponsors like Yamaha and Skeeter that have been with me since the beginning of my career. My hard work has paid off to this point. I plan on continuing what I'm doing and promote myself and my sponsors.