Texas FLW pro Sean Hoernke finished 9th out of 16 competitors in the 3rd annual Field & Stream Total Outdoorsman Challenge last weekend in Nashville, Tenn.
"It was awesome – I really had a great time," he said. "It was a neat contest with a lot of camaraderie, and everybody got to be real good friends.
"There were a lot of neat people there and the talent was better than I expected."
Competition was conducted in seven categories – baitcasting, fly casting, ATV skills, endurance, archery, rifle and shotgun. His best finish was a 2nd in baitcasting.
"I won the qualifying and then I won the first round, but then I went into the last round and had my worst score," he said. "I think I had a 220 and then a 200, but I dropped down to 180 and ended up 2nd by five points."
He was happy with his performance in ATV skills and all three shooting events, but ran up against some sturdy competition.
"In archery, I got knocked out by a guy who shot a perfect score, and in shotgun, I probably shot the 5th- or 6th-best score, but I went against the guy who won it.
"I went up against all the studs, but that's the way the brackets work out sometimes."
He said the mood of the competitors was much different than he usually encounters at a tour event.
"Bass fishing is so competitive and everybody's always uptight, but at this thing everybody was rooting for each other and constantly trying to help each other improve in different areas. For me, that was probably the best part of the whole competition."
Portions of the competition will air on OLN through October. They can also be downloaded by clicking here.
To see pictures of Hoernke in action, click here to visit his website.
