Wal-Mart FLW Tour pro Sean Hoernke of Magnolia, Texas, is anticipating scads of big limits brought to the scale when the 2006 Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail gets underway Feb. 4-5 at Lake Amistad in Del Rio.
“The water level at Amistad was way down for a long time, but (the bass fishery) has really bounced back since it filled up over the last couple of years – and it is going to keep getting better,” Hoernke said. “Of all the lakes I have been to, it is my favorite. That place is full of 4- to 6-pounders.”
Hoernke believes bass will be in a prespawn frame of mind in early February, which should point to a couple of viable patterns.
Flipping jigs and plastics into huisache and mesquite bushes in 10 feet of water is sure to produce some limits. But Hoernke thinks heavier sacks will come on crankbaits dredged along underwater ditches and creeks in 12 to 18 feet of water. Key spots will have scattered hydrilla.
Hoernke’s call: 18 to 19 pounds to make the top 20; 48 pounds to win.