By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – Growing up on the California Delta, Andrew Loberg is plenty comfortable fishing shallow, and that has been on full display so far this week in the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Tenkiller.
With a total of 35 pounds, 13 ounces, the 31-year-old pro leads the 101-boat field after two days of competition. Loberg backed up his 17-9 Day-1 bag with 18-4 on Friday, giving him a 12-ounce advantage over Texas pro Keith Combs. The gap between Combs and third-place Bob Downey is over 4 pounds.
“Fishing the Delta, you have to run a tide and most of the time you have to have a big flipping stick,” Loberg said. “The water fluctuation on Tenkiller correlates to the tide a little bit. It makes sense to me and I can run around and see what looks good.”
The style of fishing in Oklahoma has suited Loberg in his first two trips to the Sooner State. He claimed a second-place finish at Lake Eufaula last year during the Bassmaster Opens, throwing a squarebill and a jig.
“There are big largemouth and they like to stay shallow,” Loberg said. “Even offshore fishing, they stay in 10 to 15 feet of water and that’s still shallow. I feel comfortable doing a lot of that type of stuff. The reservoirs aren’t gin-clear. I don’t know, there’s something about these lakes I get honed in on.”
While the lake level stabilized some, falling at a slower rate than it did between the day off and Day 1, the Elite Series pros battled heavy rains and thunderstorms the majority of Friday morning. Despite the adverse conditions, the entire field caught a five-bass limit for the second day in a row.
Building off of his Day-1 performance, Loberg power-fished in the shallows the entire day. Along with flipping, moving baits like ChatterBaits, swim jigs and squarebills also produced key bites. Loberg even caught bass on a buzzbait and a frog.
His best areas have had shad present.
“I’ve been just rolling into a stretch, seeing what it looks like and then throwing whatever I think will work,” he said. “When something looks good, there is more bait than in other places.”
The water dropped out of some of Loberg’s areas between Day 1 and Day 2, and the water has cleared up. He doesn’t know, however, how Friday’s heavy rainfall will impact the lake.
Loberg started the morning fishing a shad spawn around a marina and lost a 4-pounder early in the morning, a fish Davy Hite speculated was caught by fellow Elite Series pro Chris Johnston several hours later. Despite the missed opportunity, he was able to fill out a limit quickly.
From there, he fished stretches of shallow bushes and flooded cover hunting for bigger bites.
“Yesterday I ran the whole lake. Today I only ran half of it,” Loberg said. “I feel like I have a better zone to go to now. I just dunked around, caught a few here and there and dodged a few thunderstorms.”
His biggest bite came around 11 a.m., a 4-pound largemouth he landed on a ChatterBait.
“I was running around that area, and I saw something that looked good,” he said. “When something sets up right, you are going to get a bite. I got fortunate with a good bite. I’ve been fortunate to get into the right rotation.”
If the lake continues to fall, Loberg has a feeling he will have to adjust his strategy. He said he had a fairly productive bite offshore during practice, giving him confidence that he can continue to manufacture bites.
“So if the shallow thing is a total bust, I will go out deep. I do have a lot of stuff marked that I haven't touched yet,” Loberg said.
Combs, meanwhile, has been mixing up offshore and shallow patterns. After landing 15-15 on Day 1, the Texan boxed 19-2 on Friday, the heaviest bag of the event thus far.
In 2019, the three-time Bassmaster champion notched a 7th-place finish at Lake Tenkiller. While fishing is much better this time around, he said, a lot of the same concepts are coming into play.
“I did the same thing in 2019. I would fish places I never fished and catch one,” he explained. “It seems like the lake is set up to do that. If you see something you think a fish should be on, better check it out.”
Early in the morning, Combs landed 13 pounds around a shad spawn, including a 4-pound smallmouth to start the day. From there, he evaluated the conditions and pieced together quality bites. His best bite, a 5-pound largemouth, came flipping.
“After that, I started mixing it up on some mid-depth offshore holes and hopefully found a little something for tomorrow.”
Downey remains in third place with a two-day total of 30-12. The Detroit Lakes, Minn., pro has caught a mixed bag each day, backing up his 16-2 from Day 1 with 14-10 on Day 2. He completed his initial Day-2 limit at 8 a.m., fishing around shallow cover with a swim jig and a flipping bait.
When the heavy rains moved into his areas, the bite turned on, and he landed a 4-pound smallmouth and a 3-pound largemouth. Both of those baits came on a specific winding bait, but Downey is unsure that pattern will continue.
“That is really what made my bag,” he said. “That’s what happened yesterday, too. I don’t know if we are going to have that tomorrow, so it has me a little concerned. If the water stabilizes or even comes up a little I think I can flip all day long. I have been catching some nicer ones winding a bait and without that rain, I don’t know if that will happen.”
Leesville, S.C. pro Bryan New landed the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day, a 5-1 largemouth that's also the biggest of the tournament.
The Top 50 anglers will launch from Chicken Creek Boat Ramp beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT and check-in at 2:30 p.m. Weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m. at the Cherokee Casino in Tahlequah. The Top 10 at the conclusion of Saturday’s weigh-in will advance to Sunday's final round.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before heading to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon. Day 4 can be seen on FS1 from 8 a.m.-noon with afternoon action to follow on FOX from noon-3 p.m.
Day 2 Standings
1. Andrew Loberg -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 35-13 -- 104
Day 1: 5, 17-09 -- Day 2: 5, 18-04
2. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 10, 35-01 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 19-02
3. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 10, 30-12 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 16-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-10
4. Trey McKinney -- Carbondale, IL -- 10, 30-09 -- 101
Day 1: 5, 17-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08
5. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 10, 30-09 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 14-12 -- Day 2: 5, 15-13
6. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 29-02 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03
7. Cory Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 10, 28-14 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15
8. Jordan Lee -- Cullman, AL -- 10, 28-13 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-12
9. Kyle Welcher -- Valley, AL -- 10, 28-12 -- 96
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13
10. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 28-11 -- 95
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-11
11. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 10, 28-08 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07
12. Timothy Dube -- Nashua , NH -- 10, 28-07 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 14-14
13. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 28-05 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 15-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03
14. Evan Kung -- Pickering, ON -- 10, 28-03 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 13-01 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02
15. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 10, 28-00 -- 90
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06
16. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 10, 27-14 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 14-11 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03
17. Kyle Patrick -- Cooperstown, NY -- 10, 27-10 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05
18. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 10, 27-06 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 14-06 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00
19. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 10, 27-05 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07
20. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 10, 27-04 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 14-01 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03
21. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 10, 27-03 -- 84
Day 1: 5, 13-12 -- Day 2: 5, 13-07
22. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 10, 27-03 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09
23. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 10, 27-01 -- 82
Day 1: 5, 12-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-07
24. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 10, 27-00 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 11-15 -- Day 2: 5, 15-01
25. Tyler Williams -- Belgrade, ME -- 10, 26-15 -- 80
Day 1: 5, 14-04 -- Day 2: 5, 12-11
26. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 10, 26-11 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01
27. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 10, 26-10 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-01
28. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 10, 26-09 -- 77
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15
29. Ben Milliken -- Omaha, NE -- 10, 26-08 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 16-06
30. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 26-08 -- 75
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15
31. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 10, 26-08 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-15
32. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 26-08 -- 73
Day 1: 5, 13-14 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10
33. Dakota Ebare -- Brookeland, TX -- 10, 26-01 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09
33. Logan Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 10, 26-01 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 13-09
35. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 10, 26-00 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 15-02
36. Cole Sands -- Johnson City, TN -- 10, 25-15 -- 69
Day 1: 5, 14-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-13
37. Bryan New -- Leesville, SC -- 10, 25-14 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12
38. Paul Marks -- Cumming, GA -- 10, 25-14 -- 67
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-00
39. Cody Meyer -- Eagle, ID -- 10, 25-13 -- 66
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-08
40. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 10, 25-12 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 16-01 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11
41. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 10, 25-12 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 11-04 -- Day 2: 5, 14-08
42. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 10, 25-12 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 14-06
43. Taku Ito -- Dalton GA -- 10, 25-12 -- 62
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05
44. Chris Zaldain -- Boyd, TX -- 10, 25-11 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-02
45. Randy Howell -- Guntersville, AL -- 10, 25-09 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 14-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04
46. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 10, 25-08 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-15
47. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 25-06 -- 58
Day 1: 5, 12-02 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04
48. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 10, 25-05 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 12-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13
49. Jeff Gustafson -- Kenora, ON -- 10, 25-03 -- 56
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-09
50. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 10, 25-02 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 13-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on Day 3.
51. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 10, 25-01 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 14-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08
52. Kyoya Fujita -- Yamanashi, JAPAN -- 10, 25-00 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 12-07
53. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 10, 24-14 -- 52
Day 1: 5, 10-02 -- Day 2: 5, 14-12
54. Seth Feider -- Elko New Market, MN -- 10, 24-13 -- 51
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 13-04
55. Wesley Gore -- Clanton, AL -- 10, 24-12 -- 50
Day 1: 5, 10-10 -- Day 2: 5, 14-02
56. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 10, 24-11 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-04
57. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 10, 24-10 -- 48
Day 1: 5, 11-05 -- Day 2: 5, 13-05
58. Blake Capps -- Muskogee, OK -- 10, 24-06 -- 47
Day 1: 5, 14-10 -- Day 2: 5, 09-12
59. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 10, 24-05 -- 46
Day 1: 5, 13-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-12
60. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 10, 24-04 -- 45
Day 1: 5, 14-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-13
61. Emil Wagner -- Marietta, GA -- 10, 24-04 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 12-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06
62. Robert Gee -- Knoxville, TN -- 10, 24-03 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 13-03
63. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 10, 24-03 -- 42
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-13
64. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 10, 24-00 -- 41
Day 1: 5, 11-11 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05
65. JT Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 10, 24-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15
66. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 10, 23-15 -- 39
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01
67. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 10, 23-15 -- 38
Day 1: 5, 12-04 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11
68. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 10, 23-13 -- 37
Day 1: 5, 08-10 -- Day 2: 5, 15-03
69. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 10, 23-13 -- 36
Day 1: 5, 12-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-04
70. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 10, 23-13 -- 35
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06
71. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 10, 23-12 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 12-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-07
72. Tucker Smith -- Birmingham, AL -- 10, 23-11 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 12-05
73. Easton Fothergill -- Grand Rapids , MN -- 10, 23-07 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06
74. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 10, 23-06 -- 31
Day 1: 5, 12-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06
75. Alex Redwine -- Blue Ash, OH -- 10, 23-04 -- 30
Day 1: 5, 10-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-01
76. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 10, 23-02 -- 29
Day 1: 5, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-10
77. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 10, 22-15 -- 28
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 5, 11-14
78. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 10, 22-11 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 09-03 -- Day 2: 5, 13-08
79. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 10, 22-08 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 10-14 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10
80. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 10, 22-06 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 11-08 -- Day 2: 5, 10-14
81. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 10, 22-06 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 11-00 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06
82. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 10, 22-05 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 10-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-11
83. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 10, 21-15 -- 22
Day 1: 5, 12-07 -- Day 2: 5, 09-08
84. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka OK JAPAN -- 10, 21-11 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 09-05 -- Day 2: 5, 12-06
85. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 10, 21-09 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 10-13 -- Day 2: 5, 10-12
86. Beau Browning -- Hot Springs, AR -- 10, 21-08 -- 19
Day 1: 5, 11-13 -- Day 2: 5, 09-11
87. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 10, 21-07 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 11-08 -- Day 2: 5, 09-15
88. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 10, 21-03 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 09-09 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10
89. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 10, 21-02 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 09-15 -- Day 2: 5, 11-03
90. Joey Cifuentes III -- Clinton, AR -- 10, 21-00 -- 15
Day 1: 5, 12-01 -- Day 2: 5, 08-15
91. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 10, 21-00 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 10-07 -- Day 2: 5, 10-09
92. Cliff Pace -- Ovett, MS -- 10, 20-09 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 09-13 -- Day 2: 5, 10-12
93. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 10, 20-06 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 10-08 -- Day 2: 5, 09-14
94. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 10, 20-03 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 09-02 -- Day 2: 5, 11-01
95. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 10, 20-02 -- 10
Day 1: 5, 10-06 -- Day 2: 5, 09-12
96. Jonathan Kelley -- Old Forge, PA -- 10, 19-14 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 11-06 -- Day 2: 5, 08-08
97. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 10, 19-13 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 09-05 -- Day 2: 5, 10-08
98. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 10, 19-08 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 11-01 -- Day 2: 5, 08-07
99. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 10, 19-04 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 11-09 -- Day 2: 5, 07-11
100. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 10, 18-12 -- 5
Day 1: 5, 08-09 -- Day 2: 5, 10-03
101. Buddy Gross -- Chattanooga, TN -- 10, 15-09 -- 4
Day 1: 5, 08-11 -- Day 2: 5, 06-14
