COUNCE, Tenn. (April 23, 2022) – Rookie Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, California caught a five-bass limit Saturday weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces to advance and lead the top 10 anglers to the final day of competition at the MLF T Pro Circuit Stop 3 tournament at Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee. Loberg’s three-day total of 52-8 gives him a 1-pound, 3-ounce margin over second place pro and 2020 Pro Circuit Angler of the Year (AOY) Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Michigan who brought a five-bass limit weighing 16-10 on Day 3 for a three-day total of 51 pounds, 5 ounces.
Alabama pro Jon Canada of Helena moved from seventh place to third Saturday, with a limit weighing 17-8, for a three-day total of 50 pounds, 4 ounces, while pro Troy Stokes of Trenton, Michigan leaped from 24th to settle into fourth place with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49-14. John Cox of DeBary, Florida, slid down one spot to round out the top five with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49-13, while pro Mitch Crane of Columbus, Mississippi made the biggest jump of the day, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49 pounds, 11 ounces to slide from 20th place into the top 10 with a sixth place finish.
The final 10 anglers are set and competition will resume on Championship Sunday, where weights are zeroed, and the angler that catches the heaviest five-fish limit will earn the top prize of up to $135,000.
“I didn’t really know what to expect after practice this week,” Loberg said. “There are so many changing conditions and springtime bass fishing is ever changing. I just kind of stuck to my guns this week. I’ve been up in one area, making a long run every day and today got a little sketchy, but I figured it out and was able to catch five.”
Loberg said he caught his biggest fish, a 5-pounder, “right off the bat” within the first 10 minutes of fishing.
“It died down after that, but I had a little flurry a while later and caught three fairly quick, before losing a good one,” Loberg said. “I had four fish around noon and ran to a spot that was semi-close. I just planned to hit it for 20 minutes or so then head back but I caught a 4-pounder and thought, ‘alright I’m done, that should be enough’.”
Although he didn’t catch another keeper in his spot all afternoon, Loberg said he’s hopeful that it will continue to perform on Championship Sunday.
“Tomorrow will be interesting,” Loberg said. “There are definitely fish around that area, but the water level keeps changing and I don’t know if they are spreading out and moving to the bank or what.
“Everybody’s been in that area, including the high school tournament anglers today, but Pickwick is notorious for handling a lot of pressure, so if we get the right conditions and the bait pushes back up in there, they could certainly feed again.”
Loberg led going into the final day at the Pro Circuit Stop 2 at the Harris Chain of Lakes in March and finished the event in second place, but said he hopes to take it all the way to the number one spot and the top prize of $135,000 on Championship Sunday.
“I plan to start in my main area and just play it by ear – if I can catch some fish, great – but I’m definitely prepared to make a change and try something different if needed,” Loberg said. “I don’t have anything else like that, but I do have another shallow pattern running a bunch of different stuff. I caught the 4-pounder on a stretch where I caught some fish in practice and that showed me that maybe some fish have moved up shallow. So, if the main area doesn’t pan out, I’m just going to start fresh and run some water where I think they could be.”
While he said he would feel more confident if his main area was still stirred up, he also said he knows things could change on a dime on the final day.
“If they were really firing today, they could have done the same thing tomorrow and just shut off, so I could have wasted the day there waiting for bites.
“I’m just super fired up about how this whole week has gone,” Loberg continued. “Everything’s run very smooth, and I haven’t really had too many missed opportunities, so it’s been fun. Tomorrow I just plan to go out there, have a good time, get after them and hope for the best.”
The top 10 pros advancing to the final day of competition on Pickwick Lake are:
1st: Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, Calif., 15 bass, 52-8
2nd: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 15 bass, 51-5
3rd: Jon Canada of Helena, Ala., 15 bass, 50-4
4th: Troy Stokes of Trenton, Mich., 15 bass, 49-14
5th: John Cox of DeBary, Fla., 15 bass, 49-13
6th: Mitch Crane of Columbus, Miss., 15 bass, 49-11
7th: Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn., 15 bass, 48-8
8th: John Hunter of Shelbyville, Ky., 15 bass, 48-5
9th: Nick Lebrun of Bossier City, La., 15 bass, 48-1
10th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 47-1
Finishing in 11th through 50th are:
11th: Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 46-13, $11,000
12th: Mark Rose of Wynne, Ark., 15 bass, 46-12, $11,000
13th: Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy, 13 bass, 46-6, $11,000
14th: Corey Neece of Bristol, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-15, $11,000
15th: Brad Knight of Lancing, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-14, $11,000
16th: Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tenn., 15 bass, 44-14, $11,000
17th: Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., 15 bass, 44-12, $11,000
18th: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 15 bass, 43-13, $11,000
19th: Brian Latimer of Belton, S.C., 15 bass, 43-9, $11,000
20th: Joey Cifuentes of Clinton, Ark., 15 bass, 43-7, $11,000
21st: Jim Moynagh of Shakopee, Minn., 15 bass, 42-12, $10,500
22nd: Steve Lopez of Oconomowoc, Wis., 15 bass, 42-9, $10,500
23rd: Blake Hall of Decatur, Ala., 15 bass, 42-9, $10,500
24th: Miles Burghoff of Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 42-3, $10,500
25th: Cameron Mattison of Benton, La., 15 bass, 41-5, $10,500
26th: Mike Surman of Boca Raton, Fla., 13 bass, 40-10, $10,500
27th: Darrell Davis of Dover, Fla., 15 bass, 40-9, $10,500
28th: Kyle Gelles of Pingree, Idaho, 15 bass, 40-8, $10,500
29th: Jim Tutt of Longview, Texas, 15 bass, 40-1, $10,500
30th: Mitchell Webb of Skiatook, Okla., 14 bass, 39-14, $10,500
31st: Josh Bragg of Fayetteville, Ga., 15 bass, 39-14, $10,000
32nd: Kurt Mitchell of Milford, Del., 15 bass, 39-11, $10,000
33rd: Andy Newcomb of Camdenton, Mo., 15 bass, 39-1, $10,000
34th: Larry Nixon of Quitman, Ark., 13 bass, 38-13, $10,000
35th: Brett Hite of Phoenix, Ariz., 14 bass, 38-4, $10,000
36th: Barron Adams of Mineral Bluff, Ga., 15 bass, 37-15, $10,000
37th: Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., 13 bass, 37-14, $10,000
38th: Mike McClelland of Blue Eye, Mo., 13 bass, 35-15, $10,000
39th: Shane Lineberger of Lincolnton, N.C., 11 bass, 35-8, $10,000
40th: Randy Howell of Guntersville, Ala., 12 bass, 35-3, $10,000
41st: John Voyles of Petersburg, Ind., 14 bass, 34-15, $10,000
42nd: Kyle Cortiana of Broken Arrow, Okla., 13 bass, 34-11, $10,000
43rd: Cal Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 12 bass, 33-8, $10,000
44th: Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., 12 bass, 33-5, $10,000
45th: Justin Cooper of Zwolle, La.,13 bass, 33-2, $10,000
46th: Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Ore., 12 bass, 32-9, $10,000
47th: Colby Schrumpf of Highland, Ill., 11 bass, 32-4, $10,000
48th: Joshua Weaver of Macon, Ga., 13 bass, 31-15, $10,000
49th: Philip Dutra of Guntersville, Ala., 12 bass, 31-11, $10,000
50th: Braxton Setzer of Wetumpka, Ala., 11 bass, 30-8, $10,000
Overall, there were 207 bass weighing 567 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 50 pros Saturday. The catch included 33 five-bass limits.
In Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. The top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advanced to Saturday. Now, only the top 10 pros, based on cumulative weight from the first three days, will continue competition on Championship Sunday, where weights will be zeroed, and anglers will compete in a one-day shootout for the grand prize of up to $135,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers.