By MLF Communications Staff
Rookie Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, Calif. 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 Pro Circuit event at Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tenn. Loberg’s three-day total of 52-08 left him 1-03 ahead of 2020 Tackle Angler of the Year (AOY) Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich. who brought a five-bass limit weighing 16-10 on Day 3 for a three-day total of 51-05.
Alabama's Jon Canada moved from seventh place to third Saturday with a limit weighing 17-08, for a three-day total of 50-04, while Troy Stokes of Michigan jumped from 24th to settle into fourth place with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49-14. Florida's John Cox slid down one spot to round out the Top 5 with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49-13, while Mitch Crane of Mississippi made the biggest jump of the day, with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 49-11 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 Sunday, when weights are zeroed and the angler who 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 produce on Day 4.
“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 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 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 final 10 anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT Sunday from the Pickwick Landing State Park located at 120 Playground Loop in Counce. Sunday’s weigh-in will also be held at the park at 2:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all four days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Day 3 Standings
1. Andrew Loberg -- 16-07 (5) -- 17-06 (5) -- 18-11 (5) -- 52-08 (15)
2. Ron Nelson -- 18-06 (5) -- 16-05 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 51-05 (15)
3. Jon Canada -- 12-13 (5) -- 19-15 (5) -- 17-08 (5) -- 50-04 (15)
4. Troy Stokes -- 14-08 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 20-03 (5) -- 49-14 (15)
5. John Cox -- 17-02 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 49-13 (15)
6. Mitch Crane -- 14-08 (5) -- 15-10 (5) -- 19-09 (5) -- 49-11 (15)
7. Nick Hatfield -- 14-05 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 18-01 (5) -- 48-08 (15)
8. John Hunter -- 21-00 (5) -- 17-07 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 48-05 (15)
9. Nick Lebrun -- 11-10 (5) -- 19-13 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 48-01 (15)
10. Justin Lucas -- 13-12 (5) -- 17-04 (5) -- 16-01 (5) -- 47-01 (15)
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not fish on day 4.
11. Chris Lane -- 16-11 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 46-13 (15) -- $11,000
12. Mark Rose -- 16-14 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 46-12 (15) -- $11,000
13. Jacopo Gallelli -- 23-00 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 6-07 (3) -- 46-06 (13) -- $11,000
14. Corey Neece -- 21-01 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 44-15 (15) -- $11,000
15. Brad Knight -- 12-12 (5) -- 15-03 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 44-14 (15) -- $11,000
16. Wesley Strader -- 12-07 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 44-14 (15) -- $11,000
17. Skeet Reese -- 16-03 (5) -- 12-12 (5) -- 15-13 (5) -- 44-12 (15) -- $11,000
18. Josh Butler -- 16-11 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 43-13 (15) -- $11,000
19. Brian Latimer -- 14-12 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 43-09 (15) -- $11,000
20. Joey Cifuentes -- 13-06 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 43-07 (15) -- $11,000
21. Jim Moynagh -- 14-08 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 42-12 (15) -- $10,500
22. Steve Lopez -- 18-04 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 42-09 (15) -- $10,500
23. Blake Hall -- 14-09 (5) -- 13-13 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 42-09 (15) -- $10,500
24. Miles Burghoff -- 17-12 (5) -- 11-09 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 42-03 (15) -- $10,500
25. Cameron Mattison -- 19-11 (5) -- 10-08 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 41-05 (15) -- $10,500
26. Mike Surman -- 21-05 (5) -- 6-10 (3) -- 12-11 (5) -- 40-10 (13) -- $10,500
27. Darrell Davis -- 14-05 (5) -- 15-07 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 40-09 (15) -- $10,500
28. Kyle Gelles -- 14-05 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 40-08 (15) -- $10,500
29. Jim Tutt -- 15-03 (5) -- 11-07 (5) -- 13-07 (5) -- 40-01 (15) -- $10,500
30. Mitchell Webb -- 13-10 (4) -- 15-07 (5) -- 10-13 (5) -- 39-14 (14) -- $10,500
31. Josh Bragg -- 12-06 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 39-14 (15) -- $10,000
32. Kurt Mitchell -- 15-08 (5) -- 13-10 (5) -- 10-09 (5) -- 39-11 (15) -- $10,000
33. Andy Newcomb -- 13-02 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 12-01 (5) -- 39-01 (15) -- $10,000
34. Larry Nixon -- 17-13 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 6-06 (3) -- 38-13 (13) -- $10,000
35. Brett Hite -- 16-09 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 8-09 (4) -- 38-04 (14) -- $10,000
36. Barron Adams -- 14-14 (5) -- 11-05 (5) -- 11-12 (5) -- 37-15 (15) -- $10,000
37. Spencer Shuffield -- 14-09 (5) -- 14-07 (5) -- 8-14 (3) -- 37-14 (13) -- $10,000
38. Mike McClelland -- 12-06 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 6-11 (3) -- 35-15 (13) -- $10,000
39. Shane Lineberger -- 14-05 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 4-09 (1) -- 35-08 (11) -- $10,000
40. Randy Howell -- 14-03 (5) -- 16-02 (5) -- 4-14 (2) -- 35-03 (12) -- $10,000
41. John Voyles -- 16-03 (5) -- 11-01 (5) -- 7-11 (4) -- 34-15 (14) -- $10,000
42. Kyle Cortiana -- 10-08 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 7-04 (3) -- 34-11 (13) -- $10,000
43. Cal Lane -- 14-09 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 4-04 (2) -- 33-08 (12) -- $10,000
44. Chad Warren -- 15-12 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 4-07 (2) -- 33-05 (12) -- $10,000
45. Justin Cooper -- 11-01 (5) -- 15-06 (5) -- 6-11 (3) -- 33-02 (13) -- $10,000
46. Lane Olson -- 13-08 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 4-03 (2) -- 32-09 (12) -- $10,000
47. Colby Schrumpf -- 13-10 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 3-08 (1) -- 32-04 (11) -- $10,000
48. Joshua Weaver -- 13-04 (5) -- 13-02 (5) -- 5-09 (3) -- 31-15 (13) -- $10,000
49. Phillip Dutra -- 12-02 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 4-15 (2) -- 31-11 (12) -- $10,000
50. Braxton Setzer -- 12-14 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 2-13 (1) -- 30-08 (11) -- $10,000
