Loberg dials in shallow largemouth bite, continues to lead at Lake Tenkiller 

Alabama’s Andrew Loberg maintains the lead on Day 2 of the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller with a total of 35 pounds, 13 ounces. 

Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

June 13, 2025

Loberg dials in shallow largemouth bite, continues to lead at Lake Tenkiller 

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 at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite 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 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN throwing a square-bill 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 Progressive Bassmaster 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 a flipping bait, moving baits like ChatterBaits, swim jigs and squarebills also produced key bites. Loberg even caught a bass on a buzzbait and a frog. 

His best areas have had a 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 has 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 landed 19-2 on Friday, the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament 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 this time around. 

“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 Day 1 performance with 14-10 on Day 2. The three-time Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour qualifier landed 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 also controls the overall Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament.

Canadian pro Chris Johnston leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 601 points, a three point advantage over second-place Jay Przekurat, who missed the Day 3 cut in 51st place. Illinois pro Trey McKinney is third with 588 points followed by Bill Lowen in fourth with 553 points and Kyoya Fujita in fifth with 547 points.

Georgia’s Paul Marks leads the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race with 502 points followed Tucker Smith in second with 451 points and Easton Fothergill in third with 435 points. 

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 Championship Sunday.

Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller 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.

2025 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller 6/12-6/15
Tenkiller Lake, Cookson  OK.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2

   Angler                   Hometown              No./lbs-oz  Pts   Total $$$

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 Ontario CANADA 10  29-02   99
  Day 1: 5   15-15     Day 2: 5   13-03   
7.  Cory Johnston          Otonabee CANADA         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   $1,000.00
  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 Ontario CANAD 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 TN AUSTRALIA 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 Ontario CAN 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   $1,000.00
  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 JAPAN         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 Ontario CANA 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   
51. Jay Przekurat          Plover, WI              10  25-01   54
  Day 1: 5   14-09     Day 2: 5   10-08   
52. Kyoya Fujita           Yamanashi CA 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 National Pa 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   
———————————————————————–

PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS 
Day
 1   Kyle Welcher             Valley, AL          04-10      $1,000.00
 2   Bryan New                Leesville, SC       05-01      $1,000.00

———————————————————————–
Totals
Day   #Limits    #Fish      Weight
 1       101       505      1260-12
 2       101       505      1257-11
———————————-
         202      1010      2518-07