Loberg Punches His Way to Victory on the Dirty D

Oakley, Calif. (Aug. 6, 2021) – Toyota Series angler Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, California brought a five-bass limit to the scale Thursday weighing 23 pounds, 6 ounces to win the three-day Toyota Series Presented by A.R.E. at California Delta in Oakley, California. Loberg’s three-day total of 15 bass weighing 55-11 earned him the win by a 6-pound, 12-ounce margin over second-place angler Michael Moreno of Salida, California and earned Loberg the top payout of $21,556 in the second tournament of the 2021 Toyota Series Western Division.

High tide required Loberg to trigger a reaction bite early in the morning before turning to punching vegetation later in the day. 

“Each morning I’d start off throwing a ChatterBait, buzzbait or spook of some sort,” Loberg explained. “I focused on a lot of current, just trying to catch a limit. Once that tide dropped out, I’d go punch the rest of the day.”

He put his Powell Endurance Rods to work, punching key vegetation with a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver or  Missile Baits D-Bomb. Loberg alternated between a 1- and 1 1/2-ounce tungsten weight, depending on the wind and thickness of the vegetation. 

While still early in his career, Loberg’s first major MLF victory was a result of many hours on the tournament trail.

“I started fishing the regional high school tournaments, then fished the FLW Collegiate Series and got to travel the country with my buddies,” said Loberg. “Then, once I graduated college, I decided it’s time to step it up and fish out of the front of the boat.”

No stranger to rolling up his sleeves, Loberg was able to put his passion and work ethic to good use this week.

“I’ve worked really hard since I was younger. I just absolutely love tournament bass fishing,” he said. “Winning one of these means so much.”

The top 10 pros on the California Delta finished:

            1^st:       Andrew Loberg of Rocklin, Calif., 15 bass, 55-11, $21,556
            2^nd:      Michael Moreno of Salida, Calif., 15 bass, 48-15, $9,353
            3^rd:       Jon Strelic of El Cajon, Calif., 15 bass, 47-0, $6,467
            4^th:       Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif., 13 bass, 46-10, $5,389
            5^th:       Phillip Dutra of Antioch, Calif., 15 bass, 45-11, $4,850
            6^th:       William Hume of Vacaville, Calif., 15 bass, 42-14, $4,366
            7^th:       Gregg Leonard of Wilton, Calif., 15 bass, 41-7, $3,772
            8^th:       Clayton Eslick of Gilroy, Calif., 14 bass, 36-5, $3,233
            9^th:       Randy McAbee, Jr. of Bakersfield, Calif., 14 bass, 35-15, $2,694
            10^th:     Blake Dyer of Concord, Calif., 14 bass, 34-6, $2,156

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

William Hume of Vacaville, California took home an additional $55 for the Day One Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division, with a bass weighing 7 pounds. Ed Arledge of Valley Center, California won the Day Two Berkley Big Bass award in the pro division, bringing a 6-pound, 12-ounce bass to the scale.

Pro Michael Moreno of Salida, California took home an extra $1,000 as the highest finishing Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus member. Boaters are eligible to win up to an extra $35,000 per event in each Toyota Series tournament if all requirements are met. More information on the Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus contingency program can be found at PhoenixBassBoats.com.

Keith Hurney of Oakley, California won the Strike King Co-angler Division Thursday with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 37 pounds, 12 ounces. Hurney took home the top prize package of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard motor.

The top 10 Strike King co-anglers on the California Delta finished:

The 2021 Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. consists of six divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern, Southwestern and Western – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International division. Anglers who fish all three qualifiers in any of the eight divisions and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. Championship for a shot at winning $235,000 cash, including a $35,000 Phoenix MLF BIG5 Bonus for qualified anglers. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury outboard.

The 2021 Toyota Series Championship presented by A.R.E. will be held Oct. 28-30 on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, and is hosted by the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. on the MLF BIG5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and  YouTube.

MLF BIG5 is part of MLF, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization. It provides anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money across five tournament circuits featuring a five-biggest-fish format. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Benton, Kentucky, MLF and its partners conduct more than 290 bass-fishing tournaments annually around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain and Zimbabwe.

MLF tournaments are broadcast on Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, MyOutdoorTV, Discovery and CBS Sports while MLF Bass Fishing magazine delivers cutting-edge tips from top pros to the world’s most avid bass anglers. #mlffishing