After moving from California to chase his dream of becoming a professional angler, Andrew Loberg accomplished it and recently wrapped up his first year on the Bassmaster Elite Series. He ended the season strong and qualified for the Bassmaster Classic, but it was a wild ride with finishes nearly at the bottom of the standings and a runner-up showing mixed in.

It all worked out in the end, and he is already looking forward to next year. Loberg took time to recap his rookie season, what he learned, and what he caught them on during the year.

Thoughts on the Year and Slow Start

After moving from California to chase his dream of becoming a professional angler, Andrew Loberg accomplished it and recently wrapped up his first year on the Bassmaster Elite Series. He ended the season strong and qualified for the Bassmaster Classic, but it was a wild ride with finishes nearly at the bottom of the standings and a runner-up showing mixed in.

It all worked out in the end, and he is already looking forward to next year. Loberg took time to recap his rookie season, what he learned, and what he caught them on during the year.

Now that he’s finished up the year, Loberg has had time to reflect and can’t complain about the year that was. “It was definitely a huge roller coaster of a year with many mixed emotions,” he said. “The experience exceeded my expectations with the tournaments, and it was great to finish on a high note and squeak into the Classic, which is really cool. I feel like I rebounded mid-year after a bad start to the year.”

Loberg’s first three Elite Series events were a challenge with 102nd, 88th, and 87th finishes to start the year in Florida and North Carolina. For him to rebound and make the Classic was a huge accomplishment.

“Those first few tournaments really got me, and I was a little spun out. It may have been the nerves, but I was able to put all of that behind me,” he said. “I had semi-decent practices at those Florida events, but never got the one or two bigger bites a day that you need to do well down there. I tried to flip in those events, which I love to do like I did back home on the California Delta; it just didn’t go how I wanted to.”

Loberg says that he spent a lot of time flipping, pitching, and punching during the season and that a pair of lines was critical for him all season. “Throughout the year, I fished 20-pound P-Line Ultimate Fluorocarbon a bunch, that’s my go-to for flipping and pitching,” he said. “It’s strong and abrasion-resistant, which you need for heavy cover like docks, reeds, and tules. I like that 50-pound P-Line EndurX Midnight Black No Fade Braid for thicker grass. I’ve had the same stuff tied on for over a year, and it really doesn’t fade; you don’t need to carry Sharpies with you anymore.”

Turning it Around

After three tougher events, Loberg started to rally and had three Top 20s in the following four events, including a 2nd place at Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma.

“The next event we had was at Lake Hartwell, and I weighed almost all of them with a shaky head and some with a Lucky Craft Sammy topwater,” he said of his 15th-place showing. “I fished the shaky head and some Neko rigs with 12-pound P-Line Spin X braid with a 10-pound P-Line Ultimate Fluorocarbon leader.”

After that, Loberg had another great event on Lake Fork in Texas and finished 18th place. “Fork was a smash fest, and I didn’t scope a ton here. I found a good group of fish in the grass, which is what I love to do,” he said. “I was throwing a vibrating jig and Lucky Craft BDS3 crankbait with that same 20-pound Ultimate Fluorocarbon for the vibrating jig and 17-pound Ultimate Fluorocarbon for the crankbait, just ripping it free from the grass.”

After that, he stumbled a bit on the Sabine River, where a bad second day dropped him to 68th place, but he followed it up with a second-place effort on Lake Tenkiller.

“There, I was using that 20-pound Ultimate Fluorocarbon again for a vibrating jig and then swimming a jig on 50-pound No Fade braid,” he said.

Heading North

Loberg wrapped up the season with two checks to get himself into the Classic cut. He finished 32nd on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair and 13th on the Upper Mississippi River in Wisconsin with two polar-opposite approaches.

“St. Clair was a little bit of the minnow, but also a lot of drop-shot fishing,” he said. “I was using 12-pound SpinX braid and an 8-pound P-Line Ultimate Fluorocarbon leader. Then on the Mississippi, almost all of them were on a frog with some punching, and all with 50-pound EndurX braid.”

It was a successful rookie season for Andrew Loberg, who nearly won in his first season and qualified to fish the Bassmaster Classic. He mixed in a blend of power and finesse fishing all year, which is what it takes to do well on a top-level professional circuit like the Bassmaster Elite Series.