Hermitage, Missouri – April 6, 2025
If there’s one thing predictable about spring in the Ozarks, it’s that nothing is predictable—especially at Pomme de Terre. Anglers in the MoYak Fishing Series’ second Elite event of the season were met with brutal conditions and a stingy bite, but that didn’t stop Chris Robbs from rising to the top yet again.
Heavy rains leading up to tournament day caused the lake to swell rapidly, with water levels rising by the hour as anglers launched into a soaking cold front. Air temps hovered around 45 degrees, a steady rain fell for most of the day, and winds kicked up to nearly 20 mph by late morning—making paddle and pedal drives feel more like survival gear than fishing equipment. By evening, some parts of the region even saw snow.
But through all of that, Robbs showed once more why he’s the man to beat at Pomme. With gritty persistence and strategic adjustments, he claimed his second Elite Series win on the lake, following up on his October 2022 victory where he edged out Lance Burris with 81.5” to 80”.
This time around, the lake was even less generous. Just 12 out of 69 anglers managed to catch a five-fish limit, and a surprising 21 anglers didn’t record a single fish. Only 148 total fish were submitted—a stark reminder that Pomme, especially when angry, makes no promises.
The win also gave Robbs and teammate Chad Davison the Team Series title for the weekend, with their six longest fish measuring 96.75”. As the Everharts A-Team, they were one of the few duos able to put together consistent bites when others were simply trying to stay dry and upright.
Meanwhile, Robert Swearngin and Richie McMichael each posted their second straight top-ten finish of the season. The strong showing was enough for Swearngin to overtake McMichael for the Angler of the Year lead—setting the stage for a tightly contested race as the season progresses.
The event also marked a breakout performance for two of MoYak’s newest names: Marcus Sherman and Tyler Alexander, both rookies, who broke into the top ten with performances that showed poise beyond their experience.
On the Team Series side, the Burrito Banditos kept their momentum rolling with a third-place finish, holding on to their Team AOY lead over Something To Prove in what’s shaping up to be a season-long duel.
Pomme de Terre was cold, wet, windy, and wild—but for the anglers who adapted, adjusted, and outlasted, it was a day to remember. For Chris Robbs, it was one more chapter in a legacy he’s writing on this unpredictable lake, one cast at a time.

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #2 Pomme de Terre presented by Eco Fishing Shop.
Chris Robbs – 78.5″
Tyler Cokley – 73.25″
Troy Nydegger – 71.75″
PJ Coley – 71.25″
Richie McMichael – 70″
Robert Swearngin – 68.75″
Tyler Alexander (R) – 68″
Marcus Sherman (R) – 66.5″
Blake Weilant – 64″
Pat Lassek – 63.25″
Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:
What was your strategy going into the day?
Chris – The plan was to target areas I thought pre spawn fish would be utilizing and to power fish! I felt the time of year and weather conditions were going to make for a perfect day to keep a moving bait glued to my hand.
Tyler – Just go fish for 5 bites.
Troy – TBH, I didn’t have much of a strategy going in since I didn’t get a chance to prefish. I wasn’t sure what the water looked like and expected it to be much more stained than what is was with all the rain we had. The are I was in was pretty clean. I focused on deeper (8-10 ft) structure and brush piles because I felt the dropping water temps would pull them back a bit.
PJ – Before the rains my plan was to go up the river and try and beat the bank in the warmer waters I had found the weekend before but seeing how bad the rivers were I went more main lake and fished brush piles around docks knowing how bad the weather was going to be felt it was the only option to halfway stay out of the wind and be able to fish productively
Richie – My strategy was to target points, rocky banks and flooded brush with spinnerbaits and crankbaits.
Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?
Chris – No prefishing
Tyler – No pre fishing
Troy – No prefishing
PJ – I was able to go down the weekend before and did decent beating the bank up the river on a wigglewart but after the rains come tournament day there was no way I’d be able to get up there and fish with how fast, high and dirty the water was so come tournament day I just had to wing it
Richie – Did not prefish due to the weather.
What was your best finish at Pomme before this?
Chris – 1st place. This is my second win on Pomme.
Tyler – I’ve only fished it one time in a tournament and finished 17th
Troy – The only other time I had fished Pomme was the MOYAK stop #6 last year and I finished 6th in that one.
PJ – Honestly have no idea pomme has always been a lake that has had my number so feels good to get that monkey off my back and have a good finish
Richie – 3rd is my highest Pomme finish.
What was the general tackle you used on game day?
Chris – Spinnerbait and crankbait.
Tyler – Ozark flash spinnerbait/ shakey head with crocogator beaver bug
Troy – All of my fish were caught on either a jig or a ned rig.
PJ – At the start I tried cranking and throwing a spinnerbait but started taking a finesse approach as the weather set in and caught all but one throwing a neko rig with a black and blue senko
Richie – Crankbaits.
How far did you have to travel to find your fish? If you are willing, please give the general area(s) of the lake you fished.
Chris – Not far at all. Started within site of where I launched. Targeted the pre spawn areas, transitions around main lake points and the point itself, and the channel banks leading into the creeks/pockets.
Tyler – I just bounced around between couple areas but never went very far from truck
Troy – I think it’s called the Decker Branch area. There was a lot of traffic in there, both kayaks and bass boats.
PJ – Only went about a mile or two fishing the northwest side of the lake
Richie – Started fishing very close to the ramp. Fished the southeast side of the lake.
Chris – Yes, I chose the mid lake area. I felt with all the rain, that area of the lake wouldn’t be blown out as much as the river might of been, but still stained up enough to where I could power fish the way I wanted to.
Tyler – I picked an area that had cleaner water but had a creek close enough I could run to dirty water if I needed.
Troy – Not really.
PJ – Leading up I was set where I wanted to go but the rains made it way to muddy and current was way to fast so I chose to go find cleaner water and at the beginning of the day water clarity was what I wanted but as the day went on started getting murky and dirty but didn’t seem to affect how I was fishing
Richie – My spot I usually launch at was out of play due to all the rain so I picked a spot that looked good and just went fishing.
Did you lose any fish that would have made a difference or do you have a story to tell about your biggest bass of the day?
Chris – 6 bites, 6 fish in the boat. Fishing clean is key to winning or cashing checks with the group of anglers in this club. My big fish came early in the day on the spinnerbait and she jumped two or three times right next to the boat before I was able to reach her with the net. When I went to lift her into the boat the spinnerbait fell out of her mouth….
Tyler – Nope I landed every bite I got and I never caught a big fish.
Troy – No. I only caught six bass all day, and the last one was a 12 incher that didn’t help.
PJ – About a hour in I hooked into one fishing a brush pile that I knew was the one you need but just before getting to the kayak and within shot of seeing it, it shook loose other then that one I’m happy to say I fished pretty clean and the bites i did get made it into the yak
Richie – No lost fish. Had 5 bites all day and luckily landed them all.
See any wildlife worth mentioning?
Chris – Heard the turkeys gobbling and bald eagles flying.
Tyler – Lots of bald eagles and loons
Troy – A couple of bald eagles in the morning and I caught a turtle half way through the day. That was fun.
PJ – Saw a pretty big river otter that popped up under a boat slip and scared me pretty good when I was trying to get out the rain and warm my hands up
Richie – Nothing memorable, nothing wanted to be out in that weather.
Are you planning to fish the Ellie Bowman Memorial on Table Rock in May?
Chris – Yes! Maybe it will be warm enough for a topwater bite by then?
Tyler – absolutely
Troy – I am going to try. It depends on how my schedule works out.
PJ – Yes as of now I plan on fishing it
Richie – Absolutely, I plan on fishing the Ellie Bowman Memorial on Table Rock.
Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs you’d like to give?
Chris – Big thanks to my wife for supporting my fishing obsession and taking care of our little man on tournament days. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support. I like to support local business and I’m fortunate to have local companies that support my fishing.
- Everharts Outdoors
- Council Bluff Crankbaits
- Baitcave Customs
- Buff Truck Outfitters
Tyler – Eco Fishing Shop
Troy – No sponsors, but I’d like to thank Joshua Boothe, Johnathan Dominguez, yourself and anyone else who helps put on the MOYAK series. They are always well run events and a lot of fun (weather aside!)
PJ – Ecofishing Shop, Jackiewiczs swim baits, Motionfishing, wootungsten, Aquaflage all play a huge part with there support and amazing products they offer and of course all my friends and family at home with out there support and love none of it would be possible
Richie – Thanks to Mo-Yak for putting on another great tournament with beer and food at the awards.
Derby Stats
Anglers 69
Fish caught – 148 (FPA – 2.14)
Total limits – 29 (17%)
Margin of victory – 5.25″
Twenty+ Club – Chris Robbs (20.25″), Doug Wright (20.25″)
Trash Pot – Richie McMichael – 23″ Carp ($125)
Smallest Bass Award – Dane Lewis 8″
Air temp at launch – 42
Air temp at takeout – 45