It's been 6 1/2 years since Dean Rojas tasted victory at the tour level, but he's in position to end that drought tomorrow. And if his trademark frog comes through for him, he'll earn the biggest paycheck of his career.
The affable pro from Texas caught a 16-04 bag of Spro Bronzeye fish from the six-hole course on Arkansas' Lake Dardanelle today to snatch the day-3 lead at the Bassmaster Legends Major. If he can hold off the strong quintet that'll share the Illinois Bayou with him tomorrow, he'll claim the $250,000 1st-place check.
His lead is slim, however, and the competition is stiff. Alabama's Boyd Duckett, the 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion, is just 6 ounces back in 2nd after weighing a 16-08 stringer. In 3rd, 2 pounds back, is South Carolina's Jason Quinn, who caught 14-14 today.
Then there's the No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten, Michigan's Kevin Van Dam, in 4th with 12-08. He's followed by Alabama's Tim Horton, who's 5th with 11-14.
California's Ish Monroe rounds out the Top 6 who'll fish tomorrow. He lost three good bites when he "got lazy" after he'd broken off a hook, but still caught enough to fish the final day.
Here's a glance at how the Top 6 shapes up with 1 day of fishing to go (red numbers in parentheses indicate deficit margin from leader):
1. Dean Rojas: 16-14
2. Boyd Duckett: 16-08 (0-06)
3. Jason Quinn: 14-14 (2-00)
4. Kevin VanDam: 12-08 (4-06)
5. Tim Horton: 11-14 (5-00)
6. Ish Monroe: 11-11 (5-03)
Gray skies were the predominant weather condition today, and a thunderstorm provided a nice break from the excessive heat. The clouds might have been a boon to Rojas' frog bite, but he also caught them on that bait yesterday under a bright blue sky.
Duckett is focused on offshore structure, so he doesn't think tomorrow's forecast for a blazing sun will affect his pattern. Quinn's hopes rest with two groups of fish, so he'll have to make something happen in the other four holes.
The remainder of the finalists are at least 4 pounds back, so they'll need to garner a big bite or two and hope that the Sweet 16s don't replicate today's bags.
The Majors have been discontinued for 2008, so there could be some history-book ink at stake tomorrow. And that's on top of the winner's check for a cool quarter-mil.
Rojas Takes Advantage
Rojas caught two fish over 4 pounds during the first few hours that anchored his bag, and then fished solidly the rest of the day.
"I think a little bit of everything, including the weather, helped me out today," he said. "It was just one of those days when the fish were on (the frog), and I was able to capitalize on it.
"But I'm still going to need another big sack tomorrow. I had the bites to catch 18 or 19 pounds today, and I think some others did too. It'll be a matter of executing correctly and getting the fish to take the bait."
Rojas will try to break a tour-level win drought that stretches back to 2001 when he takes the lead into the final day.
He's not overly concerned about tomorrow's forecast for bright sun.
"I caught them during the regular tournament (days 1 and 2) when it was hotter than a pistol and there weren't any clouds. And I'm tired of worrying about things. I've been down this road many times before, and there are always changes."
He got bites today in four of the six holes.
"I feel pretty comfortable everywhere out there. I fished the course the last two times we were here, so I know it pretty well.
"I'm going to attack it just like I did today and whatever happens, happens."
2nd: Duckett Catches On
Duckett made his maiden visit to the Illinois Bayou today and liked what he saw.
"For me, it's better than the rest of the lake," he said. "I caught most of my fish offshore as opposed to up shallow, and I like to fish that way."
His weigh-in fish came from three different holes. He caught shorts or culls in two of the other three, but blanked in the the third.
"In two of those three I fished shallow, and I wasn't able to catch them. I'll do something different in there tomorrow."
He thinks 15 pounds will give him a decent shot at victory.
"I anticipate that Rojas is going to go backwards a little bit. The weather might mess him up a little.
"With this being the last major, I'd be real proud to win it."
3rd: Quinn Goes 1-for-2
Quinn caught a 5 1/2-pounder that was the biggest fish of the day, and said he lost an even bigger one.
"I'm fishing a 1/2-ounce Tru-Tungsten jig and a (prototype) Rapala DT Fat crankbait," he said. "With the crankbait, it's a reaction-type bite, and they're hitting the jig as soon as it gets into the water.
"You have to get a good hookset because they're clamping down hard."
Boyd Duckett fished offshore structure to catch his 16 1/2-pound bag.
The vast majority of his weight came from two holes.
"I found a couple of groups of fish. The only thing that bothers me is that in a regular tournament, you can spend the whole day on a couple of groups. In this format, you really have to maximize your time.
"But I think I've figured them out, and I should be able to catch them in any of the holes (tomorrow).
He expects weights to drop a little tomorrow and thinks he can improve his position.
"If I can catch a good limit with a couple of 4- or 5-pounders, I should be able to move up."
4th: VanDam Missed Some
VanDam said he missed some opportunities to weigh a bigger sack.
"I had some more chances, but that's just the nature of the way you've got to fish right now," he said. "You're not going to catch everything.
"It's a grind, without a doubt. Anytime you're on one of these hole courses, it's never easy."
He expects the final leaderboard to look considerably different than the current standings, and thinks he stands a decent chance to win in spite of a deficit of more than 4 pounds.
"I don't want to wish any bad luck on the leaders, but anybody can have a bad day tomorrow, and it'd be easy for somebody to fall into a real good day. I'm going to make a bold prediction that you're going to see a pretty big shake-up. The conditions are going to be different and it's just so hard to be consistent.
"I think if I can catch 16 or 17 pounds, I'll have a shot to win. Timing is real critical. If you get on the right little deal at the right time, you could get a couple of big ones real quick."
5th: Horton not Conceding
Horton will begin the final day exactly 5 pounds out of the lead, but he hasn't counted himself out.
"A couple of good bites could get me right back to even," he said. "I need a 5-pounder and a 4 to go along with some other good fish, and I'll take my chances from there."
He caught nine keepers today, but nothing over 3 pounds.
"I think I caught at least one in every hole, with the exception of 3. That's a good hole, but I just didn't get it going in there. It has more ledges than the other holes and I tried fishing out there, but it's so hard to get comfortable with a 1-hour deal, especially when you've been getting bit on the bank.
"I fish it late tomorrow, and if I'm behind, I'll stay out deep the whole time. But if I've got 13 or 14 pounds, I won't take that gamble."
6th: Ish Made an Error
Monroe said he made a costly mistake when he neglected to tie on another Reaction Innovations BMF Flipping Hook after breaking one off. He had a tube attached to a different hook on another rod, and opted to put his Sweet Beaver on it to save time.
He lost three good fish before he finally rigged up another BMF.
"After losing those fish, I didn't think it was going to happen for me," he said in reference to making the Top 6. "I just got lazy. I promise you, I will not be lazy tomorrow."
He's excited about tomorrow even though he has a deficit of more than 5 pounds to make up.
Jason Quinn took big-fish honors today with a largemouth that went nearly 5 1/2 pounds.
"Anything can happen at this place – 5 pounds is just two of the right bites."
He said that if something really good happens to him, it might occur in hole 3.
"It's just the wood that's in there – I've kind of figured it out."
12th: Just Two for Lintner
California's Jared Lintner had a huge day 2 to climb 24 places and make the Top 12, but he couldn't carry the momentum into today. He weighed just two fish for 3-10.
"I started off catching a couple of short fish right off the bat," he said. "Then in that hole and the next hole, I dumped the first four decent bites I had. They just came off, and that happens sometimes."
He spent most of the day flipping jigs in the grass, but never got on a roll.
"It just seemed like I was struggling all day. It was the total opposite of day 2, when I felt like I could call my shots.
"Today was a total reversal of fortune, but that's fishing."
Notable
> Day 3 stats – 12 anglers, 8 limits, 3 threes, 1 two.
> Both of Rojas' tour-level victories came in 2001. They were in Top 150s at Toho and Toledo Bend.
> Duckett is the only finalist who isn't fishing for his biggest payday of the year. He made $500,000 at the Classic.
> VanDam said the hole-course format can easily frustrate even an experienced angler. "You think you get onto something and you get a few bites, so you try it in the next hole," he said. "But that next hole is different water, and there's a good chance that what you were doing won't work. You have to be able to adapt all the time."
> Monroe said that if the sun shines tomorrow, flipping will likely be more productive than a frog pattern. "Dean and I have talked about it several times – you'll still get bites, but you might not get the bites you need to win. With flipping, you usually only get hurt if the water drops."
> Aaron Martens (7th with 11-09) would have made the cut if he hadn't brought a dead fish to the scales. The penalty cost him 4 ounces, which dropped him 2 ounces behind Monroe.
Weather Forecast
Here's the weather forecast for the final day of the tournament. For more weather information, including satellite and radar imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.
> Sun., August 26 - Sunny - 99°/68°
- Wind: From the NE at 4 mph
Day 3 Standings
1. Dean Rojas -- Grand Saline, TX -- 5, 16-14
Day 1: 5, 14-08 -- Day 2: 5, 16-08 -- Day 3: 5, 16-14
2. Boyd Duckett -- Demopolis, AL -- 5, 16-08
Day 1: 5, 13-08 -- Day 2: 5, 12-00 -- Day 3: 5, 16-08
3. Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5, 14-14
Day 1: 5, 13-06 -- Day 2: 5, 11-06 -- Day 3: 5, 14-14
4. Kevin VanDam -- Kalamazoo, MI -- 5, 12-08
Day 1: 5, 15-15 -- Day 2: 5, 16-02 -- Day 3: 5, 12-08
5. Timmy Horton -- Muscle Shoals, AL -- 5, 11-14
Day 1: 5, 16-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-10 -- Day 3: 5, 11-14
6. Ishama Monroe -- Hughson, CA -- 5, 11-11
Day 1: 5, 18-05 -- Day 2: 5, 11-15 -- Day 3: 5, 11-11
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not be fishing tomorrow.
7. Aaron Martens -- Leeds, AL -- 5, 11-09 -- $16,500
Day 1: 5, 16-00 -- Day 2: 5, 17-00 -- Day 3: 5, 11-09
8. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 10-08 -- $16,000
Day 1: 5, 18-10 -- Day 2: 5, 13-12 -- Day 3: 5, 10-08
9. Scott Rook -- Little Rock, AR -- 3, 07-01 -- $15,500
Day 1: 5, 12-13 -- Day 2: 5, 15-06 -- Day 3: 3, 07-01
10. Mark Tyler -- Vian, OK -- 3, 06-03 -- $15,000
Day 1: 5, 13-10 -- Day 2: 5, 11-02 -- Day 3: 3, 06-03
11. Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, CA -- 3, 05-00 -- $15,100
Day 1: 5, 20-05 -- Day 2: 3, 06-11 -- Day 3: 3, 05-00
12. Jared Lintner -- Arroyo Grande, CA -- 2, 03-10 -- $13,000
Day 1: 4, 08-11 -- Day 2: 5, 16-03 -- Day 3: 2, 03-10
Big Bass
Day 3: Jason Quinn -- Lake Wylie, SC -- 5-06 -- $1,000
Day 2: Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, OK -- 5-11 -- $1,000
Day 1: Fred Roumbanis -- Auburn, CA -- 6-12 -- $1,000
