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Norman,
OK.
– The Bassmaster Elite Series means the potential of big money, and even bigger dreams. Each of the first two seasons has seen its share of success stories, and its share of opportunities slipped by. Financials dreams have been made, and Classic dreams have been missed.
Each of the anglers has a set of goals starting out the Elite Series season, and while the monetary benchmarks might vary; however, each one of them has one plateau that they share in common; Classic qualification.
The title of Bassmaster Classic Champion contains one of the major keys to unlocking the gate to building a bass fishing career. Every man in the Bassmaster Elite Series wants the Classic title to grace the cover of his portfolio. But, is there such a thing as a successful season without having a shot at winning the Classic? There are some pros who say so.
In 2007, there were four Elite pros that had what many people would consider spectacular seasons yet didn’t qualify for the 2008 Classic at Lake Hartwell. Ben Matsubu won the Sunshine Showdown at Lake Toho, and in doing so pushed his season’s earnings to more than $160,000. Dean Rojas was the only Elite Series pro to make the cut at all three Bassmaster Majors, his season earnings topped $130,000.
Rojas:
A Major Performance During 2007
Dean Rojas’ brand was covered very well in 2007. He performed well on the brightest of stages throughout the year, and he had an impressive financial season as a result. He finished the 2007 Bassmaster Classic in 10th position, and he was the only angler to make the top 12 cut in all three majors; including leading going into round three of the Memorial in New York, and topping the leader board heading into the final round of the Legends in Arkansas.
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“From an earnings, exposure and sponsor perspective, this was a great year,” the 37-year-old pro said. “All of my sponsors are happy with the season, and are back for next year as a result. But, I know that one major goal wasn’t accomplished, and while it hurts, I’ve been here before.”
Being a seasoned pro, Rojas can point to two or three opportunities that cost him the 100 points he needed to be heading to Lake Hartwell in February. “I had two big bites at Grand Lake that I just didn’t convert on,” Rojas said. “And, I did not have a good Western Swing; I should have done better there, being that it is my home waters.” |
After starting the season with a 13th place at Lake Amistad, Rojas finished out of the cut at both the Delta and Clear Lake. “I was a little distracted while in California,” Rojas said. “I’m not making any excuses, but I had some things going on at the time that had my mind elsewhere, and I gave up some points there.”
He also said that while there are people who think he has become too one dimensional as an angler by focusing on his frog, he thinks he actually didn’t throw it enough this year. “I know the kinds of bites I can get on my Spro Frog,” Rojas said. “I should have thrown it on day one at Champlain, and didn’t. That bait was very successful there, and I didn’t throw it until it was too late to make a run at a really high finish” (he finished 31st).
He said that year like this motivates him to do better next year, but that unlike years past; he has learned to not let it dominate his thought process. “I used to get angry at myself when I didn’t accomplish my goals,” said the Skeeter / Yamaha pro. “I seemed to push harder, but that didn’t always make things better, it usually made me uptight, now I’ll just get ready to go at it again next year.”
“Right now, I am going to spend some time with Renee and the boys, watching them race their motorcycles.” (His sons Cameron and Austin will enter six or eight local motocross events this year.) “They love it, and its fun to watch them enjoy it like that.”
Matsubu: Learning Consistency
Matsubu said that it was a “hero or zero” season for him in 2007. In total, Matsubu earned six paychecks, but despite the high earnings, his year was marked by what he termed inconsistencies.
“Toho really made the year for me financially,” the Hemphill, Tex. pro said. “Before Toho, I wasn’t in the position to break even.” Matsubu earned his second BASS win at Lake Toho in the final event of the 2007 season, and in doing so, earned an $111,000 payday.
| The 45 year-old pro finished the season in 57th place in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster angler of the Year points race, and feels that his not qualifying for the Classic was a matter of nerves. “I fished tight for much of the season,” Matsubu said. “I realized after Lake Erie that I really had no shot at making the Classic, so I relaxed, and that made a difference for me at the Potomac (25th place) and Toho (where he won).” |
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The reason for his tension is that Matsubu has an outlook on the Elite Series that the top 25 anglers on the tour are the most consistent anglers from year to year. “Those are the guys that seem to trade up and down throughout the top 25 throughout the season, which really leaves only 10 or 12 positions left to qualify,” said the Yamamoto pro. “The reason is their consistency of performance, and I haven’t gotten to that level of steadiness yet; but am learning to do it.”
Matsubu said that his carefree attitude in the final two events, and watching the success of another friend taught him to try and take a different approach next year. “I watched the way Derek (Remitz, Toyota Rookie of the Year) went about things, and I will try and take a cue from him.” Matsubu explained. “Derek has a real easy going manner about him, and kind of lets the fishing just happen. He concentrates on working the fish, and not what’s going on around him.”
“I’ve proven to myself I can do very well on this level, I can even win here, I just need to not be so up and down, and that will be my focus going into next season.”.
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