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Norman,
OK – In recent weeks, most of the talk about the tightly-contested 2008 BASS Angler of the Year race has focused on three anglers – Kevin VanDam, Todd Faircloth and Mike McClelland. Last year’s AOY, Skeet Reese. has made a late season push to pull within 11 points of 3rd with two tournaments left to go and sits on the perimeter of most pundits’ radar. But few have mentioned the ascent of Arizona’s Dean Rojas into the 5th place position.
While it would take an amazing series of events for Rojas to vault into first, it’s possible. In fact fishing fans need not look any further into the past than the recently completed FLW Tour season, where the two front-runners both plummeted in the last event of the year, to see an example of how it can happen.
Will Rojas pull a David Dudley on us?
Is he even thinking about it as he prepares to conquer New York?
“Obviously it’s there,” he said. “A lot of things would have to happen but there are two more events. The only thing that I can do is fish 100 percent.”
Headed North
While many fishing fans associate Rojas with frogging and sight fishing, he prides himself on being a very versatile fisherman who feels quite comfortable heading to smallmouth territory. He’s been in the money in four of the six BASS events he’s fished in New York (two on Oneida, three on Champlain and one on Erie), including a 4th place in last year’s Major on Oneida. But he also suffered a dismal 81st place finish last year at Erie.
“Last year Erie caught me by surprise,” he said. “I wasn’t fully prepared. I forgot some of my notes at home. That’s not an excuse, but I will be more prepared this year. I practiced three days before the lake went off limits and familiarized myself with more areas.”
He also bolstered his equipment, specifically through the purchase of two 64 inch drift socks. Last year he had only a single much smaller sock to control his drifts across prime smallmouth areas and it wasn’t enough.
Upon his arrival in New York he’ll take further preparations to ensure that his Skeeter is ready to endure the pounding it’s likely to take on the inland sea. “I’ll batten down the trolling motor to make sure it doesn’t take a beating and I’ll tighten every bolt and nut on the boat. In other words, I’ll eliminate the problems I can control.”
But he believes that Erie presents something of a “potluck” and said “it’s just a matter of rolling across the right group of fish. You could swing for the fences and only find three pounders.”
He feels even more comfortable with Oneida, where in addition to last year’s 4th place finish in the Major he also logged a 38th in July of 2006 (fishing against a full Elite Series field).
“Without going into too much detail, I think I’ve figured something out up there. That first year was a good learning experience,” he said. And while he may rely on largemouths or some combination of the two species at Oneida, he’s not afraid to go deep on either lake, despite his reputation as a top shallow water stick.
“Growing up in San Diego, I had to fish 30 to 50 feet deep all the time. It doesn’t scare me at all.”
Comeback Kid
Last season’s finish was far beneath Rojas’s usual standards. He finished 51st in the AOY race and missed the Bassmaster Classic for the first time since 2003.
“I had some distractions going on away from fishing,” he said. But despite the below-par final status, he did have moments of glory. “I had three Top 10s in the Majors and six Top 10s overall, so on the whole it was a good year for me and my sponsors. I got a lot of TV time.”
But this year he’s pushed his consistency up a notch. Through nine tournaments, he’s made the cut to Day 3 seven times and has managed to fish on Sunday twice. Even when he hasn’t made it to Saturday, they’ve been near misses (58th at Wheeler and 52nd at Kentucky Lake).
“I’m just executing really well. I’ve had some unfortunate things happen, but some good things too. For example, in Florida I had to drop down to six pound line and a 1/16 ounce weight. At Toho I didn’t have a limit at 2 o’clock with a 2:50 weigh-in and I caught my limit in 45 minutes. It has all been on the fly.”
He has also paid back his sponsors’ faith in him many times over with substantial TV exposure, especially for the frog.
“It’s been huge, it’s been gigantic. The TV time drives the sponsorship and the frog thing is really exciting. When you make those Top 12s and get the TV time it builds your confidence even more. It shows you’re holding your own. As a kid I was in awe of a lot of the pros I’m competing against now, so it’s a big thrill to be doing this.”
Future Frogger
Rojas first became a fixture on the national bass scene through his record-setting 2001 victory at Toho. While he no longer holds the four day weight record, he still has a grip on the single day mark. Not as many fishing fans remember that he won the next event, at Toledo Bend Reservoir, as well. But since those back-to-back victories, he hasn’t notched a BASS win.
“It’s kind of funny. I haven’t won but I’m always a threat. Mark Zona put it in perspective for me. He said ‘You’re always right there.’ I have like six 4th places and three seconds and a bunch of thirds. There are plenty of guys who win one and then fall off the earth. If I win one, great, but I’m still getting a lot of TV time.”
While he’d surely take a win in any of the Elite Series tournaments, the ultimate prize would be a victory next February at the Red River.
“Sure, I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of fun on that river. But I have to take it one at a time. I still have to catch a bass in each event.”
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