“I’m not the greatest poker player in the word, but sometimes I can hold my own,” Rojas said. “We talked about strategy ahead of time and we decided that we were only going to bet on hands where we had a chance of winning.”

“It’s a marathon,” he continued. “I knew we had to finish deep in the field. I didn’t think I’d win it. We had a hundred guys in the field who are true poker pros.”

Rojas picked his partner carefully, figuring that he could carry much of the load on the fishing side of things. He’d need a poker stud to bolster the effort once the competition came inside. 

“Jayson is a good friend of mine from Lake Havasu,” Rojas said. “We’ve been friends for about 10 years. He went to the World Series (of Poker) last year, so I figured this would be a good opportunity for him. I told him about it and he said he’d love to come.”

On the water, things went as well as they could have expected. They pieced together consecutive four-fish limits and their first day catch included a 9.82 pound beast. With that fish alone they would have gotten a check. Their 14.68 pound Day One limit, which bested the second best limit of the event by over three pounds, would have enabled them to finish 4th overall had they decided not to launch Dean’s boat on Day Two.

“The big fish was a gift,” Rojas said. “You don’t plan on catch anything like that. You want to catch 3-pounders. I figured that if we caught anywhere from 12 to 15 pounds we’d be close. But a big fish like that changes everything.”

With the on-the-water portion of the event completed, the pair went into “safety” mode in pursuit of the combination title. But they still had to get the cards that would enable them to carry out their plan. Good fortune and some smart play took care of the rest.

“I got hands today that I never thought I’d get,” Rojas said. “I’d get a hand that looked crappy and those hands would turn into jewels.” IN the end, Rojas finished 14th out of the 98 anglers in the poker tournament and Kisselburg was 35th. 

Rojas was particularly buoyed by the fact that the field consisted not only of his fellow anglers, but also of true poker pros. “I’m not great,” he admitted. “But I had a pro next to me and I whupped him. I may have benefited from the fact that (Rick) Clunn was at our table, so the pro may have taken some chances trying to get the $1,000 bounty (for knocking out Clunn) that he might not have taken otherwise.”

“It’s cool to win the inaugural event of something that is going to become a staple in our industry,” Rojas added. But in addition to the short term gains to his morale and his bank account, he’s convinced that this win is a sign that he’s peaking at the perfect time.

“To come from 45th place (in the Angler of the Year standings) heading into Oneida and to finish in the top three and get a chance to fish against all of these guys in the Classic, and then to win this just two months later. I’m jacked -- come on, ride the wave.”

Here’s what the top four finishing fishermen in the poker tournament had to say about the Fish & Chips event: 

1st Place: Corey Smith 
“It was really cool. One of the things that I noticed was how competitive all of the fishing guys were. I definitely got some cards today and there was a lot of luck on my side. I thought that I played them decently and I’m happy with how it went. 

“Coming into this, I thought my partner, Kurt Dove, and I had a shot to win. We’ve fished a few times before and when he asked me to be a part of this, the first thing he asked was if I could play poker. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. 

“We had a good run and I couldn’t ask for a better partner. I’m as happy as could be. My poker experience couldn’t have gone any better. Besides cash games, this was the first poker tournament that I’ve ever played in.” 

2nd Place: Clark Reehm
“I’ve played a little poker on-line but this is totally different than what I’m used to. When you’re at home playing with your buddies for quarters, it’s not the same thing. This was a whole different deal. Last night I looked up poker tournament tips on Google and crammed everything that I could. I even made a little cheat sheet so I knew what hands were good. 

“It was grueling. I have more respect for the guys that I see on TV playing poker because it really is tough to sit for 12 hours. The fishing part was tough but the poker part went pretty good. If the fishing would have been a little better, it would have been wide open."

3rd Place: Matt Pangrac
“I knew that a lot of these anglers could hold their own on the poker table so I wasn’t really surprised to see three fishermen make it to the final table. After a sub-par fishing portion, it was nice to make a deep run in the poker event.

“I’ve played in a few small cash games before, but never in an actual tournament. You really can’t describe the feeling of sitting down at the final table and knowing that one person from that table will walk away with $20,000. 

“Being able to fish against and play poker against some of the best pro anglers in the world was truly exciting. My main goal was to beat Mark Jeffreys in the poker tournament……mission accomplished.” 

4th Place: Fred Contaoi
“For me, making it that far was huge because I hadn’t played a hand of poker in my entire life until three days ago. It was a lot of fun and there wasn’t any pressure – just like the entire tournament. I just had a super time and it was fun to play with all these pro poker players and the fisherman. It was great camaraderie all week. 

“The event was everything that I wanted out of this trip because after spending the whole year on Tour and fishing the PAA, this trip actually started about a month ago. I met a few guys that I had never really hung out with before and that was really cool.”

The overall poker champion and $20,000 winner was 84-year-old Roy Jones who claimed the title with a final hand of King/Jack of diamonds. Jones plays small tournaments occasionally but the concept of the Fish & Chips poker tournament drew him to the table. “I really enjoyed playing against the fishermen. It was a great experience…..$20,000 worth of experience,” said Jones. 

"It was a tremendous week and we couldn't have done it without the incredible staff at Riverwind Casino," said Mark Jeffreys, Fish & Chips creator.  "Clayton, Shawn, Angel and the rest of the staff were just tremendous and we look forward to making this an annual event.  For the pro and amateur anglers that participated, I can't thank them enough for being a part of this event.  They were awesome.  What a great group of guys.  I have the best job in the world," added Jeffreys.  

The BASS ZONE would like to thank Elite Series Pro, Dave Smith for the great work on the trophies presented to the winners of each event.  Dave, thanks so much for all the support.

Stay tuned for next year.