Rojas Wins Elite Series Bass Fishing Event
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MONDAY, 11 AUGUST 2008
SYRACUSE, NY - Putting to rest a seven-year drought, Dean Rojas of Lake Havasu, Arizona scored victory at the Champion's Choice presented by Ramada Worldwide on New York's Oneida Lake, the final Bassmaster Elite Series event of the season. With the victory, Rojas crossed the $1 million mark in career BASS earnings and upped his victory tally to three by posting a four-day total of 65 pounds, two ounces, which was enough to hold off hard-charging Kevin Langill of Terrell, NC, and 2006 Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Mike Iaconelli of Runnemede, NJ.
Rojas found success rotating in three primary areas throughout the tournament. Known for his proficiency with a frog, he employed that technique throughout the tournament while mixing it up with a Slurpee's brush beaver flipped to shallow, grassy areas.
With changing weather conditions, Rojas said it was important to adapt and be flexible. Through the four-day event, anglers experienced rain and hail mixed with periods of sunshine.
Known for its smallmouth, Oneida yielded largemouth to most of the top competitors including Rojas. After narrowly missing out on a victory and ultimately finishing second at the Bassmaster Memorial staged on Oneida Lake and Lake Onondaga in 2007, Rojas was able to exact a measure of redemption on a New York fishery.
"This is so awesome," said Rojas, 37. "I've had my fair share of crash and burns over the years but it just makes this so much sweeter. I had such a clean practice and when the season started, I knew that I would do well on Oneida."
With his solid showing at Oneida, Rojas moved up to 7th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, earning a $28,000 bonus for his placement. Sunday, he landed the Purolator Big Bass of the Day, a four-pound bass, earning a $1,000 premium.
Rojas, who was born in New York, was presented with a Kermit stuffed animal on stage due to his steady use of the frog in Elite Series tournaments. Throughout the tournament, he used two Spro frogs to entice the biggest bass.
A new bait that was introduced at ICAST, called the popping frog, was Rojas' savior on Sunday. He threw the bait after his flipping pattern came undone and was able to catch 14 pounds, eight ounces. The other bait was the Spro Bronzeye frog.
"Everything went my way this week," said Rojas. "I have been putting in the hard work all these years and it's nice to see it pay off in a big way. It was a wonderful week."
Moving up from third to second was Langill, who posted a four-day total of 60 pounds, seven ounces. The North Carolina pro scored his highest finish ever in a Bassmaster Elite Series event and closes the season in promising fashion.
The 35-year old pro keyed in on schooling bass all week. One of the indicators that he used to find his fish were the circling birds. When he saw a group of birds, he would cast to the areas they were near.
His pattern also relied heavily on his electronics and most of his weight was caught during the early portion of the day on Sunday. He was fishing a lipless crankbait over grass.
"It was just an awesome morning," said Langill. "The weather changed me though and that made things tough. I'm tickled to end the season this way."
Slipping from second to third was Iaconelli with 59 pounds, four ounces. In fourth was Dustin Wilks of Rocky Mount, NC with 59 pounds, 0 ounces. Taking fifth was Dave Wolak of Wake Forest, NC with 57 pounds, nine ounces.
Posting solid finishes were 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion Alton Jones (6th) and Mike McClelland of Bella Vista, Arkansas (11th).
With the season ending today, 84 Bassmaster Elite Series qualifying spots for 2009 were determined as well as 36 2009 Bassmaster Classic qualifiers, set for Shreveport-Bossier City, LA on Feb. 20-22. The spots were awarded based on the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.
Known as the "thumb" of New York's Finger Lakes, Oneida is 21 miles long and five miles wide, with shelves and shoals formed by glaciers. The natural body of water features plenty of shoreline vegetation and an abundance of rocky offshore structure.
Source:
www.bassresource.com
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