Photo by Seigo Saito / B.A.S.S. Communications
He has led for three days
running, amassing 57 pounds and 7 ounces of Toledo Bend bass, so there’s
no reason Dean Rojas shouldn’t believe he can close the deal Sunday in
the TroKar Battle on the Bayou.
And believe, he does.
“I need one more big bite to finish this thing off tomorrow, and I
know I can do it,” he said Saturday after weighing 14 pounds and 9
ounces for a lead of more than 4 pounds over runner-up David Walker, who
had 53-6.
Rojas won a Bassmaster tournament on Toledo Bend in 2001, but it
wasn’t a Bassmaster Elite Series victory, and that’s what Rojas wants
now. It would be his fourth win, and second since 2008. He claims not to
be thinking about the instant qualification
for the 2012 Bassmaster Classic, and not even about the $100,000 he’d
get for a win.
“Right now, I’m just fishing for the win,” he said.
“I’m in position, I’m just going to go for it. I’ve been fishing
relaxed the last three days — it’s been really weird,” he said.
“Whatever happens, happens. I know I’m doing the best I can do, and I
know I’m fishing for the right fish to win with.”
Rojas said his third day of competition didn’t go quite as planned —
he wanted one more bass to widen the margin — but it was close. Like
Friday, Saturday started slowly for him, with the bite picking up about
11 a.m. He continued to target spawning fish,
moving to new areas each day. He has plenty more fish to go to and wrap
it up, he said.
“I saw 20 pounds of bass today, just swimming around,” he said.
Four pounds back, Walker is still in range to catch Rojas. On
Toledo Bend, 4 pounds is one decent fish. Besides, Walker has already
discovered where one break can get you: On Day Two, thanks to a 24-pound
bag, he moved from a dismal 53rd place into fourth.
“It was a grind today,” he said. “I tried to not let the demons
tell me, ‘You need to go do this, you need to go do that.’ I knew I was
doing the right thing to catch the bigger fish, and I stuck with it.”
The “right thing” was flipping, his strength.
“With the wind laid down, I could do it, make better casts. All it
takes is one cast — Ish Monroe proved that yesterday (with his 10-15).”
Gerald Swindle improved two places Saturday, from fifth to third
with 52-0. He said he stuck with what he did the first two days —
throwing a square-lipped crankbait, jerkbait, ChatterBait, and covering a
lot of water.
Wind is his friend. He’s been picking out windblown points. More
specifically, he’s hitting the section of the point that has the most
wind on it.
“A couple of my primary spots, guys are finally figuring out where
they are, but there’s nothing I can do about that so I’m having to dig
for new water.”
He picked up the pattern and transferred it to new water. “You get the right pattern, you can catch them,” he said.
If the wind quits Sunday, he’ll try bedding fish, he said.
“The water temperature dropped about 4 degrees today, the moon’s
full, and that makes for a prime time for a few more fish to move back
up,” Swindle added. “It’s a guessing game, but if you got the kahunas to
roll the dice, you could land on glory.”
Aaron Martens wrapped up Saturday with the flu, sore muscles and fourth place with 51-10. In fifth was Chris Lane with 51-6.
Only the top 12 will compete Sunday for the trophy. Ish Monroe was
last man in at No. 12, thanks to his Friday catch of the event’s largest
bass so far, a 10-15.
Monroe’s fish is still in contention to claim the Berkley Big Bass
of the Tournament bonus of $500. Saturday’s largest fish was a 6-14 by
Steve Kennedy, which helped him into the cut at No. 7.
DAY THREE STANDINGS
