Dean Rojas' Pattern, Baits & Gear
He was happy with his decisions throughout the event, especially his call toward the end of day 1 to duck into a canal off the San Joaquin River. He'd started the day in a crowded area around Mildred Island and Frank's Tract and didn't see how the fish there would hold up for the duration. "There was so much traffic and I knew there was no way to make it last for 3 or 4 days," he said. "I left there with 7 pounds and said to myself, 'I can't do this.' I had to find an area that away from everyone else." The canal off the San Joaquin turned out to be that spot. "It was open on both ends so it had water flowing through it and it's just a place where they can go to spawn. It's off the main river channel and it had nice grass and mats and reeds and tules. It had all the right ingredients. "Making the decsion to go into that area was more of a last-ditch effort. I was ready to concede. I had 20 minutes before I had to run back. I'd just got fuel. I was there 5 minutes and made a flip and cautht a 6 1/2-pounder and then caught one every 5 minutes after that. I couldn't get the bait back in the water fast enough." On the remaining days, he threw a frog as a search bait, then pitched and flipped soft plastics when he had to slow down. "I covered a lot of water," he said. "I saw some bedding fish, but I didn't think concentrating on that would pay off. Ish (Monroe) is a good friend of mine and he insists you can't win sight-fishing here for 4 days. I figured if I can catch them better just fishing, I'd do that. It's not you can go out sight-fishing on other lakes where the water stays the same. "In the area I was in, the water was dirty. I'd get certain bites where I was certain they were on a bed. I wasn't visually fishing for them, I was just fishing."
Frog gear: 7' medium-heavy Duckett Fishing Terex casting rod, Duckett Fishing 360R casting reel (7:1 gear ratio), 80-pound Sunline FX-2 braided line, SPRO Bronzeye 65 frog (clear chartreuse).
Pitching gear: 7'4" heavy action Duckett Fishing Terex casting rod, same reel, 60-pound Sunline FX-2 braided line, 3/4-oz. unnamed tungsten worm weight, Paycheck Baits punch skirt (brown/blue/black), 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG worm hook, 5" Big Bite Baits Fightin' Frog (tilapia and green-pumpkin).
Main factor: "Making the decision to move into that canal on day 1. That saved my tournament."
Performance edge: "Everything performed flawlessly. I had no issues at all with my equipment. It allowed me to do my job. It says a lot that I've been with these companies for so long. It's because their products are the best of the best ."
