Dean Finishes 3rd on the Delta Takes Over AOY Points Lead

Considering the position he was in toward the end of day 1, Rojas is thrilled to be leaving California with a Top-3 finish and the lead in the AOY points.

“I keep going over it in my head, but day 1 was very challenging,” he said. “I only had 7 pounds in the boat with 20 minutes to go before I made that long run back. I pulled into an area and it was, ‘Wham, bam.’ That set the tone for the rest of the event. I just stayed in there the next 3 days.”

All told, he figures he caught 74 of his 78 pounds out of the canal he went to out of desperation Thursday afternoon.

Today, his first five weigh between 10 and 12 pounds, but he was aided by two late-day 5-pounders that served as twin kickers and gave him the day’s heaviest stringer. He caught most of his fish throwing a SPRO Bronzeye frog and flipping a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog.

“I think it (big ones biting) had something to do with the tide,” he said. “There were times when they started to feed really good and the incoming tide was good, but I was losing it every day. Each day it got worse and I only had 30 minutes of prime conditions.”