> Day 4: 5, 18-04 (20, 63-04) B.A.S.S. / Seigo Saito - Rojas, who secured his best finish of the season, said Oahe had a similar feel to the desert lakes in Arizona and that made it easy for him to get comfortable with the big sky, expansive landscapes and long runs to get to unpressured fish. 

“Without a doubt, it felt like home,” he said, pointing out that half of the top 12 had western roots. “All those guys have all fished big water, but it’s different from Lake Erie or Lake Ontario. This was like Powell or Mead, big reservoirs that have the same looking stuff on the bank. For them to break it down so quickly and not be afraid to run 50 to 80 miles to get to that deal didn’t surprise me. That’s what we deal with. For us it was no big deal.”

His weights increased each day, but his presentations remained consistent. He threw a dropshot using a 4-inch Big Big Baits Cane Stick in 15 to 22 feet of water.

“I ran 80 miles (up the lake) because those fish were unpressured and dumb and easy,” he said. “When you have 6 hours to fish, those are the ones you want. You want the ones that bite when you drop it. 

“The big ones were on the bottom They’re not going to chase stuff like the 2 1/2s and 3s that were blasting bait out of the water.”

His kicker today was a 4-07, his biggest of the week, and he had another one over 4 pounds. 

“I was around them, but I was a day late,” he said. Read more