Rojas Sacks 15-10, Davis 2 Back At Stingy Sabine

Photo: James Overstreet Alton Jones called them “weekers,” a reference to the bounty of Sabine River bass that’s been caught the past few days only to fall just shy of meeting the 14-inch length requirement.

“That means in about a week, they’ll be keepers,” Jones quipped on stage after he was one of just 17 anglers to bring a limit of bass to the scale. That’s right – out of 100 competitors on day 1 of the season-opening Elite Series event in Orange, Texas, only 17 brought five back to shore. 

It’s only been one day, but the Sabine may turn out to be the toughest venue to catch a limit out of in Elite Series history (2006 to present). For many, though, simply attracting a keeper bite was a chore as 40 anglers caught either one or zero bass on opening day.

Dean Rojas, owner of an Elite Series trophy from his 2011 triumph upstream on the Sabine at Toledo Bend Reservoir, was able to avoid such misfortune and captured the day-1 lead with a 15-10 bag. It was anchored by a 5-15 brute that took big-bass honors for the day. The Arizona pro is nearly 2 pounds clear of Mark Davis, who caught 13-13. Read Story