Just when they thought the fishing couldn’t get much tougher, the Sabine River system clamped down a little tighter today, giving up just five stringers of more than 10 pounds.

Dean Rojas was among that select group as he caught an 11-14 bag (tied for the heaviest of the day) that propelled him back into the lead with 1 day remaining in the Elite Series season opener. His 38-06 total is a shade over 2 1/2 pounds better than Todd Faircloth, the day-2 leader whose four fish today weighed 7-14 and gave him 34-13.

Rojas is chasing his third career Elite Series win while Faircloth is after his fourth victory.

Ish Monroe, who also owns two Elite Series trophies, continued his steady surge up the standings as he jumped from 6th to 3rd with a 9-15 effort that ran his weight to 31-11. Terry Scroggins caught 7-01 (three fish) and held onto 4th with 31-06 while Jeff Kriet jumped into the Top 5 with a 9-pound limit that gave him 30-06 Read Complete Story