Dean Rojas proved long-lining wasn’t the only way to catch Top 5-worthy fish at Douglas. He had three productive patterns going that allowed him to attack all segments of the water column.

Not surprisingly, one of them was a frog pattern that helped him on days 1, 3 and 4.

“The frog played a pivotal part in the weight I caught,” he said.

For bottom-hugging fish, he threw a Spro Little John DD crankbait, but didn’t employ long-lining to reach the deeper fish which were holding near the bottom in 20-foot depths just off points. Keeping contact with the bottom on his retrieves was important. He also targeted mid-range depths with a jig.

Once he saw the mass of boats beating the bank during practice, he knew he’d need more than one pattern going in order to contend. His cranking and jig bite were better in the morning and then he went frogging with a Spro Bronzeye 65 in the afternoons.

“I had to do three different things to try to come in with big bags every day,” he said. “All three techniques played a pivotal part in weighing consistent bags all the way through. I didn’t think it was much of a pattern lake for what I was doing. I just tried to stay in areas and fish my strengths.”

He focused on certain stretches of bank that others may have overlooked.

“Everybody’s going to look for the obvious stuff, but I try to find the stuff that’s just a little different,” he added. “I left a lot of fish out there. There were still a lot of fish I never went to.”

> Crankbait gear: 7’ medium Quantum Tour Rojas casting rod, Quantum Tour KVD casting reel (5.3:1 ratio), 14-pound Sunline FC Sniper fluorocarbon line, Spro Little John DD crankbait (nasty shad).

> Jig gear: 7’ medium-heavy Quantum Tour Edition PT casting rod, Quantum EXO PT casting reel (6.6:1 ratio), 5/8-ounce Spro K-Finesse jig (green-pumpkin), 3 1/2” Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog (watermelon red).

> Frog grear: 7’ medium-heavy Quantum Tour Rojas frogging rod, Quantum EXO PT casting reel (7.3:1 ratio), 80-pound Sunline FX2 braided line, Spro Bronzeye 65 Frog (killer gill).

RED RIVER AND BEYOND WITH DEAN ROJAS

Lake Havasu City, AZ - After a 14th place finish in the Toyota Tundra Angler Of the Year Standings, Elite Series pro Dean Rojas will compete in his 10th Bassmaster Classic this February on the Red River.  While Rojas has fared well in Classic competition, finishing in the Top 25 in each of his previous five Classic appearances, his highest finish came in 2004 at Lake Wylie where he landed in 4th place.

“I go to the Classic to win,” he stated. “You’re not in it for the points so you’re either going to hero or zero.  I learned that when I almost won at Lake Wylie.  I was in the right area and never lost a fish the entire event.  I just got beat and that’s what happens when you don’t get the right bites.” Read More

2012 Classic Dean Finishes 33rd

43rd: Dean Rojas (2, 6-00) – "I'll try a couple different areas tomorrow. I ran down to Pool 4 today and all my stuff was blown out. I could tell pretty quick it wasn't happening down there, so I decided to come (back to Pool 5) early. I got to a spot where I'd caught some big ones in practice and caught a 4 1/2 and thought I would wreck them there, but I never got another bite. I fished slow today, but I'm going to slow down even more tomorrow. I'm pitching and flipping and throwing some swimbaits. It's mostly just a junk deal for me." Read More

4th: Frog Worked For Rojas

Rojas notched his second Top-12 of the year this weekend and will take a fair amount of momentum into Toledo Bend next month, where he’ll look to defend his title from last year.

“It’s awesome. I have a lot of fond memories from '01,” he said. “It’s really cool to go back out and have a Top-5 finish. These next four events are going to be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”

He went through 20 keepers today and had a 5-09 beast anchoring his bag. He weighed four fish today caught on a frog after he made a run up river to work on some shallow water. Read More