Fishing News - 1/17/01

        From BASS

Rojas Takes Aim At Another B.A.S.S. Mark

KISSIMMEE, Fla., Jan. 18, 2001 - The onslaught of big bass continued Thursday in the $431,450 BASSMASTER Top 150 as Lake Tohopeklalgia and the Kissimmee Chain again surrendered a 40-pound-plus catch and four 30-pound stringers in the second round of the four-day event.

Although Arkansas' Mark Davis' 41-pound, 10-ounce five-bass limit was the highlight of the day, his heroics were overshadowed by another impressive stringer by first-round leader Dean Rojas. Rojas, a 29-year-old pro from Arizona, opened the tournament with a record-setting catch of 45-2. His Thursday limit weighing 34-9 gives him a two-day total of 79-11.  

With two days of fishing remaining, Rojas is just 11 1/2 pounds away from the B.A.S.S. record of 91 pounds, 3 ounces for a four-day, five-bass limit catch.

"It's just been an amazing week," said Rojas, a former BASS Masters Classic qualifier whose highest B.A.S.S. finish is sixth. "This is just an  incredible fishery, just full of big bass.

"I moved around today and found some more big fish in different areas.  There are a lot of big fish moving in shallow to spawn, I know I left a lot of them out there. I don't know if I can catch another 30-pound stringer tomorrow, but I should be able to catch a 20-pound bag each of the next two days."

Rojas is leading a pack of sight-fishermen who are targeting big female bass that have migrated into shoreline vegetation to spawn. He again scored with two Texas-rigged soft-plastic lures - a Lake Fork Tackle Lizard and Hawg Caller Log Crawler. - rigged with a 3/16-ounce Lake Fork Tackle Titanium weight on 25-pound Izor monofilament.

Rojas holds a whopping 14-pound, 15-ounce lead over defending tournament champion Shaw Grigsby, who turned in another remarkable showing Thursday.  Grigsby posted his second consecutive 30-pound-plus limit (33-5) to increase his total to 64-12.

"Isn't this a tremendous lake?" Grigsby said. "This is like Florida in the old days. This whole chain of lakes has really come back.  "There's still a lot of big fish out there that can be caught. I feel like I can catch another 31-pound string, but the way Dean is catching them, that won't be nearly enough."

Mark Davis, the former Classic champion and two-time B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year, stunned the Kissimmee Lakefront Park weigh-in audience with his 41-pound, 10-ounce catch that included a 10-13 and three 8-pound-plus bass.  Coming on the heels of his opening-round catch of 20-9, the enormous limit lifted him from 18th to third place.

"I had 10 chances to break the record (45-2) today," Davis said. "I looked at fish that were 10 to 14 pounds that just nipped at my bait. I lost a 10-pounder right beside the boat. But what can I say - I caught 41 pounds.  To heck with the record!" 

California sight-fishing expert Aaron Marten's brought in 27-5 Thursday, but fell from second to forth with 61-15. Kentucky's David Walker rounds out the top-five with 52-15. Walker took Thursday's big-bass honors with a 12-2 largemouth.

Six limits topping the 30-pound mark were weighed in Thursday, along with another 10 20-pound-plus catches. Amazingly, the old five-bass record of 34-7 by Mark Tyler of California has been broken by five anglers in the first two days of the Top 150.

At the conclusion of Friday's round, the field will be reduced to the top 10 pros, who retain their weight entering the final day.  The Florida BASSMASTER Top 150 will conclude Saturday. Daily weigh-ins begin at 2:30 at Kissimmee Lake Front Park.

Daily weigh-ins  begin at 2:30 at Kissimmee Lake Front Park.  Additionally, a free CastingKids event, sponsored by Chevy Trucks and Zebco, will be held there Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This fun-filled national program designed by B.A.S.S. CEO Helen Sevier encourages children to perfect the skills of casting, pitching and flipping. Local B.A.S.S. clubs conduct the events and provide instruction to all youngsters.

The BASSMASTER Tournament Trail is the oldest and most prestigious pro bass fishing circuit. It continues to set the standard for credibility,  professionalism and sportsmanship, as it has for more than three decades.

Sponsors of the 2001 BASSMASTER Tournament Trail include: Ranger Boats, RangerTrail Trailers, Mercury Outboards, Chevy Trucks, ACDelco Batteries, Worldwaters.com, Humminbird/Zercom Marine, Pennzoil Marine, Flowmaster Exhaust Systems, First USA/B.A.S.S. Platinum Visa, MotorGuide Trolling Motors, Gore-Tex Outerwear and GMAC Insurance. 

The event is sponsored locally by the Kissimmee, St. Cloud Convention & Visitors Bureau.

         B.A.S.S. Web site: http://www.bassmaster.com.

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