Posted  August 26th, 2007  8:15 pm CST

Alabama Pro Edges Out Jason Quinn for the Major Title

Story by Dan O'Sullivan - Photos by Mark Jeffreys

Russellville, AR  –  Versatility is the name of the game in professional bass fishing, and when the forces of Mother Nature wreak havoc on the competition lake, champion still find a way to adapt. Such was the case at the 2007 Bassmaster Legends presented by Ramada Worldwide, the final Major of the year, and perhaps the future; as flexibility overcame specialty.

The Super 6 Competitors who blasted off into the Russellville, Ark. morning are among professional bass fishing’s most decorated stars. Each of them have pocketed more than $500,000 in their careers, they represented four Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Titles, three Bassmaster Classic Championships, a Toyota Rookie of the Year Crown, and a total of 23 BASS Wins.

At stake for the champion of the Bassmaster Legends was a $250,000 payday. For two members of the Super 6, Dean Rojas of Grand Saline, Tex. and Timmy Horton of Muscle Shoals, Ala., a win would make either of them the fifth man to enter the Bassmaster Million Dollar club; signifying compiling more than a million dollars in career earnings.

Rojas had grabbed the lead from the rest of the Elite 12 on the third day as cloudy skies and thunderstorms blanketed the Russellville area giving him the advantage with his trademark Spro Dean Rojas Bronzeye Frog. However, his six-ounce lead left him looking over his shoulder at the rest of the field, and watching as clearing weather was on the way.

4th place went to Rojas, who rode his frog for the first three days of competition, and the lead following the third round. However, the clear skies and still winds shut down his frog bite, and he was unable to post a limit on day three. His three fish creel weighed 9 pounds, 5 ounces for a two-day total of 26 pounds, 3 ounces.

Ish Monroe, the 33-year-old from Hughson, Calif. bagged a solid 11-pound, 5-ounce limit to push his total weight to 23 pounds, 0 ounces to round out the top five. Monroe flipped most of the day, but had to turn to a shaky head to fill out his limit.

Former Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year Timmy Horton gambled on deep structure looking to make up weight and finished 6th. Horton was only able to land two keepers for 4 pounds, 13 ounces bringing his two day total to 16 pounds, 11 ounces.

Complete details will be posted later this evening

Side Notes:

Duckett, from Demopolis, Ala. has posted five top ten finishes in the last seven events, and his win at the Legends brings his season’s earnings to $836,500, quite probably a single season record in BASS competition. He currently ranks 10th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.

Rojas’ Close Calls
Rojas has two Tour level wins, and they both came in 2001, but not for a lack of trying. The Skeeter pro is the only angler in the 2007 Bassmaster Elite Series to make the Elite 12 cut in all three Majors this year. He finished 12th at the American in North Carolina, 4th at the Memorial In New York, and now 4th at the Legends in Arkansas. He also finished 10th at the 2006 Bassmaster Legends at the Arkansas River in Little Rock, Ark.

In the last two years, Rojas has posted a total of 12 Elite 12 finishes, including a 12th place finish at the 2006 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Toho in Kissimmee, Fla., and a 10th place finish at the 2007 Bassmaster Classic at Lay Lake in Birmingham Ala. His highest finish in that period is a 2nd place at the 2006 Lone Star Shootout at Lake Sam Rayburn in Jasper, Tex.

Duckett Stayed Loose, Read the Conditions
Duckett reported that he felt really at home fishing the six-hole format; saying that it fits his style of fishing. “I wish that we had more of these kinds of events where no one had any practice,” said the 2007 Bassmaster Classic Champion. “It allows us to get out there and scramble, which I really like to do.”

Above are the actual lures that Boyd Duckett used during the week at Lake Dardanelle to win $250,000

His day three pattern was a deep pattern, where he used Berkley Power Hand Poured Finesse Worms to drop shot on deeper structure. But that pattern only produced one keeper in the first two holes in the finals, he turned to a shallow water flipping pattern. His flipping bait was an Electric Blue 7-inch Berkley Original Power Worm and a Tru-Tungsten bullet weight on his signature series e21 Boyd Duckett Classic Gold Flipping Stick. “I went to the worm because there was not as much matted grass out there,” Duckett reported. “The worm seemed to get their attention better than the Chigger Craw.” It should be noted that Duckett used a black and chrome Rat-L-Trap to get to the dance on Saturday and Sunday.

On his hot streak, Duckett said that he started allowing his instinct lead him about five years ago, and it has carried into the Elite Series. “My team partner and I started winning a lot of local team tournaments by letting the fish tell us what they wanted,” he said. “We stopped trying to force the fish to eat what we thought they should be doing, and started concentrating on doing what we had to do to have a good day today.”

As far as his two big wins in a field like the Elite Series, he joked, “I don’t know, I’ve done pretty well lately, do you think I’ve got KVD and the rest of them scared yet? As he chuckled.” 

He felt that one key this week was getting away from flipping braided line. “I used 25-pound Vicious fluorocarbon line on my flipping stick,” he told The BASS ZONE. “I got a lot more bites doing it, and I didn’t lose any fish either; it was a hue advantage.”

“I had a great week, and I just hope I can carry this momentum through to Lake Toho.”

“The Strike King Series 5 in Sexy Shad really did the trick for me today,” he reported. “I really targeted areas with increased current flow in the afternoon when they start drawing water.” He caught the majority of his 16-pound sack, including the 4-pound, 4-ounce Purolator big bass on his crankbait in areas where the increased due to features like bridges.

He also felt that his Biosonix unit played a big role in triggering bass to feed. “I had shad jumping at my trolling motor all day, and even had two double hookups today as a result of the increased baitfish activity,” he said. “I know that is a result of the Biosonix unit.”

As far as the plans for the next few weeks, VanDam said that he is driving home all night to take his family to a Detroit Tigers vs. New York Yankees game at Tiger Stadium, and then it’s back to business. “I’m going to take Sherry and the boys to the game, then get back to focusing on Toho,” he said. “The Angler of the Year is Skeet’s to lose, but I want to be ready to have a great day if he doesn’t.”

An emotional Rojas struggle to hold back the pain of coming so close to another victory, and falling short yet again. “It’s not like I didn’t put the frog down today, said Rojas. “I spent the majority of the day flipping, but just couldn’t get anything over the 15-inch size limit.”

He also said that he suffered equipment issues today that seem to come around only in the finals of big tournaments. “I broke a rod and my trolling motor rope today,” the Quantum pro staffer said. “Everything is smooth until the finals, then this stuff happens. It’s gotten to the point where I worry about what else is going to happen when I go out there on the last day, and I shouldn’t be thinking about that.”

“I’ll get past it, maybe with the help of a little alcohol,” he joked. “But really, I’ll just turn my focus to Toho and see if I can turn it around there.”

Horton found a structure spot in the qualifying round that gave up more than 100 bass a day, but he wasn’t able to find a concentration on deep structure like that in the finals. “I caught them on a Yum lizard and a Bomber Fat Free Shad on the first two days,” Horton said. “I turned to a Yum Big Show Craw to flip with on day three, but wasn’t able to make a deep bite work out today, but it was a great week, I’m happy with it.”

Final Standings

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