LIVE BLOG: Rojas Claims Stage Five Championship
CULLMAN, Ala. — After five long days of fishing, we have finally reached the Championship Round. Weights zero out today and only one angler out of our Top 10 with take home the Stage Five championship and a $100,000 check. Stay with us all day for all the action from Smith Lake.
2:30 p.m. CT – What seemed like a foregone conclusion after Period 1 is now confirmed: Dean Rojas is the Stage Five champion. Rojas finished the day with 47 pounds, 6-2 ahead of Brent Chapman. Congrats to Rojas and the rest of the Top 10 on a great week!
1:25 p.m. CT – An hour left in this one and no one has been able to catch up to Rojas. We’ve seen throughout the week that the pros have been able to put some fish on SCORETRACKER in a hurry, but can anyone close the nearly 15-pound gap Rojas owns?
12:40 p.m. CT – Time is starting to dwindle down and if someone is going to catch Dean Rojas then they are going to have to get it started pretty quick. Rojas lead is 14 pounds, 2 ounces over Mark Rose. Rojas has not yet put a scoreable bass on SCORETRACKER in Period 3 yet still holds a commanding lead.
11:45 a.m. CT – That’s the end of Period 2 and here is where we stand for the Championship Round on Smith Lake:
- Dean Rojas 44-00
- Todd Faircloth 27-08
- Jason Christie 26-08
- Mark Rose 23-09
- Brent Chapman 23-06
- Michael Neal 22-00
- Dustin Connell 21-04
- Brent Ehrler 15-05
- Mike Iaconelli 11-14
- Fred Roumbanis 4-07
11:30 a.m. CT – Dean Rojas as awoken from his slumber to catch three fish in the past 30 minutes. Those three fish have given him an extra 5 pounds to work with as his lead is now 17 pounds, 8 ounces over Todd Faircloth and Jason Christie.
11:00 a.m. CT – Only 45 minutes remain in Period 2 and there hasn’t been much change on SCORETRACKER. Dean Rojas remains the leader at 39 pounds with Todd Faircloth in second at 26-8. After a fast and furious start to the morning, all the pros have slowed down significantly in Period 2. With the cloud cover holding steady throughout the day, it’s been a tad sluggish in Period 2. MLF NOW! host Chad McKee made the point that we have seen the bite slow down in Period 2 every day this week and Period 3 is when it begins to pick back up.
10:25 a.m. CT – Lucky for Dean Rojas is that while he continues to struggle for bites in Period 2, he’s not alone. His lead remains at 13-plus pounds over Todd Faircloth.
9:50 a.m. CT – Remember that shad spawn we were just talking about? That seems to be all dried up. Leader Dean Rojas hasn’t landed a fish in over an hour and second-place Todd Faircloth has the same luck. Only seven scoreable bass have hit SCORETRACKER in Period 2.
9:10 a.m. CT – We just got an update from MLF NOW! reporter Rob Newell. He said that the shad spawn is off and running this morning. He says he’s seen herring near docks feeding on the shad spawn. One angler who has taken advantage of the shad spawn is leader Dean Rojas. Newell said Rojas is in an area with willow grass that is just teeming with shad fry. More good news for Rojas, Newell said that because of the cloud cover over Smith Lake today, those shad could be spawning for awhile.
9:00 a.m. CT – Period 1 has come to a close and we are two periods away form naming a Stage Five champion. Here is where we stand through two-and-a-half hours of fishing:
- Dean Rojas 36-05
- Todd Faircloth 22-09
- Brent Chapman 18-04
- Jason Christie 17-09
- Dustin Connell 17-00
- Mark Rose 16-11
- Brent Ehrler 12-03
- Michael Neal 8-15
- Mike Iaconelli 8-00
- Fred Roumbanis 0-00
8:40 a.m. CT – At this point, I’m not sure Dean Rojas wants to even stop for the end-of-period break. The leader has continued to land bass after bass, pushing his weight total to now 36-5, more than 21-3 ahead of second-place Todd Faircloth. By the looks of it, Rojas is using a crankbait strategy to land a majority of his 23 bass. Fred Roumbanis is the only angler who has yet to land a bass this round.
7:40 a.m. CT – Todd Faircloth has started to go on a run to try and catch up to Rojas. Faircloth has landed six bass for 9-15 to move just 9-13 back of Rojas. The Texas pro has had success chasing the shad spawn this morning thanks to a swimbait. Still plenty of time to go in this one.
7:20 a.m. CT – So Dean Rojas found himself a nice little spot. The Arizona pro is off to a blistering start this morning with 13 bass for 21 pounds, 5 ounces. Mark Rose is in second place behind Rojas, but he need 13-14 if he . wants to catch him. We’ll see exactly where Rojas is located when MLF NOW! begins at 9 a.m. CT.
6:40 a.m. CT – Dean Rojas starts us off this morning with a 2-pound, 12-ounce bass that puts him on SCORETRACKER first. This is Rojas’ first Championship Round of the season, so you can guarantee he’s trying to make it one-for-one on Sunday success.