Dean Rojas is about as well versed an angler as anyone on the Elite Series. The Arizona pro holds the one-day largest stringer record, is in the BASS millionaire's club, has three BASS wins and designed one of the most charismatic baits on the market. He hasn't, however, tackled our 20 Questions. Here's how he fared.
1. Where are you from, originally?
San Diego, Calif.
2. How did you get started in bass fishing?
There was a little lake called Chollas about a mile from my house I fished.
3. Who were some of your earliest fishing heroes?
Roland Martin.
4. When did you realize you had made it in the bass fishing industry?
I haven't yet. I feel like I'm still fighting for placement, it's a never-ending battle.
5. What's the biggest bass you've ever caught?
13.80. I got it out of Sam Rayburn during a Skeeter photo shoot. Tim Tucker was there and took the photo of it, and I got the cover of Bassmaster Magazine. It was awesome.
6. What do you love most about bass fishing?
The challenge of it.
7. What is your greatest strength as a bass angler?
Being mentally tough.
8. What is your greatest weakness as a bass angler?
I think adapting in at timely manner is something I struggle with.
9. Where is your favorite place to fish for bass and why?
Lake Oneida because it's a lot like Lake Havasu, and those are my two favorite places to fish
10. What question do you get asked most by fans and how do you answer it?
"How's Kermit doing?" and "Are we going to see Kermit out today?" Right now he's going down to the Bahamas to spend the winter there. He doesn't want anything to do with the cold.
11. What's the biggest mistake you see from casual anglers?
Not being prepared tackle-wise, whether they're going for bass, crappie or catfish.
12. Do you have any fishing superstitions?
I do carry a duck decoy around in my boat, and have since 2001. His name is Buckshot. It's a decoy I found blown up in the tules that has a couple holes in him from when he was shot at. I kept it, put it in my boat in 2001 and took him out in 2003. I had the worst, most disastrous year of my career and he went back in toward the end of the 2003 season. After he was back in, I had two top tens. He lives in the back where the batteries are. All the service crews know about him and ask how he's doing. But I'm not superstitious or anything.
13. How big a part does luck play in fishing?
I would say that it's got to be around 10 or 15 percent. I don't care about some guys who says they don't believe in luck, because everyone gets lucky sometimes. For example, when a fish comes into the boat and the hook comes out and he flops in the boat, or you get a big bite, that's luck. However, your skills, knowledge and desire are the majority of what puts you in position to have good luck.
14. What has been your greatest accomplishment in the fishing industry?
For the fishing industry, it was the development of Kermit, the Spro Bronzeye Frog. It's changed how frog fishing is viewed and it's become an extra tool in a lot of anglers' arsenals and a lot of money has been won on it. It's also generated a lot more excitement in our industry, which has been badly needed. Personally, on the competition side, I think my 45-pound, 2-ounce catch is still the king. There's been a lot of shots taken at it, but it's still No. 1.
15. What goals have you yet to accomplish in your bass fishing career?
An Angler of the Year title and a Classic title; those are the two I want to achieve for myself.
16. What keeps you motivated to reach those goals?
Burning desire to perform and to win. And to beat Kevin VanDam.
17. What has been the greatest regret of your fishing career?
I've made some bad decisions, but I've learned from them.
18. When you're not bass fishing, how do you like to spend your time?
That's a loaded question. I do a lot of things. Right now my kids are at an age where they're playing a lot of sports, so I enjoy going to their games as much as I can and just doing things with my family. Away from fishing, we have a lot of activities we participate in, like boating, taking trips to the desert or just going out together.
19. What profession (other than your own) would you like to have tried?
I think I would've been a good fighter pilot. That was the thing I wanted to do if I didn't fish.
20. When it's all over, how do you want people to remember you?
I want folks to remember that I brought professionalism to the sport and to the industry and was always looking at the big picture on how it was going to benefit the sport for years to come.