Team Ferguson powers from below the cutline with 13-bass final-period rally to earn spot in Monday’s Championship Round
OXFORD, Ala. (Oct. 25, 2025) – A slow start turned into a furious finish for Team Ferguson’s Takahiro Omori and Dean Rojas, who surged from below the Lucas Oil Cut Line with a late third-period flurry to win Knockout Round Match 1 of the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
The veteran duo – dubbed “Team TakoRojas” by MLF broadcaster Chad McKee – tallied 17 bass for 32 pounds, 7 ounces, sealing their comeback with 13 scorable bass in the final two hours on Lake Weiss. Omori and Rojas now advance to Monday’s Championship Round alongside Team O’Reilly Auto Parts’ Dustin Connell and Jacob Wheeler, who finished second with 17 bass for 29-9.
Link to HD Video Clip of Patriot Cup Knockout Round Match 1 Highlights
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery: Patriot Cup Knockout Round kicks off on Weiss Lake
“We just had a great day on Lake Weiss,” said Omori. “They brought us here, we never have practice, no information, and it’s really tough fishing in this format. Even catching a 1-pounder is hard. But at the end of the day, it all worked out really good, and I’m really happy they took us here.”
Team Ferguson’s late surge was sparked by a crucial decision during the second break.
“It was slow in the beginning – the first two periods were tough,” Rojas said. “I think Tak had only caught one. But I told him, during the break ‘Let’s go way back, as far as we can go, where nobody else is fishing.’ We got in the backs of those creeks and bam-bam-bam, it was on. We caught up to second place, passed them, caught the leaders, and then sealed the deal. It was just a great day, and more importantly, we made the final round.”
Omori and Rojas relied on a combination of power-fishing tactics – squarebill crankbaits and vibrating jigs – targeting isolated wood and dilapidated bridge pilings where shad were stacked in just 2 to 3 feet of water.
“All my fish today came on a small 1.5 squarebill crankbait or a 3/8-ounce white-and-chartreuse (Z-Man) ChatterBait,” Omori said. “I flipped a little, to the exact same spots, but never had a bite. Staying with moving baits was really the key.”
Rojas mirrored the approach.
“For me, it was a small squarebill and a (Z-Man EverGreen) JackHammer with a Big Bite Baits Swimon trailer,” Rojas said. “We covered a ton of water, and once we got into the right area, everything lined up – the bait, the shad, the cover. It was slow at first, but when it happened, it happened fast. It all worked out great for us to win the Knockout Round and move on.”
Omori also earned the Berkley Big Bass of the Day with a 3-pound, 15-ounce largemouth that anchored the team’s comeback – one of four fish caught off the same stretch of old bridge structure.
The Team O’Reilly Auto Parts duo of Connell and Wheeler maintained a steady lead through much of the day, using vibrating jigs and soft plastics around boat docks before shifting to the backs of pockets and culverts as the bite moved shallow. Their effort was enough to secure a comfortable second-place finish and a return to the Championship Round.
Team Lucas Oil’s Luke Clausen and Michael Neal led after the first period but couldn’t locate a consistent bite in the later frames, finishing third with 13-10 and bowing out of the competition.
The top two teams from Knockout Round Match 1 at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches that now advance to Monday’s Championship Round are:
1st: Team Ferguson, 17 bass, 32-7
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, eight bass, 16-1
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., nine bass, 16-6
2nd: Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 17 bass, 29-9
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., eight bass, 13-2
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 16-7
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team Lucas Oil, eight bass, 13-10
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., two bass, 5-0
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., six bass, 8-10
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 42 bass weighing 75 pounds, 10 ounces caught by the three teams in Knockout Round Match 1 on Weiss Lake on Saturday. Team Ferguson pro Takahiro Omori caught a largemouth bass weighing 3 pounds, 15 ounces, that was the Berkley Big Bass of the day.
The three teams that will compete Sunday in Knockout Round Match 2 at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches are:
Team 7Brew Coffee:
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala.
Team Fishing Clash:
Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky.
Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala.
Team Knighten:
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Alton Jones Jr., Waco, Texas
The Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is hosted by the City of Oxford and takes place over six days in Oxford, Alabama. The competition water for each day is top secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 9:15 a.m.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. CT.
The Patriot Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they entered the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Monday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2025 Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches.
The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops features four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.
The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting March 28, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
For complete details and updated information on the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.