As things stand right now, Fred Roumbanis is close – real close – to qualifying for all the major championship events. Close, however, means he still has plenty of work to do in order to assure himself berths in bass fishing's three signature events.
He's on the outside looking in on the points races for the Bassmaster Classic, the Forrest Wood Cup as well as the Toyota Texas Bass Classic, which under a new arrangement will be held this fall and next spring. However, he's within striking distance of qualifying for all of them – something he's focused on and conscious of as the season hits the stretch drive.
"I'm literally in a position where I'm going to have to work really hard and things have to come together, but I can make all three championships," he said. "It's something where you'd rather have a chance at it than no chance at all."
With one tournament remaining (Lake Chickamauga) on the FLW Tour schedule, he sits in 45th place in Angler of the Year (AOY) points. After factoring in double qualifiers, the cutoff for berths in the Forrest Wood Cup will likely extend down to 39th place and Roumbanis is just 21 points behind rookie James Biggs, who occupies 39th right now.
A Top-30 finish at Chick will likely be enough to move Roumbanis up the necessary positions to send him to the Red River in August for the Cup.
"It's going to come down to a guy who's mentally tough," he said. "Bait selection will be tough, but when everything's that tight, whomever's mentally tough and figures out a something a little something to tweak a bait, that person could have an advantage. You can catch fish all over the lake. It's just very small judging from what I saw in pre-practice. It's like Grand, though, in that the average fish will be about 3 pounds.
"If I go out there and practice I normally do – I usually try to find the shallow bite first, but I know I have to get out there and find them deep. If I get a Top-30, I should be good."
He's presently 42nd in Elite Series Angler of the Year points, but just 26 points out of 28th, which is the cutoff point for qualification through the AOY standings. Again, there will likely be some double-qualifiers that will open up additional spots, but he hopes to eliminate the guess work over the final three Elite Series events.
He's also 20th in the PAA Series points, 25 points out of the Top 15, which are guaranteed berths in not only this fall's Toyota Texas Bass Classic, but also the spring version which debuts next year.
He's on track to fish at least 18 events this year across all three tours. Some may see it as a grind, he sees it as a way to keep his skills sharp.
"I'm way more in tune and able to get more in a rhythm," he said. "It's also easier to make adjustments throughout the day because you have a more instinctive feel for when to change. There's no substitute for time on the water. I'm hoping it all pays off heading into these last few events."
