Team USA Anglers Reflect On Overseas Trip

By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

James Watson made a new friend from Zimbabwe. Fred Roumbanis was bummed he didn’t see any monkeys. And David Dudley was surprised by how closely South Africans follow pro bass fishing in the United States.

After returning home to the U.S. following their runner-up finish at the Black Bass World Championships in South Africa, members of the U.S. team not only raved about the experience, they are already looking forward to the 2018 version in Mexico and they can envision the event gaining additional momentum with more U.S. involvement and exposure.

“It was a real special event,” Watson said. “I’ve been fortunate enough to fish in the (Bassmaster) Classic and the (Forrest Wood) Cup and the TTBC and as far as the experience goes, I know this didn’t have the hoopla of our championships, but it could. I believe this multi-national format with a team concept is something to be explored further.

“It was a very positive experience and great for our fishing careers. I look at it, as a pro angler, as a great opportunity to expose bass fishing to different markets and benefit the sponsors who help me through the year. This is a really big deal and I was glad to be part of it.”

Dudley typically gets asked for photos and autographs at FLW Tour events or at consumer shows, but he didn’t expect the team to receive the attention it received in South Africa.

“The biggest thing for me was just how much we were looked upon as the stars of the show,” Dudley added. “We were expected to win and dominate. When we walked around, it was non-stop picture taking and autographs and people saying how they watch us online and learn from us. Realizing how the USA was perceived and how they view us as the top dogs, that was pretty cool.”

Watson and Dudley were part of an eight-man U.S. contingent. Scott Martin served as team captain and was joined by Scott Canterbury, Mark Rose, David Fritts, Roumbanis and Lionel Botha. The Americans got off to a slow start, but rallied over the final two days to finish 2nd, taking the silver medal behind host South Africa in their first World Championships since 2009. Four continents were represented with 13 countries in the field, including some (like Germany) where black bass are not native species. Also competing were anglers from Italy, Russia, Croatia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia, Namibia, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.

For Watson, a former U.S. Army drill sergeant, representing the U.S. in a competition on the other side of the globe carried a lot of meaning. Watson carried the U.S. flag during the opening ceremony on the eve of the start of competition. As each country’s team came into the room, team members gathered together and sang their respective country’s national anthem.

“I don’t even know how to describe the experience,” Watson added. “Just being able to see another country. I’m really thankful that we live in America. The people were good to us.”

For Roumbanis, it was his second trip to South Africa. He had traveled there in 2009 and said several locals remembered him, but his lone regret from the trip was not getting to see any vervet monkeys, which are native to the region. He said others mentioned seeing a few, including Aasif Osmany, a representative of the BassKings tournament app, who had his rental car keys stolen by an enterprising monkey, which held the keys hostage in a tree for an hour before dropping them to the ground.

“It was cool to see people who remembered me,” Roumbanis said. “I thought the tournament was well run. To bring all these different countries together, it just blew me away that some countries fished it that don’t have bass in their lakes. It just goes to show that fishing is more of a natural talent.”

The U.S. team members each brought their own rods and reels and a limited amount of tackle. They competed out of fiberglass boats manufactured by Crackleback Boats. What caught some off guard was the apparent disregard for horsepower rating on some of the boats. Watson and Roumbanis, for instance, competed in an 18-foot fiberglass boat equipped with a 250-hp outboard. Roumbanis said he saw a 19-foot bass boat with a 400-hp engine on it.

‘River Fishing 101’

The Vaal River didn’t really compare to any well-known American rivers, the competitors said. There was no grass to speak of and the hard targets were pretty obvious.

“It was basic river fishing 101 with docks, sea walls and laydowns,” Dudley said.

The area received a good bit of rain prior to the tournament, turning about half of the 30 or so miles of tournament water to mud. With no backwaters or creeks to escape to, all 39 boats had to work around each other each day.

On day 1, the U.S. team on the water consisted of Fritts and Botha in one boat, Canterbury and Martin in another and Rose and Dudley in the third boat. Noticing that a crankbait bite was unlikely to develop, Fritts opted out for the final two days, clearing the way for the team of Watson and Roumbanis to get on the water.

Having Botha, a native of South Africa who recently was granted U.S. citizenship, on the team was a big help since he had some experience on the Vaal. He clued his teammates in on how seawalls were going to be an important element to any pattern.

“He couldn’t have been more correct,” Watson said.

It’s springtime in South Africa, so there were some bass still on beds and some post-spawn.

“I think they were mostly done because the carp were spawning,” Dudley said. “One thing that was weird was not seeing any baitfish. There were no schools of shad or minnows flickering and no bluegill – nothing at all. If you got a bite, it was a bass. I never saw anything else.”

Teamwork Was Key

The tournament format was much different than what the American anglers are used to. Countries were not ranked by cumulative weight, rather by the lowest number of penalty points. The U.S. competitors did enjoy the team format and as teammates were able to share information on the water between boats.

“It was cool to pick up the phone and have Scott Martin ask you how you’re doing and tell us we might want to try a dropshot or a Biffle head,” Watson said. “I liked it. It’s always nice to have a good loyal buddy to share info with to expedite practice sessions, too.”

Watson said on day 2 of the tourmament, he and Roumbanis had caught a couple nice fish early on, but were struggling to finish their limit. They called Martin, who relayed to them that Dudley and Rose were on a productive stretch and to call them for their location.

“We were allowed to talk to each other, but couldn’t get closer than 50 meters to each other,” Watson said. “They idled over and we watched where they pointed to and we went in and finished our limit and culled a couple times.”

On day 3, Watson and Roumbanis returned the favor to Martin and Canterbury, who finished their limit on a stretch their teammates had pinpointed.

“I think we were a really good team,” Dudley said. “Mark and I are like-minded in our fishing styles. He’s good at anything. I think I’m halfway decent. Then you had Watson and Fred and Scott and Scott. They’re both good at about anything. The team was very compatible.”

Can It Grow?

The stated goal of increasing U.S. involvement in the Black Bass World Championship is to lay the groundwork for application to the International Olympic Committee to consider bass fishing as an addition to the Summer Olympics at some point. Some believe it’s a longshot based on the limited number of countries where black bass are a common freshwater species.

Some of the U.S. anglers were admittedly skeptical, but after participating in the event they can see the World Championship becoming a bigger deal. Like most endeavors at this level, it will come down to financing and corporate support. Next year, Mexico will host the World Championships before it returns to South Africa in 2019. Lake Murray, in South Carolina, is tentatively scheduled to host the event in 2020 or 2021. The World Championships are sanctioned by the Confederation Internationale de Peche Sportive (CIPS) or International Confederation of Sport Fishing, which represents 50 million competitive anglers from 78 countries.

“We might not be able to see how big it can be until it’s on our soil,” Watson said. “I would like to see more countries get involved.”

Added Roumbanis: “From an organization standpoint, the tournament was really well run. I didn’t know what to expect going there. At the opening ceremony is when it really hit me how big of a deal it really is. A lot of the countries got behind their teams and I can see this thing getting big.”