By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan


(Editor’s note: This is part 4 of an occasional 5-part series about pro anglers' favorite topwater techniques and the details behind them. To read part 1, click here. To check out part 2, click here. To read part 3, click here.)

To some BassFans, Bassmaster Elite Series and Major League Fishing angler Fred Roumbanis is best known for his topwater frog fishing skills, a product of his California roots and time spent at the vegetation-rich California Delta.

When it comes to fishing open water, though, he soon realized he needed a topwater bait with treble hooks that could be fished effortlessly around weed edges also.

At the Delta, for instance, when the tide is on its way out, the weeds become exposed and he’s forced to fish weedless baits like frogs or soft-plastic stickbaits and jerkbaits. He initially tried a Mann’s 1-Minus crankbait, but found that when reeled into the grass lines, the hooks still got fouled up.

“We got to thinking about coming out with a bait with a wider wobble that would deflect the grass from the hook,” Roumbanis said, referring to his association with IMA Lures, a Japanese bait manufacturer. “That’s really how the Roumba evolved as a wakebait. You could throw it along the edge of a weed line and reel right through it and not get the grass caught on the hooks.”



Tackle Warehouse
Photo: Tackle Warehouse

The IMA Roumba is a wakebait that can entice fish to come to the surface out of deep water.

As Roumbanis worked with IMA on the bait’s design, he wanted something that was “real buoyant with a nice wide wobble and the body wasn’t too large,” he said. “They ultimately created the bait and I just gave them my input on what I wanted.”

Later, IMA began building Roumba with ABS plastic and louder internal rattles. Roumbanis, for whom the bait is named, also tinkered with it by adding a prop to the rear.

Any time he fishes the Roumba around boat docks, rip rap or when shad are spawning, he adds a feathered treble hook to the rear of the bait. If he wants the bait to imitate a mouse, he adds a Hitchhiker Screw-lock and threads on a 6-inch Roboworm.

Key Conditions

Roumbanis looks to the Roumba when the bass are not striking a frog as aggressively as they normally would. He has one tied on any time he’s around a frog bite.

“If you are around shallow flats from pre-spawn through spawn, those females love this bait,” he said. “Post-spawn, if you get out into these lakes that are clear water, they’ll come up. I’ve caught them at Lake Mead in 110-degree weather over 30 feet of water and they come up and hit it.”

When fishing clear water, he’ll opt for the silent version unless he’s targeting bass in over deep water (30 feet or more). He believes that in clear water bass are attracted to the Roumba’s shadow as it plows water on the retrieve. The first 30 minutes of the day is prime time for Roumba and Roumbanis also favors it in the mid afternoon. He’s caught several big fish on it late in a tournament day just before heading to weigh in.

As for gear Roumbanis uses to throw the Roumba, he prefers a 7’5” heavy-action iRod Genesis II Fred’s Magic Stick casting rod paired with an Ardent Elite casting reel (6.5:1 ratio) spooled with 20-pound monofilament line. His favorite colors in the Roumba are bone, stinkeye, perch and bullfrog.

Alex Davis
Photo: Alex Davis

Alex Davis finds the Jackall Chan Wake is a productive tool on clear-water fisheries like Smith Lake.

Davis' 2-In-1 Option

Even before FLW Tour angler Alex Davis made a cast with the Jackall Chan Wake, he was pretty impressed.

“It was interesting to me because it combined your normal wake bait but with a prop bait twist to it,” he said. “You are getting two lures in one and it gives the fish something they haven’t seen.”

The Chan Wake was released earlier this year and Davis believes there will be a few different windows where it can be an effective addition to anyone’s topwater arsenal. On deep, clear lakes like Smith Lake in Alabama and Lake Lanier in Georgia, spotted bass key in on that type of bait during the pre-spawn.

“I’m really excited to use it in the fall on Smith when those fish school and feed on herring,” Davis said. “I’m thinking it’s going to be a player.”

At Lake Guntersville, Davis’ home lake, he believes it’ll be a weapon when chasing post-spawn largemouth when the grass is growing and the fish are still shallow. In the fall, just running it along grass edges will be key.

Cadence is Key

Davis uses a steady retrieve, but will speed up every once in a while.

“It makes the bait just kick a little quicker and spit a little more water,” he said.

Whenever a bass is following it just out of sight, Davis believes that a sudden change in the bait’s movement is enough to get a fish to commit.

Like Roumbanis, Davis prefers the color bone the majority of the time and translucent patterns when faced with clear water on a sunny day.

He’ll fish the Chan Wake on a 7’2” medium-heavy Shimano Zodias casting rod paired with a Shimano Metanium MGL casting reel spooled with 19-pound Sunline Defier monofilament line. He’s tried braid with his topwaters before, but believes it causes him to pull the hooks out. The added stretch of monofilament is an insurance policy of sorts.

He prefers the backbone that a graphite rod provides over a glass rod. When a bass blows up on it, he’ll keep reeling until he feels tension, then leans back and crank at the same time.

“The Chan Wake is a heavier topwater,” he said, “so you need enough tip to it to give good distance on the cast but not rip hooks out.”