By Jonathan LePera
Special to BassFan
When Bassmaster Elite Series angler Fred Roumbanis is dialed into a topwater frog bite, little can shake his confidence, whether he’s fishing behind other anglers or dissecting a community hole.
Where to Start
Picking a good cheese mat over another can be intimidating. Roumbanis looks for the lighter coloring on the surface, indicating there’s water underneath; fish use these to scour for food.
If it’s real dark, it’s piled with grass underneath it. As all mats are unique, be sure to use a frog that creates some sort of waking action. As a last resort, he’ll throw around the edges.
At BASSFest last year at Lake Chickamauga, he dialed into a mayfly pattern. He’d throw his frog into the tree to shake the mayflies free and then watch the largemouth prey on the surface. Throwing a topwater frog, he went on to finish 13th.
If he’s around isolated brush, he’ll cast past the target, but burn his bait up to it then walk his frog super slow, always with the rod tip down.
Other times, he’ll twitch the frog several times before cranking, hoping to make it jump back and forth 180 degrees. If that doesn’t work, he’ll try a super slow cadence, or chug it or pop it.
For missed fish, he’ll employ the 4-second rule: He’ll only cast back if it takes less than that. If not, he’ll use a follow-up bait like a Gene Larew Salt Flicker to match the frog color, or pitch a Biffle Bug (black/blue) in rigged on a 4/0 Gamakatsu EWG superline hook under a 1.5-ounce sinker.
Time and Place
Roumbanis has sampled several frogs and worked a few into his arsenal. Here’s his take on several leading brand-name frogs:
> Junior models: Downsize the SPRO Bronzeye and LIVETARGET frog whenever targeting pressured fish, especially when others are on the same deal.
> LIVETARGET: Best around lily pads as it floats high and doesn’t get caught up in pads.
> Snag Proof: Great all-purpose frog for mats or open water and rigged with Gamakatsu hooks.
> Snag Proof Bass Kicker Frog: Excels when fishing floating weed; serious big fish calling power. He credits this frog for his 4th-place finish at 2013 Mississippi River Elite Series.
> Optimum Baits Furbit: Any time there is a breeze or chop, he opts for this because it’s heavier. When fishing over heavy vegetation, remove the blade.
> Deps Basirisky: Excels when bass are in chase mode. Move it fast because it’s great for locating fish.
> SPRO Bronzeye and Bronzeye Pop: Use the Bronzeye for skipping and popping version around lily pads. He likes to skip both beneath undercut banks.
> Modifications: Inserts two large glass rattles into the cavity of the frog as once they shatter, they’re golden. He colors the throat of white frogs orange.
For color selection, he keeps it simple – black for numbers, white for size, with some greens mixed in. He’s caught more 10-pounders on white than all else.
Gear Up
> 7’5” heavy-action iRod Air casting rod (Roumbanis designed this rod to shut off 20 percent down from the tip to facilitate skipping, walking the bait and driving the hook home), Ardent Apex casting reel (7.3:1 gear ratio; 6:5:1 for open water to improve walking), 50- and 65-pound Ardent Gliss braided line.
Finesse Frogging
On Northern fisheries, he opts for a 7’2” medium-heavy power finesse rod paired with 40-pound braid in order to skip Ima DaBeat frogs way up under docks. It’s faired well on Cayuga, Oneida and Champlain where big fish live in skinny water.
“By skipping that frog all the way back there you are hitting a whole new dimension,” he said. “It’s a bait they haven’t seen where they are living.”
He matches the color to the prevalent forage and bends out the hooks a touch.
“It’s just amazing how far you can put that bait with a spinning rod, and fish really like that frog for that purpose, it’s an excellent finesse frog,” he added.
