Pepper Baits Long Neck Roumbler
Trailer Option #1 Optimum Baits Victory Shad
W
e all love to catch bass. Hope-
fully, all of us can recall a day
where we swung dozens of
bass over the gunnel of our boats or onto the shore we were fishing
from. Being able to have memories like that
either involves stumbling on to a wad of
snapping fish, or having an understand-
ing of the conditions and making the right
offering and presentations to make the
bites happen.
The springtime can offer anglers the opportunity
to not only catch numbers, but also a large number of
heavy fish as well. On some lakes, that opportunity
can extend into the summer as heavy bass hit the
ledges looking to gorge on shad in current.
For Russellville, Ark. Bassmaster Elite Series pro
Fred Roumbanis that often calls for a vibrating jig
and trailer setup. “I love to throw my Pepper Baits
Long Neck Roumbler in the spring and summer,”
said Roumbanis. “The lure allows me to cover water,
and provides me the flexibility to present a lure that
appeals to all sizes of bass.”
PRIME ROUMBLER WATER
Roumbanis said that a vibrating jig needs to be thought of as a swim jig on steroids, and should be thrown in the same conditions as a spinnerbait. “I really like some stain to the water, or if it is clear, then I need some wind,” said Roumbanis. “If I have clear water with no wind, then a swim jig is much better. The blade kicks out too much flash and vibration for calm conditions.”
He also likes to have some sort of cover to target. “I want to have brush, grass, docks or rocks present for bass to hide around, and for me to target casts to,”
SPRING 2017
he said. “If I can find stained water with isolated cover, or grassy edges, then I tend to make long, targeted casts and try to cover water quickly with the Roumbler.”
He said it is primarily a shallow water tool. “I typically use a 3/8-ounce version; because, I am fishing in shallow water,” he said. “But, it works really well on ledges in summer, and I’ll go to a 1/2-ounce version then.”
THE RIGHT PROFILE
Roumbanis said that he likes to appeal to the size of the fish he is targeting by adjusting his trailer. “I’m obviously hoping to catch the biggest bass in the lake in a tournament, but that doesn’t always work out,” he said. “I try to adjust the trailer size to fit the conditions as a result.”
While he would prefer to always have a larger profile, he knows that doesn’t always produce. “I tend to use two trailers on my Roumbler,” said Roumbanis. “I really like the Optimum Baits Victory Shad, and in shallow water with aggressive fish, like a Gene Larew Rattlin Crawl’R; because the kicking action can really drive them up a wall.”
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