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Norman,
OK -- If Michael Bennett’s win in this past weekend’s Forrest Wood Cup had a familiar feel to it, you only need to make a cursory examination of the details to understand why.
The site was South Carolina’s Lake Murray, the key lure was a frog and the winning angler was a native of Northern California. As Yogi Berra might say, Bennett’s win was “like déjà vu all over again,” eerily reminiscent of Fred Roumbanis’s win on the same lake just a scant three months ago.
While their victories may seem coincidental, they weren’t. Not only do Roumbanis and Bennett share similar fishing pedigrees, but they’re actually close friends.
“We spent a lot of time together fishing on my parents’ private lake in Auburn, California,” Roumbanis said. “It’s pretty cool to see him tearing up the FLW.”
He added that Bennett is “one of the most observant anglers out there. He pays attention to everything that goes on.”
The fact that Roumbanis may have opened the eyes of even non-observant anglers with his winning frog pattern back in May might make Bennett’s achievement even more impressive.
“I knew (the FLW event) could be won doing it,” Roumbanis said. “But after I won doing it, how many people do you think went out there and threw the frog? Those fish had to become conditioned to it.”
While he and Bennett discussed Murray generally, he was quick to point out that his close friend found the winning fish on his own. “He fished a very smart tournament. He did not go to my water. All I gave him was the color (of the frog) and maybe the confidence that it would work.”
And confidence was critical, since many pundits predicted that deep-water tactics would be the only way to win in the heat of the summer. But Roumbanis also indicated that it wasn’t just as easy as picking up a frog and taunting the fish with it.
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“Michael’s
style was important, too,”
Roumbanis said. “I knew he could
fish it fast and cover a lot of
water. He made some key adjustments
during the tournament and that’s
what ultimately won it for him.”
The other key element was the
specially colored SnagProof “Fred
Frog,” available exclusively from
Fred’s retail outlet, www.EliteBass.com
In only four months, it has
accounted for at least $1.2 million
in tournament winnings that he knows
about, of course buoyed by the
strength of the two friends’ big
wins. It’s red hot and Fred knows
it.
“It’s kind of become like the
Sexy Shad of frogs,” he said,
referring to KVD’s Strike King
bank-breaking pattern. “It’s not
mimicking a frog. Michael
understands that. It imitates a
baitfish.” |
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So
was Roumbanis at all jealous that he earned
a “mere” $101,000 for his victory while
his friend earned almost ten times that
much?
“Dude, I could not be happier for him,” Roumbanis said. “I got goosebumps watching the weigh-in. He was destined to win this tournament.”
And then he trailed off with the one line that said it all about what he thinks of Bennett’s talent: “I just hope he doesn’t come over to fish BASS.”
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