“You realize that all that really matters is your health, love and friends.”
Story
by Matt Pangrac
Posted
- January 13th, 6:17am CST
Bixby, OK - After narrowly missing what would have been his third Bassmaster Classic appearance in as many years, Elite Series pro Fred
Roumbanis, immediately set out on a nearly three month road trip that included stops in Nevada, California, Louisiana, Texas and Mexico.
While his post season road trip started in late August at the U.S. Open on Lake Mead, it was the concluding journey to Mexico in early December that left a lasting impact on the Oklahoma pro.
Photos
provided by Fred Roumbanis
Roumbanis teamed up with FLW Pro Michael Tuck, to film a television show for True Bass, a popular West Coast fishing show, on Mexico’s Lake Agua
Milpa.
South of the Border
While filming in Mexico, Roumbanis stayed at
Fishin’ Mission Adventures, a camp located on the shores of Agua
Milpa. The camp is run by Dave Sanders, who donates 25% of the rates to a local orphanage. “It’s a pretty awesome thing what Dave has done,” said
Roumbanis. “He sold his house in Oregon and took all the money and put it into this fish camp.”
Roumbanis said that even though the trip occurred just after an abnormal amount of rain had drenched the area and muddied the water, the fishing was still incredible. “We caught a lot of two to five pound bass but I don’t think we even scratched the surface. 1996 was the first year they stocked the lake so it’s fairly new but the bass have just grown and multiplied. We would go out, fish till noon, eat a five star lunch, and then fish until dark,” said
Roumbanis. The trip was made possible by James
Huffmon, who organized and secured sponsorship for the event.
When they weren’t on the water, Roumbanis and Tuck took time to visit the orphanage in
Tepic, called Casa de Ninos.
“The kids at this orphanage don’t really have anything as far as possessions,” explained
Roumbanis. “We came with our cell phones and cameras and they had never seen anything like that before. They were fascinated by the pictures, touch screen telephones, and things that we use everyday.”
“You realize that all that really matters is your health, love, and friends. Because of the orphanage, these kids now have their health, they receive love from the people who work there, and they have friends who live there,” Roumbanis continued, “We worry about all these little things but in the big picture, none of that really matters. It was a life changing experience that really made me appreciate everything that we have. When we first got there, all the younger children ran and gave us hugs.”
What Happened in ’09?
While the trip to Mexico was the highlight of his off season adventures, it was merely the concluding leg of a journey that he believes has made him a better angler and prepared him for the upcoming 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series season.
Backtrack to June of 2009 and Roumbanis was fresh off a 12th place finish at Kentucky Lake, comfortably inside the 2010 Classic cut and sitting in 20th place in the Toyota Trucks Angler Of the Year standings, just 47 points out of a spot in the postseason.
That’s when “Boom Boom’s” season imploded. At the 7th stop of the 2009 Elite Series season on the Mississippi River in Iowa, Roumbanis became a casualty of the brutally tough fishing, managing just 6.11 pounds of bass over two days of competition. The 78th place finish dropped him to 30th in the TTAOY standings and snuffed out any hope of a postseason birth.
While the River was disappointing, Fred’s finish at the season ending tournament on Oneida Lake was the real shocker. “I know that it’s hard to do well out here every tournament, but I just never dreamed that I would have finished so low at Oneida,” said
Roumbanis. The 86th place finish dropped the Oklahoma pro to 41st in the TTAOY standings and left him on the outside looking in for the 2010 Bassmaster Classic.
“At Oneida, I threw a frog the entire time and I only lost one fish the whole tournament and that fish ultimately cost me a spot in the Classic. I can’t really say that I did anything wrong. It just wasn’t meant to be,” explained
Roumbanis. “I just really don’t know what happened to me at the end of the 2009 season. I had two horrible tournaments and it knocked me out of the Classic. It really messed up my head. I don’t know; it was just like a bad nightmare.”
Back on Track
Rather than lament over missed opportunities, the year-end collapse sparked a West Coast odyssey of sorts for the 31-year-old pro. With the U.S. Open and FLW Series events already on
Roumbanis’ calendar, he tackled the West Coast with a renewed vigor, determined to put the 2009 Elite Series season behind him.
“Straight from Oneida, I went to Las Vegas and posted a Top 10 at the U.S. Open, which was pretty awesome. From there, I went to California and spent a ton of time on Clear Lake before the cut off for the FLW tournament,” he explained.
“The water level was so low on Clear Lake, it was crazy. I pretty much put my trolling motor on high and went around the entire lake marking every little rock pile that I could find.”
During his time on Clear Lake, Roumbanis virtually lived on the water. “I was fishing all day, I’d take a break for a couple hours, sleep in my boat and plug it in at the dock to charge, then I’d get up around 10:30 at night and fish until 2 or 3 in the morning. The 10:30 PM to 2 AM bite was incredible,” remembered
Roumbanis. “I really didn’t plan to do this. I was just trying to figure out what happened to me at the end of the 2009 season.”
After fishing two FLW Series events on the California Delta and Clear Lake in September and October, Roumbanis headed south and posted a Top 10 finish in the final Bassmaster Central Open of the year on the Atchafalaya River Basin in Louisiana. “It felt awesome to finish 9th at the Basin because I felt like I was fishing well in really tough conditions. I was only one keeper short of a limit each day, and only three anglers brought in limits every day,” Roumbanis said.
After being on the road for over two months and fishing nearly every day, a break was surely in store for
Roumbanis. Not so. Following the Central Open, he took part in a charity event in mid November on Lake Amistad with fellow Elite Series pros Gary Klein, Alton Jones, Zell Rowland, and Matt Reed. The event, called Hawks Big League Bass Classic, was hosted by MLB pitcher LaTroy Hawkins and raised over $50,000 for Lifeline Youth and Family Services.
“I’m proud to say that I won that tournament,” laughed
Roumbanis. “Even though it was just for fun, doing well down there against some of the top anglers in Texas was a big thing for me. Little things like that build confidence that hopefully carries over into next season.”
It has been a very busy “off season” for Fred
Roumbanis. He recently signed a deal with Ardent Reels and is working on several other sponsorship opportunities. When the 2010 Elite Series kicks off this March on the California Delta, the West Coast transplant will once again be running an Ima wrapped boat.
“Everything seems to be falling into place,” he concluded.
