(Editor's note: The following is the latest installment in a series of fishing tips presented by The Bass University. Check back each Friday for a new tip.)
Fred Roumbanis still can’t shake the memory of Byron Velvick’s 2010 Elite Series victory at Clear Lake. They were both fishing the same general vicinity, both chucking big swimbaits and both hooking monster fish. Unfortunately, while Velvick landed most of his, Roumbanis suffered from short-strikers and big fish that jumped off. It was only when he saw the television program detailing Velvick’s win that he figured out the difference – Velvick was slathering his swimbaits in a heavy dose of fish attractant.
That lesson reinforced what Roumbanis now refers to the fishing “triangle” of sight, scent and sound. It’s easy to get lazy and disregard one or two, he said, but when you’re really dialed in on all three, that’s when you “maximize every cast.”
“It’s more than a theory,” he said. “It’s the deal. The triangle is simple.”
It starts with sight, and borrowing a term from the fly-fishing world, he implores fellow anglers to “match the hatch.” That’s not just bait color and profile, but also a matter of movement, direction and speed. He tries to keep his colors simple, starting with the basics of white, green-pumpkin and black, and branching out from there as necessary.
The importance of sound – as both a positive and negative factor – is underrated, but “super-critical,” Roumbanis said. “They don’t hear like we do.” Rather than having external ears, much of their “hearing” comes through their lateral line. He tries to be really conscious of factors like trolling-motor noise, preferring to keep it on a low, constant speed rather than moving in starts and stops. He’s also a huge fan of the HydroWave as a masking agent and a way to stir up the food chain. “When baitfish get excited, bass get excited.”
While some pros discount the value of scent, once again Roumbanis believes it’s critical, as demonstrated by Velvick’s California victory. Roumbanis typically does not like petroleum-based scent additives. He learned from fellow Gene Larew pro Tommy Biffle about the effectiveness of his namesake Biffle Juice, and he’s also a believer in Fish Allure scented bait decals – one advantage of those decals is that their effectiveness lasts for most of the day, so once they’re applied you don’t have to respray or re-dip as you would with some other scent products.
While it can seems like a chore to keep track of these three variables from hour to hour, Roumbanis said that each can produce a few extra bites over the course of a day, or over a season. He missed the 2017 Bassmaster Classic by just a scant few points, and he’s still combing his brain trying to think of the X-factor that might’ve ended his season with a better outcome. It wasn’t pleasant, but he believes it has forced him to become a more aware angler.
If you want to learn some of the other keys to Roumbanis' three-pronged system for success, including his strategy for testing a HydroWave’s effectivness, check out his full video, available only by subscribing to The Bass University TV.
