ROUMBANIS WINS EVERSTART SERIES EVENT ON MISSISSIPPI RIVER

ONALASKA, Wis. (Aug. 6, 2005) - Pro Fred Roumbanis of Auburn, Calif., caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 27 pounds, 2 ounces to win the EverStart Series Northern Division event on the Mississippi River near Onalaska. Roumbanis earned a new Ranger 519VX powered by a Yamaha or Evinrude outboard, Minn Kota trolling motor, Garmin electronics and EverStart batteries plus $10,000 cash.

"I guess I got lucky," Roumbanis said. "I found an area during practice that was about a 20-minute run where I was catching fish, and evidently it was a well-known local spot. Several guys fishing a local tournament were in there today, but they were really courteous to me and gave me plenty of room.

"I got nine bites today. One of them was a 3-pounder, and the rest were all 2-pounders." Like much of the field, Roumbanis caught his fish on topwater frogs, his a green Snag Proof frog with chartreuse legs, but he said key to his pattern was walking the frog through open water, rather than throwing it directly into the shallow weeds.

Rounding out the top five pros are Jim Jones of Big Bend (10 bass, 25 pounds, 7 ounces, $10,000); Chris Cox of Appleton (10 bass, 24 pounds, 13 ounces $8,800); Jeff Ritter of Prairie Du Chien (10 bass, 24 pounds, 12 ounces, $7,800); and Mike Feldermann of Galena, Ill. (10 bass, 23 pounds, 12 ounces, $7,300).

Cox earned an additional $1,500 as winner of the Ranger Cup contingency award.

Richard Herold of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, caught eight bass weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces to win the Co-angler Division and earn $5,000. Herold has been catching his fish up shallow all week, in 1/2 foot to 9 feet of water, using a variety of baits, including a swimming jig and Yamamoto Senko, but he said the majority of the fish he's caught have hit white and black Scum Frogs that he picked up at Wal-Mart. "I was fortunate enough to catch two big fish, a 3 1/2 pounder and a 4-pound, 13-ouncer, and that really helped me out," Herold said.

Rounding out the top five co-anglers are BJ Nelson of Louisa, Ky. (seven bass, 15 pounds, 2 ounces, $4,000); Robert Horick of St. Petersburg, Fla. (seven bass, 13 pounds, 13 ounces, $3,420); Daniel Mancini of Necedah (seven bass, 13 pounds 13 ounces, $2,420) and Mark Grahn Sr. of Wautoma (five bass, 11 pounds, $1,920).

EverStart Series tournaments are four-day events consisting of two rounds. The entire field competes Wednesday and Thursday, and the top 10 pros and co-anglers - based on two-day accumulated weights - advance to the final round. Anglers start at zero Friday, and pro and co-angler winners are determined Saturday based on two-day accumulated weights.