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Lure Review


Get ready to “Roumba” with ima’s new wakebait

 

Date: 11/28/07
Tackle type: Lures
Manufacturer: ima Japan
Reviewer: Zander






Total Score: 8.66

Introduction:
The Roumba is an exciting new bait from Ima, a newcomer to the US, but an existing player in the Japanese market. This interesting lure is able to generate a walk the dog type wobble all by itself and can be fished on the surface as wakebait, or subsurface with fast retrieves.
 

ima Roumba Specifications

Type Crankbait/Wakebait Hybrid
Size 3"
Colors/Patterns 9 available
Material Plastic
MSRP ~$16.99

   
About Ima Japan: American Anglers are just started to learn the name ima. Ima originates from the first three letters from the word “imagination.” The company is a mature hard lure manufacturer in Japan and earned its reputation by creating an extremely extensive and premium product line up for both fresh and salt water. The ima brand was launched throughout Japan in April of 1998 capturing the inshore market with the release of the komomo SF125, a super shallow runner that runs true at about one foot below the surface. Almost immediately, Japanese anglers realized the komomo’s fish catching ability and made it one of Japan’s best selling lures, reaching the five hundred thousand unit mark since its debut.

 


The Roumba is a new offering from ima Japan

 

The ima brand is now marketed world wide and ima Japan is making headway in the U.S. market initially by introducing a number of its existing models in several realistic colors. Over the past several years, they have teamed up with several B.A.S.S. Elite and FLW touring pros to design and create seven new baits that were released at the 2007 ICAST show. The Roumba is one such bait.

 


The lure is named after pro bass angler Fred Roumbanis, who calls the Delta his home water and specializes in topwater fishing

 

Impressions: The Roumba is named after professional bass angler Fred Roumbanis who calls the California Delta his home water. His primary fishing strength is topwater so it is no surprise the Roumba is a wakebait. Fred states “the Roumba is an extremely versatile bait that I’ll have tied on at least one rod year round. No matter what lake I go to across the country I know I’ll be able to get ‘em good on a Roumba. The reason is simple; I can imitate several types of baitfish with this bait. It can be used as a crawfish scooting right above shallow hydrilla, a frog hoppin’ around open water lily pads, a rat or mouse skitting across the surface, or a bluegill coming up to sun.”

 


The Roumba comes out of the box with the hooks bound to prevent damage to the body during shipping

 

The Roumba is available in nine different colors that cover a wide range of patterns from baby bass to bull frog and crawfish. We focused on the two patterns in particular that really appealed to us for our region, the Baby Bass and the Bull Frog. The overall finish of the lures is exceptional, and similar in quality to what anglers would expect from a premium Japanese lure manufacturer.

 


Side by side two distinct patterns for the Delta, the Baby Bass and the Bull Frog

   

The beauty on this bait is in the details and each pattern is finished distinctively, for example the Baby Bass and Blue Gill have a glossy finish while the Stink Bug and Hot Craw pattern sport matte finishes. The bait’s profile is a combination of a crankbait and a spook rolled into one compact package. The face of lure looks even like a combination of a baitfish and a frog. The lure certainly looked like a quality bait, and it was time to see just how the Roumba performed on the water.

 


The lure is best fished with a 7+ foot medium heavy rod

 

Real World Test: To test the Roumba we head to Fred’s home water, the California Delta for the first round, and local northern California lakes in the second round to see if there was any difference in the way bass reacted to this bait.

 


A look at the Roumba Bass Pattern (we nicknamed the eyes "Pacman style")

 

Next Section: Cast the Roumba and get to walkin' the dog

 

   

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