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")