Both IMA pros competed the last time the big event was held on Louisiana’s Red River, and they hope to improve upon their good-but-not-victory finishes from 2009 when they return to Shreveport in just about a month. It’s a shallow-water fishery that has the potential to produce big weights. Last time, several bags north of 20 pounds were brought to the scales. While flipping, pitching and spinnerbaiting will no doubt by foremost on many anglers’ minds, there’s a substantial chance that hard baits will play a role…and perhaps a leading role in the winner’s game plan.

Roumbanis: Big Offseason, Lots of Good Times Ahead

Fred Roumbanis might be forgiven if he hadn’t spent much time this offseason contemplating a game plan for the upcoming Shreveport Classic. After all, he’s been busy fishing, testing tackle, working for both existing and new sponsors and making a long-awaited trip to Africa. But that hasn’t stopped him from thinking about the Red River.

“I love fishing in places that are hard to get into,” Fred said. “There are a lot of backwaters like that on the Red River, places where if you work hard you may come across something special that you’ll have all to yourself. It’s a place with so many variables – the water level, water clarity and the backwaters – that no one has an advantage even if they have past history on the river, so I’m going to go in with a totally open mind.”

But before he heads to Louisiana, Fred will take a roundabout route through Florida in order to fish the FLW Open on Lake Okeechobee, a venue that saw him finish 7th in 2011, a haul that included a whopping five bass, 34-05 stringer on Day Two.

“I want to start my year off right again and Okeechobee is the place to do that,” he said. “You can just go out there and get lost in the reeds. There are new surroundings around every corner. It’s like being a little kid out fishing again.”

For novel surroundings, though, it would be hard to top the winter sojourn he made last month to South Africa with fellow Elite Series pro Derek Remitz. “We saw just about every kind of wild animal you can imagine,” he recalled. “Elephants, lions, zebra, hippos, crocs and rhinos. You’d be fishing along and there’d be monkeys. Derek got to feed a warthog.“ It wasn’t just all wildlife-viewing, however. The anglers made good use of their time, capturing the high-flying tigerfish and also chasing some more familiar largemouths. While Fred was in a strange land, he felt right at home in his host’s Triton 21HP – although the 350 HP Verado outboard and the Porsche Cayenne his host used to tow the rig were a bit more than even the fast-driving Fred was used to.

“What I really took away is that we take fishing for granted here,” he said. “They don’t have a lot of launches there, so a lot of times we just put the boat in off the side of the road. And there’s no Boat US, so you can’t get towed in. If you break down, you’re out there all night with the crocs and the hippos. It’s a lot of work for them just to go fishing.”

Fred’s Hard Bait Facts

IMA will once again be prominently displayed on the side of Fred’s Triton in 2012.

“They’re a very significant sponsor and I appreciate all of the support they’ve given me over the course of my career,” he said. He expects this year to be a breakout campaign for the brand and he’s spent his little available free time since his last tournament of 2011 trying to find little tweaks and tricks to use with the baits to keep his competitive advantage. In particular, he’s worked hard with the Flit and the Beast Hunter.

“The Flit is just deadly out here,” he said, referring to his Oklahoma home. “It’s got what I call a soft jerkbait approach, which means that it darts side to side, almost like a ‘hunting’ jerkbait. It’s so erratic and it suspends so well. Make a couple of hard jerks, pause it with some slack in the line and they clobber it. I’ve fished just about every higher-end jerkbait out there and it’s the best of the bunch.”

At the Classic, he expects that he’ll utilize some combination of the Square Bill, the Shaker and his namesake Roumba to get the job done. A lot will depend on the weather conditions leading into the event. So far it has been a mild winter, so the fish may be further along than they were when he fished the Classic there in 2009. That’ll influence his crankbait choices.

“The Shaker works well in colder water, under 50 degrees,” he explained. “It’s a tighter vibration bait with a shimmy wobble. It’s almost the opposite of what happens in the fall. I get on a Square Bill bite in the fall when the water temperature is 50 to 55, then when it gets colder I go to the Shaker. In the spring, the order is reversed. “

Fred spent some time down at Lake Fork this past fall throwing the IMA Shaker
and managed to whack a few good ones

While the Red River has varied water clarities, Roumbanis chooses his crankbait colors not entirely in accordance with clarity, but often with regard to sustained clarity. So while he may very use patterns with yellow or chartreuse in the dirtier portions of the Red, don’t be surprised him to pull out natural patterns in the same water colors elsewhere.

Shaker Natural

Shaker Bright

“My philosophy is that fish get used to dirty water,” he said. “If there’s a quick change, I’ll stick with chartreuse, but in places where it stays stained they learn to hunt instinctively, so I’ll go with darker, more natural baits.”

Lowen Continues to Tinker

Unlike Roumbanis, who’s been around the world and back in pursuit of little green fish this winter, Bill Lowen has stayed closer to home and spent more time in the deer stand than in his boat. That’s not necessarily by design, but the Lowens recently moved and were blessed with baby number just days ago, so the idea of picking up stakes and heading to Falcon or Guntersville or Clear Lake is off the table.

Besides, it’s downright cold in the Ohio River region, where he continues to reside. That makes it “hard to prepare mechanically” for the upcoming season. But that doesn’t mean he’s taken his mind off fishing altogether – quite the opposite! While Lowen may be known far and wide as a “River Rat,” there’s another alliterative title that also fits him well – “Tackle Tinkerer.” He’s spent tons of time in his shop getting everything ready for the upcoming season, which will likely start at the Bassmaster Classic.

Bill Lowens' Hush Hush

“I spend hours and hours on my tackle,” he said. “It’s not that I’m a neat freak, but I like to carry exactly what I need with me and have 100 percent confidence in anything I tie on. I probably carry more than I need, but I’m still pretty simple compared to most guys.”

That certainty and confidence in his gear will allow him to go into the Classic focused only on finding the right population of fish and the right tool to extract them – no worrying about whether his equipment is battle-tested.

“I’m sure that the tournament will involve flipping and pitching, but it could also set up perfectly for a Square Bill or the Rock N Vibe,” he said. Early in the season, he generally chooses between those two baits based on the amount of vegetation that is present. More of the green stuff means he’s more likely to go with a lipless lure. While there will be some hydrilla on the Red, he said that the river system is characterized by “a lot of wood and a lot of rock,” so he’s keyed in on the Square Bill bite.

Hot Craw Shaker

“There will be a shallow reaction bite somewhere down there,” he added. “But the way I fish it will depend on the water
temperatures. If they’re not as warm, I’ll probably crawl the Square Bill along instead of banging it through the cover. I just won’t fish it as fast.”

As for colors, like Roumbanis he’ll key his choices to the water clarities that he finds when he gets there, but said that “combinations of chartreuse, orange and red always work well” just about anywhere this time of year. The IMA Hot Craw pattern is a favorite and Lowen’s Hush Hush is no longer a secret.

Regardless of how the Classic turns out, Lowen is looking forward to the 2012 BASS campaign. Of the eight Elite Series tournaments, at least seven seem likely to have a substantial shallow water bite. The lone possible exception is the “Mystery Lake” event that will occur after the Mississippi River, and even that one could prove to be right in Bill’s wheelhouse.

“This year sets up real nice for me,” he opined.

Dove Loves Amistad Living

Like Roumbanis and Lowen, IMA pro Kurt Dove no longer lives in his “home state.” The Virginia native picked up stakes a few years back and headed for Del Rio, Texas, where he’s quickly become a respected guide who continues to compete in national events as his busy guiding schedule allows.

We caught up with him as he prefished for a Southern Open in Florida, catching quality fish on a Roumba and a Rock N Vibe, but despite the bites he sounded a little homesick.

“It’s hard to leave Amistad right now, when the bite is so good,” he lamented.”We’ve had some good weights lately but the consistency with numbers has just been amazing. It’s a fun lake to fish with so many different ways to catch them and over the past few years I’ve gotten to know it so much better.”

One of his key tools of late has been the IMA Beast Hunter, particularly in the Silver Lining pattern, which excels in Amistad’s crystal clear water. He’s played with the lure quite a bit and discovered why it succeeds when other deep divers don’t.

“It’s been all about the stop and go retrieve,” he said. “It just comes through cover so well with that tight wobble. You can bring it through the deep trees or the grass and it doesn’t get hung up. When it comes out of the cover, that’s when they nail it.”

Kurt Dove with a Rock-N-Vibe Fish on Amistad

He’s also discovered that the retrieve can make all of the difference with the Rock N Vibe. This lure provides a heavier package in a small-profiled body and that allows him to crawl it through areas where bass live, whether that’s Amistad, in Florida or on his “original” home waters of the Potomac.

“This time of year, you can’t fish it too slow around grass,” he explained. “You want to crawl it and tick it through the cover. You hear it a lot, but it’s just too easy to get into a habit of tossing it out and winding it back with a medium or medium-fast retrieve. If you concentrate on slowing down your retrieve, you’ll catch a lot more fish.”

Your color choices in the Rock N Vibe may vary depending on your local water color and forage options. In Amistad’s clear waters, Dove relies upon Ghost Minnow and Chartreuse Shad most frequently, but as Lowen noted above, the chartreuses and particularly craw imitators like IMA’s brilliant Hot Craw should never be too far out of reach.

Ima & TEAM RB Bass Fishing

Ima Lures is happy to announce their stronger angler presence in Northern California and will be working with Ron Howe and his team at RB Bass Fishing. They are a group of anglers working together to help grow the sport of Bass fishing and pass it on to today’s youth.

Take a look at their homepage and learn more. http://www.rbbassfishing.net/

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

California guide and fishing instructor Randy Pringle is a die-hard hunter, so this time of year is a balancing act for him. Rather than letting his fishing and hunting addictions work against each other, he actually turns them into complementary pastimes. The observations he makes while doing one allow him to succeed at both.

“This is the time of year when Mother Nature is turning,” he said. “Birds are grouping up. You may see five or six white egrets in a place where you haven’t seen them before. That tells you that the shad are moving into the shallows and it’s time to fish. The stripers, the largemouths, the spotted bass and the smallmouths are all moving to the bank.”

He has a carefully composed calendar, with clearly defined “shooting days” and “fishing days” marked, but when the weatherman throws him a curveball, he’s quick to make changes. “That way you can have phenomenal days on the water and phenomenal days in the blind,” he advised. The important thing, though, is to make sure that you get adequate time to experience the fall feed. “The bass don’t know how long fall lasts until it becomes winter. All they know is that they need to eat.”

He employs shad imitators like the IMA Flit and the diminutive Foxy Fry to get the job done. The former, in its several sizes, “allows you to keep the bait in the strike zone longer,” he said. “It’s important to be tight to the shoreline.” The latter, fished on 8 lb. test line, is a numbers-producing machine. When the shad move into the backs of the coves, both lures are deadly with a “stop-start-stop-start” retrieve.

“I never dismiss the Skimmer or the Big Stik,” he added. “But this time of year subsurface baits produce most consistently for me.” While all of the baitfish-patterned baits have their time and place, if forced to take one with him on the water, Olive Herring would be a hands-down first choice: “It’s a killer on every body of water in California,” he said. “Anything with that olive looks like a little baitfish.”

While Pringle plies the backs of coves on the west coast’s famed bass waters, Texas guide Kurt Dove does the same thing on famous Lake Amistad.

“Over the next few weeks, what should start happening is that the shad will congregate in the backs of the drains.” For those of you not from the Lone Star State, a “drain” is where a creek or tributary flows into the lake but doesn’t add water year-round. In effect, it provides a small channel or depression.

“The whole key is the presence of baitfish,” Dove said, showing that a bass is a bass whether it’s in California or on the Mexican border. “I’ll throw an IMA Beast Hunter right down the middle of the drain or on the edges of the hydrilla in 8 to 12 feet of water and fish it with a fast stop-and-go retrieve. The great thing about the Beast Hunter is that it has a really tight wobble. Wide wobbling baits have their place, but in the fall that tight action mimics the bait really well.”

His favorite Beast Hunter color pattern is Bluegill, which he believes replicates not only bluegills, but also Gulf killie minnows, tilapia and both threadfin and gizzard shad. Sometimes he’ll mix in Blue Sexy Shad or Silver Lining, too. He fishes it on a Powell 703 rod instead of a typical cranking stick, and pairs it with a 5:1 gear ratio reel spooled with 16 lb. Toray fluorocarbon. The combination of the rod and the line allow him to rip the bait out of the submerged vegetation, often triggering arm-busting strikes. He’ll also throw an IMA Rock N Vibe on the same setup when the fish are suspended. “Sometimes they’ll be in 2 to 5 feet of water over 10 or 15 feet,” he explained. “This allows you to target two separate fish, those up in the water column and the ones hunkered down on the bottom.”

Did we even have to ask Bill Lowen which IMA lure is his favorite? While he uses the entire lineup, there’s no doubt that his namesake Square Bill gets extremely heavy usage in his FeatherFlage Skeeter. While he likes to cover water, he’s careful about where and when he fishes.

“The biggest key in the fall is bait,” he said, echoing Pringle and Dove. “On lakes the shad migrate to the backs of pockets. On rivers, it’s into creeks. I like to look for a place where a channel runs up against a flat. That’s where shad tend to stack up. If there’s no bait, I won’t fish.”

While his retrieve speed may vary from day to day, based on trial and error, he noted that “the Square Bill was really designed for reaction bites. As long as the water temperature is fairly warm, you want to crash it through cover. Then, as it gets colder, you can slow it down to keep it in the strike zone.”

In clear to slightly stained water, he prefers “some type of shad pattern, like Silver Lining or Foiled Bluegill. If the water has a little bit of color in it, he turns to bone. And if the water is downright dirty, he likes something with some chartreuse in the paint job, although he noted that most of the time “in the fall it tends to stay pretty clear, so it’s more of a shad bite.” He throws it on a 7-foot medium-heavy All-Pro cranking rod, first with a 6.4:1 Revo reel, but when the water cools down he’ll go to a slower retrieve ratio, “so I have no ability to work it fast.” Similarly, he varies his line size, starting with 15 lb. fluorocarbon early in the fall, when he’s using a fast and erratic retrieve, then downsizing to 12 lb. later in the year when he needs to slow down.

Fred Roumbanis is another pro who lives by the Square Bill this time of year in his adopted home state of Oklahoma. He’ll mix in his signature Roumba, too, because this time of year “as the water temperatures are falling, the bait is hitting the bank.” Sound familiar?

“Once the water temperature is below 60, it’s hard to beat the Square Bill around here,” Roumbanis said. “I like to fish it on flats with a little bit of a break line or a creek channel nearby. If you can find any little isolated piece of cover, be sure you make multiple casts to it. If you catch a fish from it, you can often come back later and catch another.”

He’s a firm believer in the power of the Square Bill’s deflection abilities. “I like banging bottom with it. It’s not just cast and reel it in. I want to be as erratic as possible.” The two colors he uses the most around home are Chartreuse Shad and Citrus Shad, fishing them on a 7-foot medium-heavy IRod, paired with an Ardent XS1000 and 15 lb. P-Line.

In addition to fishing local events and preparing for February’s Bassmaster Classic on the Red River, Fred also has a special expedition planned for this off-season: He’s headed to South Africa with fellow Elite Series pro to fish for Tigerfish. They’re mean, toothy critters and he’s anxious to put a Big Stik in front of one and put his skills to the test.

Our lone East Coast representative in this edition of the emailer is South Carolina pro Michael Murphy, who spends this time of year working lakes that are loaded with blueback herring. That gives him prey to imitate, but it can also make the fishing tough – even if the bass are feeding heavily they have tons of natural feeding opportunities in front of them.

“Right now the fish are moving off the secondary points into ditches, in two feet or less of water,” he said. “They’ll stay there for about a month. I go after them with the Rock N Vibe.”

While there are lots of other lipless crankbaits to choose from, he said the smaller profile but heavier weight of the Rock N Vibe gives him an advantage. He can cast it longer distances, then burn it while allowing it to stay down in the strike zone, covering water.

Surprisingly, he throws it on 15 lb. monofilament line. “Some people prefer fluorocarbon or braid, but I like the castability of mono. When they’re up shallow sometimes you have to sneak up on them.”

He’s also a stickler for a particular rod action and dotes on his 7 ½ foot Denali cranking rod.

“This time of year the fish are apt to just slap at the bait,” he explained. “They’re not eating. It’s more or less a reaction bite. You’ll end up foul hooking some of them, so that parabolic rod action is a must if you don’t want to lose them.”

He said lure color isn’t terribly important. While he likes to imitate the bluebacks, he noted that there are also threadfin shad mixed in, so any natural baitfish color should work. “It’s more about the action than the color, but keep it in the shad range.” Chartreuse Shad and Chrome Blue Back are staples in his boat.

“Right now the water is in the mid- to upper-60s around here,” he concluded. “This bait will last at least until the water gets below 55. That’s when they get into their winter patterns.”

Credits: bassmaster.com

Maybe then you’ll want to get back to hunting…..or maybe not. Every part of the country may fish a little bit differently right now. Even neighboring waters can have totally different bites during the heavy fall feed, but there’s no better time to be a hard bait fisherman and as our pros make clear, there’s an IMA hard bait for every situation you’ll encounter.

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – September 2011 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

While the calendar tells us that the official end of summer is still a few weeks away, Labor Day, the unofficial conclusion of the season, is upon us. It may be every bit as hot where you live as it was a month ago, or you may be starting to see the first little hints of fall. Kids are going back to school, wardrobes are changing and you might even want to dig a jacket out of the closet.

If you can figure out how the bass are transitioning in your neck of the woods, you can hit on one of the best bites of the year.

Here at IMA, we're big fans of change, as evidenced by our awesome showing at ICAST 2011, last month's version of the industry's biggest annual trade show. We introduced two totally new lures as well as several new colors in some established products. The result was that we occasionally had to wipe the drool off of our display cases. Buyers, pros and media alike were desperate to get a close-up look of what the best fishing minds of Japan and the US combined to produce.

(The ima booth was a hot spot to be at during July's ICAST Show.)

As long as we're talking about "new," we'd like to introduce you to the newest member of IMA's national pro-staff, Kurt Dove. The Virginia native fished the Bassmaster Elite Series for a few years and became acquainted with the IMA lineup through pros like Bill Lowen and Fred Roumbanis. He's also a dedicated fan of our sister company, Optimum Swimbaits.

Searching for a way to maximize his talents, Kurt picked up stakes from Virginia and moved to Del Rio, Texas in time for the start of 2008. He's quickly established a tremendous guide service on Lake Amistad and is the big border pond's most enthusiastic cheerleader.

"I fell in love with the place," he said. "It's just so multifaceted – with grass, and clear water, you can catch them shallow and you can catch them deep. And that's right; you do a lot of catching. You just get bit a lot."

"It's a great jerkbait lake," he continued. "I fell in love with how the Flit 120 produced in the clear water and started playing with the IMA and Optimum lineups. The Rock N' Vibe is great for schooling fish and it's particularly good for guiding. It's easy to throw and it has a different rattle than any other lipless crankbait on the market. I also love to fish the Roumba over the hydrilla in the summertime."

(Kurt shows off a healthy bass he caught on the Flit 120 at Lake Amistad this spring)

The bait that excites him the most, though, is the new Beast Hunter deep diving crankbait.

"We have a deep cranking bite in the hydrilla as soon as it starts to break up," he stated. "It starts soon and should continue right through into December. The Beast Hunter is an awesome all around crankbait and a key part of the IMA puzzle."

While Dove dotes on shad patterns in Amistad's clear water, he also said a bluegill or citrus shad pattern can be deadly. While Amistad is known for its tilapia population, the most common things Dove finds in his livewell at the end of his tournament days are bluegills, so that's what he tries to mimic most frequently.

If you'd like to book a trip on world-famous Lake Amistad with one of the friendliest and best teaching guides in the business, check out Kurt's website at www.swtexasbassguide.com.

FLW Tour pro Michael Murphy is another big fan of the Beast Hunter. In his years on tour, he's searched for a crankbait that can dominate the 10 to 13 foot range where so many big fish live for a large portion of the year. He's found it in our new crank, which is designed to come through grass without a hitch.

The crankbait's key attribute is that instead of having a weight-transfer system like many other lures in its class, it incorporates a fixed weight inside an thicker sidewalls (a full 2.0mm) which distributes the weight evenly throughout the body.

"Jun (Shoji) worked on it for two years," Murphy said. "He made it so it doesn't have to have the same sort of weights as other deep divers. That allows it to tuck and roll. Rather than operating on a 'pivot,' it rolls like a good swimbait. That provides a more erratic action."

(Jun Shoji and Fred Roumbanis talk about the Beast Hunter and its traits for the cameras.)

"Every fish I've caught on it has had the bait deep in its mouth," he said. "They just annihilate it." He's used it on TVA largemouths and Erie smallmouths. The only problem he had at the latter lake was that the walleyes also seem to like it. Mr. Murphy ended up with a couple of dinners' worth of fillets thanks to his new favorite bait. He's still learning how much it has to offer, he added, and while it catches fish right out of the package he said "it'll take a good year to fully understand what it can do."

While he's used every color that IMA produces in the Beast Hunter, so far his favorite is the multi-dimensional "Fred's Perch." He said the largemouths think it's a bluegill, the walleye probably think it's a perch and to the smallmouths it can emulate a goby.

"That one crankbait will produce fish practically year-round unless there's ice on the lake," he concluded.

(The Brand new items from ima Lures include: Silent Big Stik, Beast Hunter, Foxy Fry)

Murphy put his money where his mouth is at last week's BASS Northern Open on Lake Erie, finishing 3rd among a stout field of Great Lakes hotshots and national touring pros. While the old "Erie tube drag" and a dropshot were part of his arsenal, when the bite got toughest he wielded the Fred's Perch Beast Hunter to top off his three limits that averaged over 20 pounds apiece. With only one tournament left to go, he sits in 8th place overall in the Open points standings.

If you think Michael Murphy loves the Fred's Perch Beast Hunter, how do you think Fred Roumbanis is feeling about now? He's the US pro with the longest track record with this deep diver and he's still amazed every day by how good it is. "That's my go-to color," he said. "And the Beast Hunter just has the most wicked bounce-back action when you deflect it off cover and then kill it."

(The Lake Erie Smallmouth could not resist the new ima Beast Hunter. Give them a try on your local bass the next time out.)

He liked the color so much that he insisted we bring it out in his namesake Roumba, too. "I just have a lot of confidence in that color in any hard bait I throw," he said. But we didn't stop there. There are two other new shades in the Roumba, one light and one dark. Both are made of one piece of ABS plastic and feature a one-knocker instead of multiple rattles.

"I like the one-knocker baits because you can walk them like a big topwater or a frog without any modifications and on each side-to-side movement it makes that sound that allows fish to really target them easily," he explained. "Especially when they're schooling, they really seem to like that pitch."

Rattlin’ Roumba – 174 Black Bass

Rattlin’ Roumba – 175 Fred’s Perch

The light-colored version is Bone, which Fred says imitates just about any injured baitfish. When their first layer of scales are knocked away, bluegills, crappie, shad and most other prey have an underlayer that is bone-colored. That makes it especially good for fish in a feeding frenzy with lots of food options to choose from – between the color and the single knocking noisemaker, this Roumba is an easy target.

The other new pattern, our "dark horse," is called Black Bass and as the name indicates it's primarily black with ridges of blue markings down the side.

"You can't go wrong with black just about anywhere," Fred said. "It's especially good when you want the bait to be a little less intimidating. The silhouette makes the overall profile look smaller."

He likes the blue markings because they make the lure look like a black and blue jig, his go-to color when swimming a jig around water willow. The Roumba's wide wobble makes it remarkably snag-resistant around vegetation and unlike a jig it has sticky sharp trebles that'll pin down a slashing bass.

Veteran California guide and bass instructor Randy Pringle likes the Beast Hunter and the Roumba, too, but the two new IMA products that have him most excited come from opposite ends of the size spectrum.

The first is the new Silent Big Stik, a non-rattling version of the big topwater that IMA brought out last year. It may look striper-sized, but big largemouths smoke it, too. When the fish are fattening up for the fall run but there's no wind and clear water, he finds that the silent version produces more strikes.

"Those are the times you want to get subtle," he said. "It's very important to act the same way as the baitfish act under those conditions and that means less noise."

Given the fact that he fishing it in clear water, he prefers more subtle colors, too. Three favorites are the Ghost Rainbow, Ghost Ayu and Bone.

But if you think Randy only gets excited when he's fishing the heavy hardware, think again. The other lure that has him jacked to be on the water is the new Foxy Fry, a 3/16 ounce bundle of dynamite that's half crankbait, half jerkbait, all fish-catching machine.

(NOTE – The Foxy Fry does not come with a split ring in the nose. Use a size 1 or 2 cross snap for best results)

"It's a little bitty thing," Pringle said. "But it's going to be a killer because every body of water has baitfish that size – every frog pond, every lake, even the Delta." In fact, it's a perfect guiding tool on the Delta right now. "If I were to have my clients throw it all day, we'd probably catch 150 fish on it. They probably wouldn't be big, but we'd get bites all day, and it's only going to get better as the temperatures start to drop.

Again, he prefers it in natural hues like Chartreuse Shad, Ghost Minnow, Ghost Ayu and Pro Blue.

It'll continue to be deadly throughout the winter and through the pre-spawn, so you can bet he'll have a spinning rod with 6- or 8-pound test line on the deck of his boat until the fish go up to spawn.

Bassmaster Classic qualifier Bill Lowen has spent the summer at home in the Midwest, where river tournaments are TOUGH. He's fishing every Tuesday and Wednesday nighter he can, along with any other local derbies that cross his path.

He knows of a recent BFL on the Ohio River where it took 5 pounds to win and just over 2 pounds to get a check. In circumstances like that, a single extra bite can put money in your pocket and while he thinks his signature Square Bill is the best shallow diving crank on the market, he believes that IMA made it even more deadly this year with the addition of three new color patterns – Silver Lining, Foiled Bluegill and Lowen's Hush Hush.

The first and the third of that trio are "colors I've used forever," he said. "I was raised on homemade crankbaits and those are good on any body shape."

The Hush Hush is a gaudy bluegill imitator, with chartreuse sides, while the Foiled Bluegill provides a little more flash as a result of its foiled sides. The Silver lining, silver sides with a black back, is a "must have" when the fish are gorging on shad. With those three, he could feel pretty comfortable on almost any body of water this time of year.

That confidence is born out of being raised fishing tough Ohio fisheries. "It just makes you better," he said of the stingy waterways. "You never get discouraged. I'm used to fishing for 6 or 7 bites a day so when you go to Guntersville and you're getting 30 or 40 bites a day and other guys are saying it's slow, that's like heaven to me."

No matter which color or colors of the Square Bill you choose, Lowen said the key is to burn it. SO many guys try to "worm" a crankbait slowly under tough conditions, but Lowen likes to burn it, crash it into cover, and then kill it. That's when the big bites come, whether you're fishing for 40 bites or for 5.

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we're bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they're only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

Show Us Your Catches!

As always, we'd love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we'll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

(A customer sent in their ima Square Bill being choked on by a lunker bass)

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – June 2011 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

It’s summertime, and the crankbait bite is just heating up!

Sure, you started cranking when the bass got into their pre-spawn mode, but at no other time of the year is there such a wealth of different ways to fish a lipped bait as exist right now.

On the TVA lakes in the south, the bass are starting to gang up on ledges, where they’ll absolutely annihilate a deep diver. On rivers like the Arkansas and the Ohio, shallow water fanatics bang the Square Bill into the heaviest cover they can find and prepare to win tournaments. On the coasts – in places like the Cal Delta and the Potomac – anglers violently rip cranks out of the grass where they find fish wadded up and susceptible to reaction lures.

But just because there’s a crankbait bite on your home water doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to unlock it easily, even with the best tools. And there’s no one-size-fits-all lure or specific retrieve that works everywhere, every time.

One of the questions the IMA pros get asked most frequently is which IMA bait should be used in different circumstances. We offer the Shaker and the Square Bill (and we’ll have a few more very soon….more on that later) and while both are amazingly versatile our pros have definite preferences for one over the other at specific times.

ima SHAKER VS. ima SQUARE BILL! When do you choose what to throw and why?

For South Carolina pro Michael Murphy, the basic decision comes down to one thing: “Is the water muddy or clear?” he asked. “It’s really that simple.”

“Of course it’s seasonal, too,” he continued. “In the early spring, before the rains come, I like the Shaker. But when it gets a little dirtier, I switch to the Square Bill.”

At a Beaver Lake FLW Tour tournament this year, he put that one-two punch to good use. It was a brutally tough event and in the early going the Shaker was the ticket, but there was a substantial warm water influx as the tournament went on. “As soon as the mud hit it I picked up the Square Bill,” he said. “The fish had moved up and pulled onto the rocks and the Square Bill deflected better. That fatter body displaces more water, which is important when the baitfish are moving around more.”

Of course it’s not just rain water from tributaries that create muddy water or warming water conditions. Murphy was raised on the tough fishing waters of Indiana and even on the toughest, stillest summer days he found ways to get a crankbait bite going when others couldn’t. Wind, of course, is one means of breaking up the surface, but when it doesn’t exist in its natural state you can seek out the man-made version.

“When the boat traffic kicks up, the banks get mud lines,” he advised. “The water may be completely clear underneath but that wave action has the same effect as a cloudy day, so I’ll target those areas.”

For Fred Roumbanis, who’s having a simply tremendous year of tournament fishing, his biggest weakness is that he doesn’t like to put the Square Bill down.

“I fish it all year round,” he said. “It is absolutely a fish catching machine. I often rely on it for a limit, but I get plenty of big bites on it, too. It’s deadly any place there are bass holding on stumps and laydowns.”

Elite Pro Fred Roumbanis had good results with the Square Bill early on this season.

“On Pickwick earlier this year I caught a quick limit the first day on the Square Bill,” Fred continued. “I was fishing current breaks, any little laydowns I could find with it, even a grassy point of shoreline grass.”

Ohio pro Bill Lowen, an absolute crankbait savant, said that the bite is “a seasonal thing for me. I like the Shaker in the early spring and in the late fall, when you don’t want a big hard-thumping bait. “Of course Lowen also said that there are “no rules in this sport,” so he wasn’t completely surprised that California guide and fishing educator extraordinaire Randy Pringle takes a different approach. He’ll fish the Square Bill any time there are stumps, regardless of season, but he likes the Shaker over the square bill as the water gets warmer. While it has a flat sided body, its sudden darts and veers to one side or the other replicate active baitfish to him.

“When you see more stuff happening – bluegills moving, birds diving down for bugs and lizards jumping from rock to rock – that’s when the Shaker is best,” Pringle said

As noted above, the Square Bill is never far away from Fred’s rod deck, but as the season progresses he’ll often head back toward a flat-sided lure. “I really like the Shaker in the fall,” he said. “It’s similar to fishing a lipless crankbait except it floats back up instead of sinking. You can run it into wood in shallow pockets, hit the wood and it’ll bounce right up.”

This 3D illustration of the ima SHAKER really shows off its flat sides.

One of the main reasons Pringle relies so heavily on the Shaker in his tournament fishing and day-to-day guiding, is the bait’s profile: “It has the same basic shape as the arch-enemy of the bass – the bluegill, brim, sunfish or whatever you want to call it – and that’s like a gumdrop to them.”

Of course, whichever crank you use, forage preferences dictate color patterns under most circumstances. That may mean starting off with the craw patterns in the spring, moving gradually into bluegill-replicating hues, and then relying heavily on the shad imitators in the fall.

Tidal Water bass love the Shaker being ripped through the grass lines.

Lowen said that even when fish aren’t in a chasing mood, sometimes a gaudy Square Bill can get them biting again. “At the St. Johns earlier this year I had a stretch where I was catching some fish flipping,” he recalled. “But eventually they stopped biting, even though I knew there were more fish there. I eventually figured out that you could catch them by banging the Square Bill off of cypress trees. Slamming it through the cover as fast as you can triggered the reaction bite.”

You may have heard it in a thousand previous crankbait articles, but the truth remains the same – deflection is key. Fortunately, the IMA crankbaits have a natural “hunting” action that causes them to violently dart off to the side, then return to center as if nothing happened. But sometimes a little extra angler-imparted action is necessary.

If you haven’t tried the SHAKER & SQUARE BILL first hand yet, get a good look here.

“If you aren’t deflecting off items like stumps and laydowns, you should try some speed changes over the course of your retrieve,” Pringle advised. “And in weedbeds, I pause when I feel the bait hit them. That gives it the darting action that you want.”

They can’t be retrieved too fast – nothing will make these baits roll – but they also maintain the desired action at a slow crawl of a pace.

“The biggest key is always cause an erratic action,” Murphy said. “Most bites come off of the deflection, just after that split second pause. If it’s a cleaner bank, you can achieve the same result with a stop and go.”

One other thing to remember is that these baits run at different depths. With light line and long casts you can get the Shaker down to about five feet. The Square Bill runs shallower than the other members of its class, hitting only the three foot mark. That’s by the design of Bill Lowen, who wanted a bait that could be run over grass or super-shallow silted bottoms without getting mucked up on every cast. If you’re trying to deflect off of cover deeper than three feet, the Shaker might be a better choice. If you’re trying to get either lure to go shallower, experiment with different line types (braid/monofilament/fluorocarbon) and diameters, as well as rod angles, until you’re tick-tick-ticking along exactly where you want to be.

The ima SQUARE BILL offers a shorter fatter profile!

Cranking is both an art and a science, and as Bill Lowen stated above the rules can change day to day, or even hour to hour. The tool you choose – be it the Shaker or the Square Bill – may have to change along with the conditions or the mood of the fish. Fortunately, these are precision instruments, perfectly tuned and with the best hardware and paint jobs available today, so when you do figure out which one the fish want you’re well-equipped to finish the job off.

The annual trade show known as ICAST will take place just about a month from now in Las Vegas, and IMA will be introducing two new lures that are sure to knock your socks off and catch tons of big bass from coast-to-coast. We can’t give you complete details just yet, but we’ll have a full download of info on them in this space shortly after the show.

Fred Roumbanis has been testing one of the two out and said he’s caught 150 bass on the prototype.

“I’ve had unbelievable success with it,” he reported. “I had someone else throw a similar crankbait from a different manufacturer at the same time and I outfished him five to one. Like all IMA products, it’s perfectly tuned right out of the package and has the incredible Japanese finishes.”

“If I had had this at Kentucky Lake last year, I was on the fish to win,” he lamented. “All I can say is that I better have them by Guntersville!”

Stay tuned!

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

Throughout the country, our best fisheries are all over the map when it comes to what the bass are doing. For those of you lucky enough to live in the warmest parts of the country, you may already have seen the spawn come and go, but many of you are still recovering from or even digging out from an unusually harsh winter. The fish may be spawning, looking to spawn or they might not even be close, but we know you’re ready to get out on the water and put them to the test. While you’ve been organizing tackle and getting the boat water-ready, the IMA pros have been hard at work – testing lures, strategizing and fishing tournaments all over the country. This is the time of year when fishing is often red hot EVERYWHERE at the same time.

IMA pro Bill Lowen started his year off by fishing the Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta, his third Classic overall in the young pro’s juggernaut career. While he didn’t win the Classic title – YET – in some respects he was still the talk of New Orleans because the Classic Expo was the site of the release of his signature IMA “Square Bill” crankbait. With the tournament winners relying primarily on square bills, fishing fans were amazed by the IMA product’s attention to detail and top-notch components. They’re on shelves now so be sure to ask your local retailer about them.

Lowen started off the year with three straight Elite Series checks. He was two for two in Florida — 34th at the Harris Chain and 35th at the St. Johns River – and then 31st at Pickwick. “It wasn’t as good as I’d have liked it to be,” he said, but after four events overall he finds himself in 36th place in the Angler of the Year standings, right on the cusp for another Classic slot.

In Florida, Lowen didn’t rely on the dominant sight bite for his strong performances – instead he flipped a little and cranked a lot. “I had the Square Bill tied on at both events,” he said. “My two biggest fish on the St. Johns came on one in chartreuse with a black back.”

Fred Roumbanis, an Oklahoman by way of California, got his year started before Lowen’s Classic appearance – and he started it off right for the IMA crew with a 7th place finish in the FLW Open on Lake Okeechobee. The Elite Series pro wanted to get the year rocking as soon as possible and Florida was the perfect venue for his skills and enthusiasm. Along the way, he set two FLW Outdoors records – the largest Day 2 weight (34 lbs. 5 ounces) and the largest cumulative weight over the first two days (61 lbs. 14 ounces).

Photo: FLWOUTDOORS

Fortunately for Fred, the Elite Series started off with two more events in the Sunshine State, which has lately become his own personal Magic Kingdom. He got this year’s campaign started on the right foot, with a 29th place finish on the Harris Chain followed up by a 27th on the St. Johns River.

While much of the field sight fished at the two Elite Series events in Florida, Fred went against the grain, flipping at the first event and using a variety of frogs, including an Optimum Furbit, at the latter event.

“I prefer to sight fish but everybody knows the same areas,” he said. “This year I decided I was just going to put my head down and fish. I think it worked out for the first two events.”

But Fred’s strong run didn’t stop in Florida. At Pickwick he finished 34th. Then, at Toledo Bend he put together a magical four-day stretch and earned his fourth straight check, as well as his first Sunday appearance of the year. When the scales closed on Sunday, he’d finished fifth overall with a total weight of 67-01. Fred is 7th overall right now in the Angler of the Year standings, on pace not only for his 3rd Bassmaster Classic berth, but also in position to make a serious run at the BASS postseason and the accompanying accolades. He’s a proven closer and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he claimed his 3rd BASS win before this campaign closes out.

While the few anglers who finished in front of Fred at Toledo Bend are certainly to be congratulated, Fred’s achievement was particularly special because he caught his weight using a technique that it’s pretty certain no one else in the field was utilizing. In fact, most if not all of them have probably never even tried it. He was swimming a 1-ounce Pepper football head jig, paired mostly with an Optimum Double Diamond swimbait as a trailer on offshore ledges and ridges. The big jig was necessary to make long casts, achieve the appropriate depths and mimic the baitfish. The swimbait tail provided the proper “kick” and the appearance of a bluegill. One other critical element of his presentation was the use of 15-pound P-Line fluorocarbon, which also helped him get the bait down and earn precious bites. Watch what Fred was doing HERE.

Fred is a master of figuring out how to incorporate different line sizes to give a particular lure it’s optimum effectiveness. As you’ll see below, it’s something he’s very conscious of when fishing the IMA Rock N Vibe.

From early pre-spawn on through the fall, savvy bass anglers always have a lipless crankbait tied on – it’s a lure that enables them to fish a wide swath of the water column, resembles baitfish closely, and works around a variety of cover types – and the one that’s making major waves these days is the IMA Rock N Vibe. Any lipless crank can catch bass on occasion, when conditions are just right, but this lure is a like a multi-tool, applying the right implement to all sorts of predicaments.

“It has a small profile, but it still weighs a ton,” Lowen said. “It’s easier to fish in high pressure situations when you have to make long casts.” Roumbanis uses it for everything from yo-yoing to burning, and noted that the small size makes it a numbers bait, but he’s continually surprised at how many big fish fall for this baitfish replica.

“Since it came out, I haven’t really thrown any other lipless bait,” Fred said. “A lot of them are too light or you don’t feel the vibrations, but this one you can feel it shaking like a chatterbait.”

FLW Tour pro Michael Murphy says it’s the wide range of depths that you can fish it at that make the Rock N Vibe such a key tool in his tournament arsenal. “Most vibrating baits are for 4 feet of water or less, but this one has a lot more range. It provides the maximum benefit of what a lipless crankbait does. For example, at Guntersville, when the grass is topping out at 6 feet down instead of 4 feet, you can still tick the bottom. I use it a lot on Lake Murray for schooling bass.”

Roumbanis agreed with Murphy’s assessment. In ultra-clear water he’ll sometimes go down to 8 lb. fluorocarbon, which allows him to easily get the Rock N Vibe down into 8 to 12 feet of water. Going that light isn’t something most anglers do with a classic power fishing tactic like a lipless crank, but Fred said if it’s necessary, that’s what he’ll do to garner the bites he needs. Too often we all pay attention to retrieve speed without the appropriate concern for where a particular retrieve puts the bait in the water column.

Last year at the California Delta, Lowen used one of his favorite Rock N Vibe techniques, fishing it like a jig. “You let it go all the way to the bottom on grass line edges and points,” he said. “They you hop it pretty hard off the bottom. The rod will just load up.”

Another trick is to fish it on heavy line in ultra-shallow water. Roumbanis will use 20 lb. test P-Line CXX, which “keeps it more buoyant” and allows him to fish in less than two feet of water with ease. “When they hit it there, they absolutely engulf it,” he reported. In fact, changing line sizes is Fred’s number one way of changing the performance of a lure that he said is perfect right out of the package. When he wants the lure shallow, big mono is key. When he wants to get deeper, fluorocarbon gets the call. When ripping it through grass is important, braid is his meal ticket. Fortunately, the bait has a thumping wobble that can overcome the dulling effects of “rope-like” mono, but it isn’t so powerful that it becomes unmanageable on thinner and lighter fluoro. Be careful, though – on braid it’ll rattle your fillings loose.

The best retrieve may involve no trickery at all: Just cast it out and wind it in – a little bit slower when fish are lethargic and a little bit faster when they’re active. The vibrations, sounds and finishes allow the bass to track the Rock N Vibe carefully and react savagely. Again, you can adjust running depth through the use of a particular line size or type. In fact, there may be times when you’ll need three Rock N Vibes on the deck tied to three different lines to maximize your effectiveness. Fortunately, if you’re that dialed in, you probably won’t need a fourth rod with anything on it.

Chromes, Hot Craw, Natural -By covering the basic color groups, Chromes, Reds or Chartrueses, & Natural Shad patterns
the ima Rock N Vibe will produce in all bodies of water.

With all lipless cranks, it’s unfortunate but largely unavoidable that you’re going to lose some fish. Those big sows come up, shake their heads, and use the bait as leverage to come unbuttoned. Fortunately, the Rock N Vibe comes with sticky-sharp Owner hooks that minimize this problem. The pros offer other means of reducing your heartbreak. Murphy said that even when he uses braided line, he always prefers to use some sort of non-braid as a shock absorber, “even if it’s just a short leader.” His other key to minimizing loss is that you don’t want to play the fish. Get them in the boat as soon as possible. “I use a worm rod, not a cranking rod,” he said. “You can’t give them a chance to jump or shake their heads.”

Roumbanis uses an Irod IRC704c, a 7′ fast action rod which he says “doesn’t rip the hook out when they engulf it, but still has the backbone to snap the bait through grass.” Lowen uses a 7′ medium-heavy All Pro casting rod for the same reasons.

When it comes to colors, all three use various types of chrome patterns often. “Chrome and Chartreuse Shad are really the only two you absolutely need,” Murphy said. “One for sunny conditions and the other when it’s cloudy.” Given a third option, he’d choose a craw color, an absolute staple in places like California and Texas. Roumbanis also dotes on the Hot Craw pattern. He said Fire Tiger can be “dangerous” when the water is a little bit stained. Under super-clear conditions, he said the Ghost Minnow is his number one draft pick. Lowen, too, said “chrome and reds and yellows are my top choices.”

We’ve established that the Rock N Vibe catches bass from coast to coast in North America, but this picture should leave no doubt that it works anywhere bass swim. This is Jun Shoji, one of Japan’s top pros and a full-time guide on famed Lake Biwa, where a world record largemouth was caught last year. We’ll have more information about Jun in an future emailer.

With Pickwick and Toledo Bend up next on the Elite Series, look for lipless cranks to play a key role, and look for the IMA pros in the check line!

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

Last months’ winner was Loren Spaulding who caught a nice Spotted Bass from Lake Lanier in Georgia that fell victim to the ima Flit 120 in Ghost Minnow!

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products. Send to info@imalures.com

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – February 2011 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

Depending on where in the country you live, February may be the start of something big, or it may be the cruelest month of the year. In Florida and Texas, the spawn may be full swing, but in the wintry northern climes there’s still time left to organize tackle and do your long-avoided chores around the house. At least the people in Green Bay and Pittsburgh have the Super Bowl to cheer them up for a while, but if you live in Maine, Minnesota or Montana and you live for bass fishing, there’s still time to kill.

But don’t give up hope! Good things come to those who wait. We’re here to get you excited about the upcoming season regardless of whether you’ve already flung a few 8-pounders over the rail or whether your boat is still winterized. IMA stands for imagination and we want you to start imagining just how good the 2011 season is going to be for all of us.

Ima Pro Staffer Rich Lindgren proves that the ima Square Bill is a year round producer. 24 degree air temp with water temp in low 40′s.	Nicholas Bodsford from basseast.com tried his luck with the square bill and was pleased with his results as well.

February may be the shortest month on the calendar, but for Bill Lowen it’s going to be jam-packed with excitement, most of it in the latter half of the 28 days. He’s already picked up his new boat, purchased new jerseys and hats and gotten his tackle orders in, but when the fishing world turns its focus on New Orleans on February 18th, there will be a double-beam super-bright spotlight on the young and talented Ohio pro.

What’s New Orleans, you ask? Where have you been? It’s the Bassmaster Classic, and it’s being held for the fourth time in the greatest party city on earth. As they say down there, let the good times roll! Along with a little ol’ fishing tournament, there will be a tackle expo that rivals anything this side of ICAST. Of course IMA will be there and we’ll be debuting the Square Bill, a shallow-diving crankbait that is the joint brainchild of Lowen and IMA’s engineers in Japan.

The Square Bill combines the “hunting” action of the handmade baits Bill fished growing up on the Ohio River with the durability of plastic. It goes shallower than most of our competitors’ baits, the better to fulfill Lowen’s ultra-shallow style.

Many pundits say that this Classic will be won flipping or with a spinnerbait and Bill loves both techniques. Last year at Clear Lake Lowen showed that he’s deadly with a vibrating jig, too, finishing second overall after literally wearing out his arms (and several baits) over the course of four days. That presentation could come into play in New Orleans as well, but he said that anyone who discounts the role of hard baits in New Orleans may be in for a rude awakening.

“Without a doubt they’re going to be in my gameplan,” he said. “It just depends on where in the spawn we are. That’ll determine whether the Square Bill plays a role. It could also involve a rattlebait like the IMA Rock N Vibe over the grass flats or even the Roumba if they’re further along.”

ima’ Line of baits will be found on the deck of Classic Qualifier Bill Lowen

The nice thing about the shallow-diving Square Bill is that it does better in grassy environs than most of the competition. If it’s getting down a little too deep, Bill will just upsize his line to 15 or even 20 pound test. The crankbait will maintain its hunting action, but it won’t grind down as deep into the greenery.

Here’s hoping for a big performance from Bill in New Orleans. If you’re there, cheer him on from the stands and be sure to stop by our booth to check out the Square Bill. If you can’t make it to the Big Easy, be sure to ask your favorite online or bricks and mortar retailer when they will have the Square Bill in stock. Don’t delay – once they’re in, the pegs will empty as quickly as they can fill them.

IMA Pro Fred Roumbanis can’t decide whether he wants to be a professional bass fisherman or a long-haul truck driver – or both. A few years back he moved from California to Oklahoma to build a family and cut down on his driving time, but this year the odometer on his tow vehicle is going to get a serious workout.

In addition to the eight regular season Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments (plus the possibility of two post-season events, should he qualify), Fred is fishing all four FLW Tour Opens, the three BASS Northern Opens and the PAA Tournament Series. In the understatement of the year, he said “it’s a pretty full schedule.”

We caught up with him as he drove to Florida’s Lake Okeechobee for the first FLW Tour Open and he could barely contain his enthusiasm. “I haven’t been this excited to go fishing in a long time,” he said. “It’s been a long break and I’ve done a lot of fun fishing, but I’m ready to get back and do what I love, and that’s compete in tournaments.”

He did have a chance to experiment with the Square Bill and the results were auspicious right from the start. “The first day I got it, I walked down to the pond in my backyard,” he recalled. “It’s a pretty well-stocked pond, so take this for what it is, but I cast it out, pulled it up to a little grass limb, let it hover at the edge and the first time it floated up there was a huge swirl. She missed it, but I cast right back and the second time she nailed it, a solid 4-pounder.”

“It’s really an awesome crankbait,” he continued. “It’s super-buoyant and is surprisingly good in grass. That’s what I look for in a square bill crankbait, the buoyancy factor, how well it deflects and how easily it comes through cover like laydowns and stumps.”

(Fred spent his off season fine tuning his skills with the Flit 120, suspending jerkbait)

Looking down the eight-event Elite Series schedule in particular, Fred was excited to report that it “sets up for a shallow bite” almost beginning to end. “Pickwick and Wheeler will be excellent for the Square Bill. It’ll be deadly at Toledo Bend and it works year-round on the Arkansas River.”

He’s also extremely excited to head back to Lake Murray in May. The last time the Elites went there he shocked the fishing world by ignoring the downlake blueback herring bite and fishing a frog way up the river. The result was a $100,000 victory. No matter where they go, though, if you look at his boat deck you’ll likely see an iRod 7′ Rip Rap Special paired with an Ardent 5:1 XS1000 baitcasting reel. It’ll be spooled with 15 to 20 pound test P-Line copoplymer and at the end will be an IMA Square Bill, ready for the dominant shallow water bite.

We also caught up with legendary Northern California guide and fishing instructor Randy Pringle, who is prepared for a busy season on Clear Lake and the Delta. He said the weather patterns the region has experienced thus far in late 2010 and early 2011 set up perfectly for an unbelievable early crankbait bite.

“These fish haven’t been able to eat,” he said. “They’re wanting to eat, and when the water temperatures get right they’re all going to go nuts and a shallow-running crankbait like the IMA Shaker or the Square Bill. Once those temperatures get into the mid 50s, it’ll be dynamite.”

In between seminars and preparation to run a tournament circuit, Pringle has had plenty of time to experiment with the new Square Bill. He called it “the next evolution of the crankbait, with a perfect action and high-end components. No matter where you fish it, it’s best any time you need a deflection-style bait. That could mean weeds, trees or stumps, but if you’re not bumping things or ticking things, you’re not letting the bait do its job.”

Pringle added that it’s an ideal bait for his guide service. It’s not quite as easy as “cast, wind, unhook,” but that’s not far from the truth. “If you’ve done your homework and put the pieces together, it’s a great bait for guide clients who are beginners,” he said. “Once you get that down, you hand them the right rod, with the right line, tell them how fast to retrieve and it’s quite easy.”

While the Square Bill comes in nine dynamic color patterns, Pringle encourages his guide clients to think simply about color. “What you really need are something that imitates a crawdad, something that imitates a shad and something that imitates a perch,” he explained. “After that is when water clarity enters the equation. If the water is a little bit dirtier, use something with chartreuse. If it’s clearer, stick with red and something in a shad pattern.”

Come see us at the Classic, where you can pick up the Square Bills

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can now wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you. We`ve just added the ima hoodies to the lineup so pick yours up online. http://store.optimumbaits.com/products/category/1573.0.1.1.76184.0.0.0.0

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable. (We know that December was cold and that there were a few Holidays mixed in but we have a hard time believing that nobody caught a fish on ima)

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products. Send to info@imalures.com

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – November 2010 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

To paraphrase 1980s crooner Huey Lewis, once again it’s “hip to be square.”

IMA pro Bill Lowen has a longstanding love affair with square-billed crankbaits but even though there are “hundreds of them on the market” no production model to date had fully encompassed the legendary hunting action of the small-manufacturer balsa baits. And the balsa baits – when you can get them – aren’t consistent. One might hunt and dive to a certain depth, while another runs straight at a different depth or needs constant tuning. Lowen has waited his entire professional angling career for one bait that consistently gets the job done, and now he has it – Introducing the IMA Square Bill.

This lure is truly Lowen’s baby, a tool he’s dreamed about for decades finally come to life. After countless back and forth conversations with IMA’s engineers in Japan and mulitple refinements and prototypes, he’s convinced that no other square bill can match his Square Bill. It has a stubby, rounded body that produces an earth-shaking wobble, bold eyes, a lexan lip and two sticky-sharp #4 Owner hooks that’ll nab even the short strikers, although most bass absolutely choke this bait down.

“It acts like the best handmade balsa baits,” Lowen said. “It’s kind of hard to explain. Every crankbait has a wobble, but the good balsa crankbaits hunt. They’ll jump off to the left, run a bit, jump off to the right, and always work their way back to the center. That action triggers bites.”

The top balsa producers also are very buoyant. This allows an angler to do what Lowen described as “twitching” a crankbait. You bang it into cover at breakneck speed, let it float back up and then impart a little bit of action with quick pulls of the rod tip. “It’s like walking the dog under the water,” he explained. “Deflect, pause, twitch. You can snug them up to the cover, let up a little bit and they’ll head toward the surface like a bobber.”

The problem with the balsa baits, other than their inconsistency, is their durability – or rather their lack of durability. Just when you think you have one running right, you hang it on a stump and it never performs correctly again. That’s not a problem with this Square Bill. It also features a circuit board lip which fellow IMA pro Bill Smith says is a lot more durable than its lexan counterpart. “With lexan if you beat it on the rocks it’ll chip,” he explained. Lowen likes the lip made this way for another reason: “It helps it to deflect off cover a little bit harder. You can feel the difference in your rod.”

Note – Be sure to check out all of the other short video clips about the Square Bill and other ima baits @ http://www.youtube.com/user/Imalures

Lowen begged the IMA design team to engineer this bait to fit his “river rat,” ultra-shallow fishing style. It runs a bit shallower than some other crankbaits of this genre, diving perhaps three feet on 12 lb. line and two feet on 15 lb. test. If you want to burn it over grass or in the shallowest water possible, upsize to 20 and it’ll still maintain its hunting action.

“It’s the best possible bait for going back in the creeks, into the real skinny places that take forever to get to,” Smith said.

“Lowen said there’s a reason he wanted it to go shallower than its counterparts. “That way it doesn’t dig up the bottom,” he said. “Generally the bottom in those areas is mucky and muddy with leaves everywhere. If it picks up all that trash you can’t fish it right. But it still dives enough to crash off cover.”

In addition to being a professional tournament angler, Smith owns a leading tackle retailer, Backwaters Online (www.tackleexperts.com), so he comes at this lure from two angles. He knows what he’s doing with a crankbait stick, but he knows that not all of his customers have the same experience level. “They can still go after the handmade niche,” he said. “This lure does the work for those who don’t know how to fish it.” He says it’ll excel anywhere fish are shallow and is dying to fish it on lakes like Dale Hollow and Cherokee, near his home (“Bill (Lowen) can have the Ohio River,” he joked.) “The best thing about this bait is the ability to go shallow and crash cover as hard as you can.” Whether you fish the Ohio River, the Calfornia Delta, the Potomac’s grassbeds, Lake Champlain or anyplace in between, this is a tool with universal application any time the bass are resting in the shallows, waiting for an easy meal.

“You can burn it and it won’t roll over or blow out,” Lowen added.

That’s the beauty of the Square Bill. It’s really three or four baits in one. While some other square bills are good burned, others are at their best when they’re waked or twitched. Some do well deflecting off cover while others are best in open water. The Square Bill can match each of the competitors’ attributes and talents, with no weakness. In fact, Lowen frequently mixes it up on a single retrieve, going “from twitching to waking, to reeling it down to three feet to burning it.” It’s not just a jack of all trades – it’s a master of each one, too.

Lowen said that while crashing cover is his primary purpose when chucking the Square Bill, he also uses it in wide open water for schooling fish. “People say that suspended fish are the hardest to catch,” he said. “A lot of times you’ll find them suspended in three feet of water over 10 or 12 feet. Fish it just like you do in cover – a straight retrieve, pause, twitch – almost like fishing a jerkbait.”

One place he’ll be sure to have it tied on is at the upcoming Bassmaster Classic on the Louisiana Delta. While New Orleans is thought of as spinnerbait and flipping stick country due to the miles of hyacinths and reeds, he noted that it is also “full of cypress trees with lots of knuckles to drag a crankbait into.”

The Square Bill will be available in 9 colors. Both anglers say that consumers coast-to-coast can build a starter pack out of a craw pattern, a shad pattern and something in chartreuse to imitate a bluegill or fish in dirtier water. You can add other regional favorites to the top shelf of your tackle box as you see fit, but those three basics comprise a good starting point.

Lowen, being an inveterate tackle tinkerer, has experimented for years with “foiling” his cranks. “Foil finishes are the most realistic as far as flash goes, even better than just about any baitfish-colored paint job,” he said. Silver sides with gray, black or green backs are all on his bait menu, although he noted that “it’s hard to do and expensive.” He does the foiling himself after years of practice but then gets a friend to finish off the paint job. It’s a skill that can be learned if you have the patience.

Both pros fish the Square Bill on a typical cranking stick – 6’9” in Smith’s case, a 7’ All Pro for Lowen – and with a 6.3:1 or 6.4:1 gear ratio reel. That allows them to slow it down and maintain power when dealing with a big fish, but they can still burn the bait when a faster retrieve is required. This is one of the few techniques where mono can be employed. In fact Lowen prefers it when he’s trying to keep the lure shallow, although he’ll sometimes switch up to fluorocarbon if he wants to grab a few extra inches of diving depth.

When fished properly, the results of the ima Square Bill will be All Smiles & if you’re lucky a really bruised bass thumb!!

The IMA Square Bill won’t be available to the public until late February of 2011, just in time for the spring cranking bite. It’s not quite a 12 month out of the year presentation, but it’s pretty darn close. “It’s not really season-specific,” Lowen said.

Both Lowen and Smith employ it from the prespawn, when fish start to move up onto cover by the flats in anticipation of spawning, through the heat of the summer and into the fall, when the fish start to school up and chase bait.

In the meantime, why not ask your loved ones to put a few IMA baits in your stocking? Better yet, show them that you really love them by giving the people you treasure the best hard baits on the market.

In addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you can also wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’ve brought IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’re of the highest possible quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the fish that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

This month’s winner goes to Rick of Sacramento, CA who used the Big Stik on this nice Largemouth Bass.

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – August 2010 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

It’s a month after the annual ICAST show in Las Vegas and we’re finally starting to see things settle down. Between the big trade show, the end of the Bassmaster Elite Series season, the Forrest Wood Cup and the US Open, it’s been an unbelievably hectic time for our sport. Add into that mix the big changes at both BASS and FLW and shakeups in the boating world and our sport is ready to expand.

Recession? If the mood at ICAST is any indicator, everyone is past that mode of depressed thinking and expecting big things in the coming months. Here at IMA we’ve been fortunate that rather than cutting back we’ve been able to expand our bait lineup and our pro-staff while other companies have either been treading water or in some cases they’ve even gone under. We’ve continued to innovate – constantly. You’ll see new baits from us in the coming months but the big news right now is that we’ve added new colors to our existing products, at the request of our pro staff as well as from you, the loyal customer.

The new color patterns are as follows:

Rattlin’ Roumba: Bone
Shaker: Chartreuse Shad, Double Cheeseburger, Hot Crawfish
Rock N Vibe: Ayu, Water Bug, Power Blue
Skimmer: Blue Back Herring, Bone

And all of the lures will be available in completely clear plastic.

No guts, no glory! Check out our clear baits lineup!

Elite Series pro Fred Roumbanis is exceptionally excited about the emergence of the completely clear lures. He’s used them on gin-clear, high-pressured waters in the past with great success, but he also sees another purpose for them.

“What’s nice is that you can keep a set in your boat,” he said. “Then if you go to a lake and see a baitfish and you might not have a bait that color, you can just take out a permanent marker and add some highlights that match the hatch. That’s so much better than just taking something out of your box that’s kind of similar.”

In the past, he had to spend valuable time scraping the paint off of lures to get this effect, a process that could upset their delicate balance, but now they’re good to go and ready for “customization” straight out of the package.

The other development that has him amped is the creation of a bone version of his signature lure, the Roumba.

“I’ve already caught a bunch of fish on them,” he said, noting that the different plastic used in this version makes a different noise than the standard Roumba. “It’s almost like a one-knocker. It’s louder because the plastic amplifies it a bit more so you can fish it in windier conditions.”

He especially likes bone and clear lures when fishing for spotted bass, which he believes then to “key on smaller profile baits.”

Tidewater expert Captain Karl Bunch was the driving force behind the original addition of our “Double Cheeseburger” hue to the Roumba lineup, and now we’ve added it to the Shaker as well. Like all good names, there’s a story behind this one:

“My old team partner and I used to fish lures in this color, a color that we could no longer get,” he recalled. “We knew a teenage kid with an airbrush. We’d strip down lures to get him to paint them and in exchange we taught himm to fish. While he painted he ate McDonald’s double cheeseburgers, so that became our code name for the color around other people. We’d either cut them off or put on lure wraps before we came in so no one could see them.”

The bright green, orange and chartreuse that make up this pattern replicate a yellow perch, he believes, and “that’s a delicacy to bass on east coast tidal rivers and lakes.” While it may be gaudy, even around clear water grassbeds it’s deadly. “Perch don’t change colors and it’s not so bright that it’s unnatural in clear water.” It’s an absolute killer in muddy water, where the Shaker’s vibrations draw fish in and the color pattern finishes the job.”

Elite Series pro Mark Tyler hails from the west coast, fishes most of his tournaments in the east and lives in between in Oklahoma – so it’s imperative that he have colors that work from coast to coast, as well as regionally-specific favorites.

He’s a big fan of the Skimmer, which he believes to be a must-have for anyone who fishes for bass on lakes populated by blueback herring.

“That slim profile is a lot more natural that other lures in its class,” he said. “We fished Clarks Hill this year and (Lake) Murray is on next year’s Elite Series schedule. The fish on those lakes live and die for the blueback herring and now we have that actual color. It’s a perfect match and I’m really excited.”

He’ll carry other colors of Skimmers with him to adjust to water clarity and sky conditions. One of his favorites is another new addition to the lineup: bone. “When it’s overcast or heavily turbulent I go to a more solid hue to help fish get a bead on the bait. This really rounds at the arsenal.”

Tyler’s also stoked by the addition of the hot crawfish pattern to the Shaker lineup. It’s been a west coast staple on waters like the Delta and Clear Lake for years. In fact, one of his two BASS wins, at Clear Lake, came on a hot craw colored shallow crank, so he’s begged the company to produce it. Now his wish has been granted. And while red cranks are “a trigger in the pre-spawn” he said it’s a mistake to put it away at any time of year on any shallow natural lakes or river systems. “The water just has to be slightly turbid,” he explained.

On the strength of a 20th place finish in the ultra-competitive Elite Series Angler of the Year race, Ohio’s Bill Lowen will be heading to his third Bassmaster Classic in February when bass fishing’s bigest event travels to New Orleans for the first time since 2003.

“Missing the Classic last year was like a punch in the stomach,” he said. “Now we’re back on track and that means a lot to me and my sponsors.”

The Louisiana Delta is a shallow water fishery and that should play directly into Lowen’s hands. He’ll have some new products available that we’ll tell you about in coming months, but one of the items he’s most excited about (for New Orleans and numerous other events) is the addition of the chartreuse shad pattern to the Shaker team. Similar paint jobs have taken the pro tours by storm in recent years and with good reason, he said.

“So many colors are season-specific,” he said. “This one is so versatile, you can use it from the early spring all the way through the fall. Any place you have shad, bluebacks or crappies it’s going to excel. You can use it in all water clarities from clear to stained, even in dirty water. When the water is dirty, 90 percent of the fish are shallow so light penetration is still good.”

The comparatively small profile of the Rock N Vibe has taken lipless baits to new heights – you can cast it a country mile, burn it, slow roll it or yo-yo it, and it’ll always run true and relatively snag-free, even through thick grass. IMA initially brought the lure to market in a handful of proven colors, but now we’ve decided to expand the palette.

For help with that task, we enlisted Jun Shoji, one of Japan’s top bass pros. Shoji could compete well on any US bass tour, and has substantial experience on American waters, so we asked him to use his imagination and make his lipless dreams come true. We’ll have more insight and input from him in upcoming emailers, but for now we’ll focus on the result of the collaboration, which three new patterns. The first is Ayu, based on a prolfiic Japanese baitfish of the same name. It should fare well wherever a highly natural baitfish finish is appropriate – whether those prey be shiners, shad or herring.

Rock N Vibe Ghost Ayu-JPN SP

Rock N Vibe Power Blue-JPN SP

Rock N Vibe Water Bug-JPN SP

The second and third options are a little more off-the-wall. There’s “Power Blue,” which as the name indicates transitions from a royal blue near the belly to a darker shade of blue on top. There’s also “Water Bug,” which is even darker, virtually black at first glance but when holding it up it’s a transparent dark purple with green flake. You may not currently have lipless cranks in these colors, but surely you have dozens of soft plastics and jigs that match these, so why not hard baits?

“I’m a big fan of solid brown or black as a base color for hard baits,” Bill Lowen said. “It’s a great dirty water color, especially in heavily pressured conditions.”

Mark Tyler agreed: “I throw a black lipless bait a lot. I was always intrigued that people would throw a black jig or chatterbait, but few people throw it in a crankbait, either billed or lipless. Sometimes the primary purpose of a color change is just to be different. There’s a reason that hot baits are hot, so always try to keep an open mind.”

Congratulations to IMA pro staffer Sean Stafford for his 10th place finish at the recent US Open on Lake Mead, an event often referred to as “the Iditarod of fishing.”

A key component in his three days of quality catches was the his use of the IMA Skimmer, which he credited for outfishing other walking baits by a substantial margin. It provided a slimmer profile but he was still able to cast it a mile on tackle capable of hauling in big fish.

(Photo courtesy of WON BASS)

As if to prove the point of this emailer, no single color got the job done. Sean used ghost minnow, chartreuse shad and a clear skimmer to react and respond to changing conditions and jaded fish.

Remember, in addition to lures we also sell apparel that allows you to show the world that you proudly use the finest hard baits on the market. We have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. They’re high quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

As always, we’d love to hear about the bass that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products.

This month’s winner is Darren Brooks (pictured) with the nice Striper he caught on the ima Big Stik in the Delaware River. By the looks of the photo it looks like he can use a shirt!

Welcome to the IMA Emailer – May 2010 Issue

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

Depending on where in the country you live, in May the bass can be in any one of a number of transitional phases. In the deep south, they’re probably already moving out to the ledges and their full fledged summertime patterns. In the north, where ice-out is in recent memory, they may not even be bedding yet. In the in-between ranges that most of us call home, they could be getting ready to bed, spawning, or finishing up the job – or all three. But no matter what they’re doing in your neck of the woods, IMA has a hard bait that’ll get the job done.

In addition to being one of the top young sticks on the FLW Tour, IMA pro Michael Murphy also has a Bachelors of Science in Fisheries and Aquatic Science from Purdue University. Not only can he figure out what the fish are doing on any given day, but he can also explain why things are happening. He’s developed a pretty neat system that explains how to link water temperature directly to your choice of IMA hard baits.

He calls it “The Rule of Five.”

In short, any water temperature that ends in the number 5 dictates the need for a particular lure category, while temperatures that end in zero indicate that the fish are likely in transition between two categories.

“At 45 degrees, they’re suspended off the ends of bluffs and sides of points,” he explained. “And they’ll be eating a jerkbait, like the IMA Flit. At 50, they begin their move to secondary points and into pockets. That’s when I’ll start to transition to the Rock N Vibe and the IMA Shaker. At 55, you’re looking at 12 hour days, and the crawfish are usually starting to move. That’s when the shallow crankbait bite really starts to pick up. At 60, they’re getting ready to spawn and at 65 they’re in the full-blown spawn. That’s when they start to transition to the post-spawn topwater bite with the Skimmer and the Roumba. At 75, they’re in their summer patterns, transitioning back out toward the ends of the points. There’s also usually a shad spawn in there somewhere.”

The trend “mirrors itself” in the Fall, he added.

“They’re doing the same thing at the same temperatures, but for slightly different reasons. At 65 they’re back up shallow and they’ll eat the topwater. At 55, the Rock N Vibe and the Shaker come back into play. And at 45, they suspend again and I fish the Flit.”

One corollary to this rule is that mini-fronts and heat waves also determine bait choice, so if Murphy experiences a cold front in the summer, he’ll bring the Shaker and the Flit back out. If it’s just shy of 60 and there’s a warming trend, the Roumba can be deadly. “Sometimes you need to kick back a gear or kick forward a gear,” he said.

The Post Spawn bite has already started in many parts of the country, Skimmer Time!

Northern California guide and fishing instructor Randy Pringle has been living on the Delta and Clear Lake this spring, just waiting for his favorite topwater bite to become the dominant paradigm. While he’s had some weather that would seemingly be conducive to throwing the surface bait he loves, the Big Stik, he said that it’s not so much water temperature as temperature stability that determines when to bring the big bait out.

“They’ll hit it at 50 degrees as long as it’s stable,” he said. “But when it moves up and down a lot, that’s not as good. Slowly but surely we’re building up to it and it has started working.”

He’s been using the Roumba a lot, slowly winding and crawling it around shoreline cover and submerged aquatic vegetation.

“You use a wakebait when you want the bait to stay in the zone longer,” he said. “And you can use it in a chop. The bass will pick it up better than they will with a traditional popper, which they tend to miss.”

With both the Roumba and the Big Stik, Pringle dotes on chartreuse and bluegill patterns in May and June. “The bluegill is the arch enemy of the bass this time of year so they’re really tuned in to anything that has some chartreuse.”

“The spawn stretches out over 3 months here,” he continued. “They go to spawn and then a front comes through and pushes them back 3 weeks. The weather fronts really elongate the season. We have 3 major spawns and then a dusting at the end, so depending on how the weather plays out it can start in February and run all the way through June.”

As the big stripers moved up the river the big stik’s action was too much to lay off!

There has been a consistent stream of IMA pros in the Top 12 cuts on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Bill Lowen finished 2nd at Clear Lake and 10th at Pickwick and Fred Roumbanis finished 10th last week at Guntersville. Look for coverage of their big catches during airings of The Bassmasters on ESPN2.

Lowen’s four checks in five events have him inside the coveted top twelve cut with three regular season events to go. Should he maintain or improve that standing, he’ll go to the two-event post-season in Alabama before competing in his third Bassmaster Classic. If the water remains high at Kentucky Lake, he expects the IMA Shaker to play a big role in his tournament there. It’ll also be on the deck of his Skeeter without fail at the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he’ll also be using an IMA prototype that he expects to put him in another cut. Stay tuned for news about that bait later this year – it’s a dandy.

With his first top twelve of the year, and third consecutive check, Roumbanis says he’s “climbing to where I need to be,” within casting distance of his third Classic berth.

Next up for Lowen, Roumbanis and fellow IMA pro Mark Tyler is Clarks Hill Reservoir on the Georgia/South Carolina border, a lake known for its prolific blueback herring and sizeable bass with a penchant for big baits.

“The Pencil Popper has always been huge at Clarks Hill and I expect the IMA Big Stik to be even better there,” Roumbanis said.

“I’m going to try my darndest to make it work there,” said Lowen. “That’s the way to win that tournament.” If cold fronts or other external factors make the fish a bit skittish, though, he’ll employ the IMA Skimmer to make them bite. It’s a one-two punch for post-spawn bass keyed in on the herring.

Coming soon, in addition to using IMA products at the end of your line, you’ll be able to wear the company logo proudly. After numerous requests from educated anglers, we’re bringing IMA apparel to a tackle dealer near you.

We’ll have short and long sleeve shirts available in both white and navy blue, boat towels and beanies, along with baseball hats. As with IMA hard baits, they’ll be only the finest quality and will make a splash at your next bass tournament or out on the town.

Show Us Your Catches!

As always, we’d love to hear about the fish that IMA lures produce for you, whether on your home body of water or on the trip of a lifetime. Please send pictures of your fish, preferably with an IMA bait in its mouth, and a short description of what made the catch memorable.

Each month we’ll pick one winner who will get to choose the apparel item of his or her choice as a thank you for supporting and using IMA products. So drop us a line at: info@imalures.com

Mixed amongst the spring smallies Darren was catching with the Flit 120 and Flit 100, this 33lb musky liked the Flit 120 in Matte Bluegill pattern!

The IMA EMAILER brings you news from IMA pro staff members across the USA and worldwide.

Ima spent their winter promoting at various shows around the country!!

For most of us, it couldn’t end soon enough. Much of the country was blanketed by unreasonable amounts of snow and even where the white stuff didn’t fall waves of cold fronts and nasty weather persisted week after week after week.

But if you blinked the last time you put on your foul weather gear, you may have missed the start of the BASS Elite Series season, the traditional signal that spring is on the way. With the two-event California jaunt completed, the regular season is now one-fourth over.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who follows the bass scene that IMA’s Bill Lowen shot out of the gate smoking hot, with a 27th place finish at the California Delta followed by a runner-up finish at Clear Lake. Combined, those two results have him in 4th in the Angler of the Year race, in great position to make a run at the title.

“It’s pretty awesome to start off so high,” said the understated Lowen. “I’m going to keep my head down and fish my strengths.” The self-described “river rat” is looking forward to June’s shallow water slugfest on the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Oklahoma, but before then he’ll have five opportunities to maintain or improve his standing on some of the best bass waters in the country. He’s excited about the opportunities that will bring. At Smith Mountain Lake, which the Elites are hitting a bit earlier this year than they did in 2009, the fish should be pre-spawn, which calls out for an IMA Flit jerkbait. When the tour moves south and the spawn is done, he’s counting on the IMA Skimmer to entice the big sows to bite.

Before we get into the meat of the tour season, it’s necessary to talk about what went on during the long winter. It may have been dreary for some of you at home, but we here at IMA took great pride in the excitement that’s hovering around our company.

This winter was spent building the brands image and baits at various trade shows.

“Our goal for the show season was to expand brand awareness,” said IMA USA’s Matt Paino. In order to achieve that goal, he undertook a coast-to-coast and intercontinental tour of consumer shows to explain and demonstrate what these lures can do. The IMA pro staff came along, too.

“Going to the shows is the best way to get feedback about what anglers think of our baits,” Paino added.

Paino and Randy Pringle showed off the new Big Stik and the Flit 100 at the Northern California ISE shows to great acclaim. Then Paino took off on a tour of the country, including more West Coast ISE Shows, the Fred Hall Shows, the Claremont Shows, the Richmond, Virginia extravaganza, and of course the Bassmaster Classic. In between, IMA Japan was represented at annual trade shows in Osaka and Yokohama, where pro Jun Shoji, one of Japan’s most feared anglers, showed adoring fans how to use these baits in freshwater for the first time.

Fred Roumbanis, whose IMA-wrapped Triton is the company’s rolling billboard, was excited that the economy seems to have picked up.

“I feel like it’s starting to move,” Roumbanis said. “Now instead of guys buying one bait we’re seeing them buy multiples. But what’ll really break it open for IMA is when somebody wins a big tournament on one. Then guys won’t just want to buy them…they’ll have to buy them!”

Like Lowen , Roumbanis believes that the Flit jerkbaits and the IMA Shaker should be deadly as the water remains colder than it’s been in recent springs. But he, like Pringle, can’t wait until it gets to Big Stik season.

“It should happen at Clarks Hill,” he said. “The pencil popper is huge in the Carolinas and Georgia, but I don’t think the fish have seen or heard anything like this. I’ve always had good success there and now it should be even better.”

IMA is proud to announce that our Elite Series pro staff has been bolstered by the addition of Mark Tyler. Mark, you may remember, holds the record for the largest bass ever caught in BASS competition, a 14-pound plus brute from the California Delta, but he’s experienced success all over the country.

“I was introduced to IMA through my relationship with Optimum Baits,” he explained. “I’m a west coast guy. Gradually, Matt (Paino) introduced me to the IMA lineup. He’d give me one here and there and as I began to use them and develop confidence in them, it seemed like a natural fit.”

“The first bait he gave me was the IMA Skimmer,” Tyler continued. “I was going to Oneida to fish for those schooling smallmouths and I was looking for a topwater walking bait with a slimmer profile. That’s typical of several of the IMA baits, not just the Skimmer but the Flit, too. They’re slimmer and more natural, which makes them appealing in clear water situations, at places like Clarks Hill and other topwater venues. I was absolutely blown away by the Flit. It’s different than anything else on the market. It’s so easy to use.”

While he’s a native of the west, Tyler now calls Vian, Oklahoma home, and that means he, like Lowen, is chomping at the bit to get to the Oklahoma River, which sits only 10 minutes from his house. Accordingly, he’s putting in tons of river hours prior to the water going off limits.

“I’m diligently working to try to make the Arkansas River event an advantage,” he said. “There’s no doubt I’m excited about it. I love fishing rivers and it’ll be the first Elite Series event where I’ll be able to sleep in my own bed at night.”

Even three months prior to the tournament, one lure that Tyler is certain he’ll have on his deck at Muskogee is the IMA Shaker. “That river is a square-bill throwing machine,” he said. “I’m really impressed with the action of that lure and the way it deflects off cover. Also, it’s easy to cast. A lot of other flat-sided crankbaits are tough to throw but with the weight transfer system this one is easy.”

While Tyler is looking down the line a bit, he’s also focused on the next event, at Virginia’s Smith Mountain Lake. He’s had two of his best Elite Series finishes there, 13th in 2007 and 17th last year. In the meantime, he was coy about whether he and the IMA engineers are working on any signature series lures for the future, but stay tuned – you’ll hear about any developments here first.

In the meantime, if you’re having success with IMA products, tell a friend about them. Our dealer network is expanding rapidly, but if your local shop doesn’t carry them, ask for them by name. And be sure to look out for our stylish IMA apparel, also available wherever high-end tackle is sold.

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