Boom or bust

MORGAN CITY, LA.—Bites were more frequent for Fred Roumbanis Friday as he extended his lead in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open on the Atchafalaya Basin in Louisiana.

After getting only six bites the first day of the tournament, Roumbanis got several more bites Friday and amassed a 16-pound, 6-ounce limit to extend his lead in the pro division with 35-15.

“I was going to scrap what I found the first day because I didn’t get a lot of bites, but I decided to start there again,” Roumbanis said. “I caught a 4-pounder right off the get-go (today) and thought that was 4 more pounds than what I had before. So I put my head down and caught just five fish all day.”

Although he tempted more bass into biting, most of those bites were from small fish. He also lost one big fish though. The London, Ark., pro made some adjustment that triggered more bites.

“I really slowed down and fished more methodically and changed the sizes of my weights and trailers,” said Roumbanis, who went scouting for new areas when the action stopped around 2 p.m. “I went searching but I didn’t find anything.”

Roumbanis plans on sticking with his primary spot and will also try a point where he caught several small bass because he believes it probably holds some big fish as well.

“I have one other area that is totally on the opposite side of where I am fishing, but I am going to start where I have been catching them,” he said.

Local favorite Greg Hackney continued to hold second place after catching another double-digit limit to finish the day with 29-10. The Gonzalez, La., pro said he lost some time this morning when he ran into a fog bank.

“That took me about 30 minutes longer to get to where I have been going,” Hackney said.

He still caught his fish mainly in the morning despite the later start. “I am still catching plenty of fish but I am getting a lot of weird bites — kind of mealy mouthed. The fish just aren’t real aggressive.”

The former Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year is running some new water every day.

“I am kind of running a pattern in a big area,” he said. “When I practiced in there I didn’t fish all of it so now I know what to look for.”

The rest of the top five pro division anglers include Derek Hudnall, Baton Rouge, La., third place, 29-1; Cody Bird, Granbury, Texas, fourth, 29-0; and David Cavell, Prairieville, La., fifth, 28-14.

Catching another limit helped Blake Naquin of Thibodaux, La., stay in first place in the co-angler division with 16-14. While fishing in the Bayou Black area, Naquin finished his limit by about noon and then caught a “few more knot heads” (small fish) the rest of the day.

Hunter Parra of Houma, La., continues to lead in the pro division of the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award with his 7-12 largemouth. Vincent Todaro of Luling, La., took over the lead in the co-angler division of the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award with a 4-5 largemouth.

Hosting this Open is the Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau (www.cajuncoast.com). Saturday’s launch will be held at the Jesse Fontenot Memorial Boat Landing. The final weigh-in will move to the Bass Pro Shops at 175 Bass Blvd. in Denham Springs and will begin at 4:45 p.m. CT.