How’d You Meet Your Angler – Julie and Fred Roumbanis

Starting on a hot day in June, all it took for Julie and Fred Roumbanis to live happily ever after was a single “sweet” gesture. Here’s how this professional fishing power couple started:

HPFC: Can you share the story of how you and your husband first crossed paths?

Julie Roumbanis: It was Summer 2006, the Lowrance company picnic and fishing tournament was at Fort Gibson lake. My dad worked there and over the years we had been to many of the annual events. This time it happened to be the same week the Elites were fishing Grand Lake, so we were surprised with some special visitors: Ike, Byron & Mary, Ish…and Fred.

June in Oklahoma is hot. And the ice cream truck that pulled up beside the ramp was a must! So I jumped in line. But when I got to the front, the guy behind me spoke up and offered to buy me an ice cream cone (I actually panicked and took the Bigfoot ice cream bar with the bubblegum toe!) 

And that was the moment we officially met.

HPFC: What were your initial impressions of your husband when you first met him.

Julie Roumbanis: Oh, he was hot!! (Not just the summer heat, either!)

HPFC: Did you know anything about fishing when you first met?

Julie Roumbanis: I did!! In fact, my dad had worked in the fishing industry my entire life. Zebco, then Lowrance and fishing was a part of life, just not really tournament fishing so that part was new. I knew it existed. Didn’t really follow it much myself, but I had close friends that did.

HPFC: Was there a specific moment or event that made you realize your feelings were more than just friendship?

Julie Roumbanis: The first time we went fishing…we knew. He invited me to join him at Table Rock Lake while he pre-fished for a tourney. Normally driving 4 hours to fish with a guy you only met for a few minutes sounds sketchy but it was kinda perfect timing. My sister was going to college up there and just happened to be working at the Table Rock State Park Marina for her summer job. What were the chances?

I got there… we loaded up on snacks (something he would learn to ALWAYS DO if I’m coming along) and launched the boat. Not more than 5 minutes into our day, he said, “You know how to swim?” Uh, yeah. And the next thing I knew, my feet went over my head in the air. That sucker picked me up and threw me in the water!!! He said the minute I came up laughing… he knew. And when he jumped in to get me… I knew.  

< Side note: He’ll never try it again. The outcome wouldn’t be the same.  

HPFC: How long have you been married?

Julie Roumbanis: 17 years. Got married less than 9 months after we met (and just a few months before the baby came!).

HPFC: What challenges or obstacles did you have to work through being in a relationship with a professional angler?

Julie Roumbanis: It was his first year on the Elites. TBH… everything was a challenge! But we met on tour, dated on tour, married, then raised our boys on tour. We traveled for months at a time and every week was a new adventure! Those were the days of Motel 6 and every meal cooked in an electric skillet!

HPFC: How do you manage the frequent separation and limited time together due to his on the road schedule?

Julie Roumbanis: Until our second baby we didn’t really know how to be apart. We’d always been together, travelled full time. Once Avery came along and Jackson was starting school, we decided to stay home. 

By then… I was probably ready to miss him.

HPFC: How do you adjust when your husband returns home after being away for weeks at a time practicing or from competitions? 

Julie Roumbanis: I’ll let you know if we ever really figure that out! Lol. 

HPFC: Are there any activities or special events that you and your husband enjoy doing when you are together after he has been gone all season?

Julie Roumbanis: Oh we love to have a good time!! In our younger years it was Vegas and party buses and charity galas but now it’s more about bonfires at home with family and friends, football games and fishing with the boys.

HPFC: Do you have any pet peeves about him?

Julie Roumbanis: Do I?!?!? I’ve got a list.

HPFC: What do you think your husbands pet peeves are of you?

Julie Roumbanis: I’m sure he’s got a list, too.

HPFC: What are your retirement plans? 

Julie Roumbanis: Funny, I ask Fred this ALL the time. He has no plans to quit tournament fishing. When he’s not fishing on tour, he’s fishing. But in all honesty, he has no plans of growing old (or up) either.

I, on the other hand, have big future plans for us with our homestead in Arkansas. Gardens, an orchard, maybe even another business or two.

HPFC: Something off the wall that no one knows about the two of you.

Julie Roumbanis: We have no secrets! But I have a cool story! So, a week after our first date on Table Rock, Fred calls me and says he wants me to come on tour with him. He bought me a plane ticket and I packed a bag for a week or two. A couple months later we realized I never caught my flight home. So he drove me back to Oklahoma. I introduced him to my folks and he stepped into my Dad’s home office, gazed over at my Dad’s impressive Zebco collection and said, “That’s my first reel!” The Zebco 33 Classic. He was 8 years old and his Grandpa bought him a combo at the tackle store so he could try his hand at fishing. Long story a little bit shorter, that rod and reel is what he caught his very first bass on!! My dad loved the story and then shared, “That’s my first reel, too.” And right behind it was his US Patent for the Zebco 33 Classic, his first design to be patented for Zebco in 1987.

It was a real “Rod & Reel Romance!” As written up in the local newspaper, probably after his BASS American Major win!