Seth Feider had been completely honest about how nervous he was entering this final tournament of the Elite Series season. Even though his Angler of the Year lead was 55 points over second-place Patrick Walters and 69 points over third-place Chris Johnston, Feider wasn’t comfortable – at all.
Things got even more uncomfortable for him in the first 90 minutes on Day 1 of the Farmers Insurance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River. Feider had, in his own words, a meltdown.
“I had a 4-pounder in my hand and lost it,” he said. “I had a 3 ½-pounder in my hand and lost it. I hooked two other good ones, lost ‘em. I was ready to break my rod. It was bad.”
Then everything changed. Feider landed a 4-pounder at 8:41, a 4 ½-pounder at 8:50 and the pressure started to lift. Then he caught a 5 ½-pounder on a Chatterbait at 10:41, and he was all smiles. He finished the day in fifth place with a total of 22-0. His nearest competitor, Walters, finished 91st.
“I’m finally not nervous anymore, especially with Walters not catching ‘em,” Feider said. “He dug a hole he can’t get out of. Chris Johnston is the only one I’ve got to worry about not, and I’ve got 69 points on him.”
Feider is on the verge of capping one of the all-time best Elite Series seasons. His worst finish in the previous eight tournaments was 29th place.
“I’m going to catch everything I can catch tomorrow,” said Feider. And he’ll be fishing pressure-free when he does it.