Editor’s note: This column was published before the 2025 no-information rule update.
People who follow Minnesota superstar Seth Feider likely do so for a multitude of reasons.
He’s talented, as evidenced by his 2021 Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
He’s funny. He’s raw. He’s unpredictable. He’s down-to-earth.
But I wonder how many fans who watch him from afar realize just how thought-provoking Feider can be.
He’s pulled me aside on more than one occasion through the years with a “bone to pick” that always turned out to be well worth listening to and often led to a change in my thinking. Then on a recent episode of Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer’s podcast Mercer, Feider brought up a question that’s had me thinking ever since.
Should B.A.S.S. change its rules that allow for near-unlimited “pre-practice” on all of the lakes scheduled for Elite Series competition?
If you’re not familiar with the current rules, here’s how they work.
Once the Elite schedule comes out, anglers can spend as much time as they want on all of the lakes until the mandatory 28-day off-limits period begins leading up to the tournament. Then, after that off-limits period, they’re allowed three days of official practice before the tournament begins.
Feider argued against allowing pre-practice because he said it creates a disadvantage for anglers with families who don’t want to be on the road virtually year-round.
The man has a point.
Once the Elite season begins in February, anglers spend countless hours on the road, either away from their families or taking them along for the trip. One way or another, it’s a less-than-ideal situation for a family man.
That’s the life of a pro angler — and one they know to expect when they sign up for the sport.
But Feider believes the offseason should be the offseason, and it’s hard to argue with that.
Except …
If we eliminate pre-practice, would we really be getting a true account of how well an angler can pick apart a fishery?
Some of the great tournament stories through the years have involved anglers making arduous runs on the Sabine River to the Houston area or on the Sacramento River to the California Delta. Would such strategies come into play as often with only three days to explore?
Plus, you have to consider that many anglers do actually fish certain lakes for other reasons besides tournament pre-practice.
Gerald Swindle, for example, lives on Lake Guntersville. If Guntersville shows up on an Elite Series schedule and pre-practice has been outlawed, that would mean he and his wife couldn’t do any fall or winter fishing on the very lake they call home.
Then there are cases like Lee Livesay. It’s been well-documented through the years that Livesay makes a good living as one of the top guides on Lake Fork. A rule outlawing pre-practice would mean he’d have to shut his business down during years when the Elites visit that particular Texas lunker factory.
This is an example of what the tournament department at B.A.S.S. deals with every day. They hear the point/counterpoint argument like you wouldn’t believe.
While some believe forward-facing sonar should be legal in all its glory, some internet extremists argue that anglers should have to fish with no electronics at all. They favor sending more than 100 boats out onto lakes across the country with no GPS or even the basic bottom-detecting technology anglers have been using since the 1960s.
On Feider’s very issue of practice, those same radicals believe anglers should be allowed no practice time at all. That should make for quite the cluster as 100-plus pros leave the takeoff site with no idea where they’re going — and I’m sure it would make for some really enthralling TV.
For every argument, there is a counterargument.
While those like Feider who argue against pre-practice might not feel sorry for anglers who live or guide on certain lakes, anglers who are young and without family ties might not feel sorry for someone like Feider who has them and is determined to honor them.
What’s the right answer?
The truth is … there probably isn’t one.
