Day 1 of the 2023 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair has begun. While the last few boats were still leaving the dock, Elite Series veteran Bernie Schultz was putting the final touches on the first limit of the morning, jumping out to an early lead with 17 pounds by 7:33 am ET.
This was all happening while Seth Feider was simultaneously making a long run to the middle of nowhere. And as soon as the 2021 Progressive Angler of the Year made it to where he was going, he got to work boating a good one almost immediately.
“We battled the waves to get over here. First one a dang good one dude.” Feider looked at the fish and pointed out something we’ve heard from multiple anglers throughout practice, the fish are skinny. He said his first fish should weigh 5 pounds but really weighed a little over 4.
“Look at the size of that fish,” Feider said as he boated his second big one of the morning moments later. “That thing is like 21 inches long and nothing to him.” The Minnesota hammer was taken aback once again by how thin the fish are, the presumed result of a late spawn this year.
“But that’s the second big one,” Feider said with gratitude, knowing the bass that will be caught today by the rest of the field will be thinner on average as well. “Can’t even see another boat,” Feider also pointed out, looking around him in all directions.
Feider hooked up time and time again this morning, on near consecutive cast. He lost a few, boated a decent fish and then tossed it back because he didn’t like how it was hooked and put three big fish in the boat all in a matter of minutes.
“We’d have three that would weigh 15 pounds right now if they were thick,” Feider said, circling back once again to the running theme in his head of how thin the bass are here this go round.
Feider proceeded to complete his limit by 8:04, a grossly underestimated 14 pounds even. Feider has caught multiple 4- pounders, called them 4- pounders and then had them entered into BassTrakk as 3- pounders. So, he likely has closer to 17 pounds, putting him in a virtual tie for first at the moment with Schultz. Great start to the day and a couple big bites away from a great Day 1.
