Ten years ago, nary a single Bassmaster Elite Series professional called the neighboring Midwest states of Minnesota and Wisconsin home. Fast forward a decade and there are presently seven Gophers and Badgers on the 2022 Elite Series roster, and that doesn’t include Jeff Gustafson, who resides just across the border on the Canadian side of Lake of the Woods. While simply qualifying for the Elites is an accomplishment in its own right, these relative newbies are turning some heads in largely southern situations.
It used to be unheard of for a Minnesota or Wisconsin bass angler to compete at the sport’s highest level. The prevailing sentiment was that the top pros were simply too good, and the fisheries were too disparate. Stepping up (and driving south) was deemed a “death sentence” and a “money pit” for a young, aspiring fisherman.
Reigning Bassmaster Angler of the Year Seth Feider shattered that glass ceiling and is unofficially leading the Midwest movement. By now, fishing fans from across the country have heard Feider’s story. Most don’t know, however, that Feider’s first tournament experience was on the Silverado Pro-Am Bass Tour, at the time Minnesota’s most lucrative circuit. The tournament director was Billy Hildebrand, affectionately known in the North Star State as “The Captain.” Hildebrand currently hosts Fan Outdoors, a popular radio show in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, where he keeps Minnesota bassheads abreast on Feider’s affairs.
Hildebrand and Feider’s father, Pete, used to fish in the same B.A.S.S. club back in the late 1970s and 1980s. Pete introduced his son to Hildebrand, and the spark was lit.
“As part of the Silverado Tour, Billy had this junior angler program,” explained Feider. “It was for like 17 and 18 year olds. As part of the program, you had to write some sort of an academic essay. My essay was picked, and I got to fish for free as a co-angler. That was my first taste of tournament fishing. After that, I was absolutely consumed.”
Feider was the first Minnesotan to win Angler of the Year, but he doesn’t consider himself the state’s true trailblazer.
“Jim Moynagh was the one who got this thing started, not me,” insisted the Rapala pro. “In the mid-90s, Moynagh was an absolute legend. All the big tournaments in Minnesota happened on Lake Minnetonka, and he would just dominate. I never spoke to him back then, but I followed him closely.”
Once Feider started thriving nationally, other Minnesota and Wisconsin sticks took notice.
“Back in 2006, Seth and I got paired up randomly in an Angler Elite Pro-Am tournament on Green Lake,” recalled Elite Series junior Bob Downey, who now lives in Detroit Lakes, Minn. “I was 18 at the time, and I think Seth was 22. I was the amateur of course, and Seth was the pro. We got a limit of smallmouth, upgraded with a couple of late largemouth, and ended up winning the whole deal. From then on, I followed Seth’s career closely, and he was inspirational for me.”
Downey, who took second place at the 2022 season opener on the St. Johns River, also looked up to Moynagh. While Moynagh has never competed on the Elites, he was the first Minnesotan to carve out a steady and lengthy career in professional bass fishing.
“Both my family and Jim’s family coincidentally have cabins on the same remote lake in northern Minnesota,” explained Downey. “I used to see Jim’s wrapped boat and thought it was the coolest thing in the world. We both grew up learning how to bass fish on the same lake. I’ve followed his career and Seth’s. Seeing their success was motivational.”
One year prior to Feider’s AOY triumph, Austin Felix turned heads as the 2020 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year. Unlike his friend Feider, who grew 10 miles to the east in Bloomington, Felix’s path to the Elites went through college fishing.
“College fishing kind of opened my eyes that I could compete down South,” said the Eden Prairie, Minn., native, who won a national championship for the University of Minnesota. “Just like Seth, I was mainly fishing Lake Minnetonka at first. There’s a trail in Minnesota called the Denny’s Super 30, and it has absolutely the best anglers in the state. These guys are just completely dialed in.
“I was under this false impression that I had to have that much local-type knowledge all across the country to compete. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and it was eye opening. College fishing showed me that by doing some research and understanding bass behavior, you can compete even if you don’t know where every brush pile is.”
Pat Schlapper grew up two hours northeast of Feider and Felix in the small Wisconsin town of Spooner, an area blessed with diverse fisheries.
“In the back of my mind, I always had aspirations to fish the Elites, and Seth paved the way,” said Schlapper. “I’ve fished against Bob and Caleb (Kuphall) several times. In 2019, I saw Bob win the Open at Grand, and then I saw Caleb win an Open on Smith. It was just like a sign to me that I had to go do it.”
Schlapper spent the first pandemic year fishing as much as humanly possible, both locally and all across the country.
“Having traveled all over, I now feel like we have an advantage over people in the South,” Schlapper continued. “There’s not many places they can go to fish smallmouth, especially the type of smallmouth fishing we have. But we have almost everything here; we really do. I’ve fished grass and weedlines my whole life. Milfoil, coontail, cabbage — you name it. Plus, we’re close to the Mississippi River, which is extremely dynamic with heavy current, wood, rock and grass.”
“We’ve always had the talent up here,” added Feider. “Everyone thinks all we have is smallmouth, but 90% of my fishing growing up was for largemouth. It’s also an easy place for someone to become versatile. Our fishing is good, so if you want to become better at something, like drop shotting for example, you can go out and get 40 or 50 bites in a day. That’s a lot of feedback for a fisherman.”
Feider, Downey, Felix and Schlapper all agree that the recent Minnesota and Wisconsin success is a trend with staying power.
“I think it’s inevitable that more of us are coming to the Elites,” said Felix. “Seth gave us the blueprint and opened up our eyes, and in turn, the entire state of Minnesota rallied behind him.”
“There was a time when people were just scared; I know I was,” concluded Feider. “It’s very intimidating, but it’s also a different day and age. Brad Leuthner is the next name that people need to look out for. He’s the one that convinced me to give it a chance, and now he’s knocking on the door.”
“We’ve traditionally been a walleye and muskie state, but the younger generation seems to be targeting bass,” Downey said. “The popularity of bass fishing in our area is just exploding, and it makes sense as we have some of the best bass fishing in the nation. Seth, Austin, Josh and I, we’re just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I expect more and more guys from the area will qualify,” Schlapper explained. “Just look at Jay Przekurat; I’m shocked and impressed with the kid. He’s on the biggest stage in fishing, and he hasn’t stumbled yet. He’ll have a bad day, but then he’ll bounce back the next day with a big bag. He’s a machine. I would bet the farm that he wins Rookie of the Year, and I think he has a real shot at Angler of the Year. He’s a freaking phenom.”
Notable Midwest achievements:
Minnesota:
Seth Feider – 2021 Bassmaster Angler of the Year, two-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship winner (2019, 2016)
Austin Felix – 2020 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, seventh place AOY
Bob Downey – 2022 Elites Series St. Johns event second place
Josh Douglas – 2022 Elite Series rookie
Wisconsin:
Caleb Kuphall – 2021 Elite Series Guntersville event champion, 2022 Elite Series Santee Cooper event second place, 2022 Elite Series Chickamauga Lake event fifth place
Pat Schlapper – 2022 Elite Series Santee Cooper event 10th place
Jay Przekurat – Currently leading 2022 Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race
