(Editors Note: During Day 3 of the 2019 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament at Lake Guntersville, writer/photographer Thomas Allen hopped in the boat with Seth Feider and discussed his improving results and consistency on the Elite Series.)
At the time of this writing, Minnesota pro angler and mustache aficionado Seth Feider is knocking on the door of the Top 10 in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race. He’s proven to be one of the most consistent anglers on the Elite Series over the past two years, but a more dominant smallmouth stick has yet to emerge.
“I remind myself to not take anything for granted,” Feider said. “On the first day of my Elite Series career at Sabine River (2015), I blanked. Can you imagine? I worked so hard to get there. I finally had my first chance to weigh a fish on the Bassmaster stage and I didn’t catch jack. Sorry mom.”
He managed a small comeback to finish in 73rd place. But things didn’t get much better for a while.
His first two years on the Elites were not easy. He was heavily defeated on many fisheries, but he did manage to earn one Top 12 in 2015 at the St. Lawrence River. That’s no surprise considering his prowess with the angry smalljaws of the great Northland.
At that time, a scraggly mullet and mustache that Joe Dirt would be proud of were not yet in the plans. Perhaps it was his decision to embrace a substantial hairstyle adaptation that served as a jumpstart to his career.
All the while he was learning.
While he’d say his career turned around in 2016 at the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisc., this reporter thinks the turning point occurred at Cayuga the same year, two tournaments prior. He reminded me that his low point was at the Potomac River that same year where he finished 85th. That event was actually in between Cayuga and Mississippi River.
Eighty-fifth place after what seemed like a breakthrough in New York is a low point indeed.
Even though he slipped out of the Top 12 on Semifinal Saturday at Cayuga and finished in 17th, that tournament was important to Feider because he was very confident the lake set up well for him, and he proved it to himself. Seventeenth place is nothing to snort at.
Yes, he rode the struggle bus all the way through the Potomac River, but that place is a notorious fishery known to challenge any angler and quickly derail a stellar season — I say don’t count that one.
At Cayuga Feider emerged.
In this order during the 2016 Elite Series season he finished 17th at Cayuga, [forget Potomac], second at Mississippi River then went on to win the Toyota AOY Championship tournament on Mille Lacs, the legendary Minnesota smallmouth factory.
Turn the page to the first event of the 2017 season at Cherokee Lake in Knoxville, Tenn., where he finished fourth.
In 2017 he finished 16th at Toledo Bend, 19th at Ross Barnett and an impressive second-place finish at New York’s Lake Champlain. Among a few other average finishes, he wrapped up the season with a solid 13th-place finish at a follow-up visit to Mille Lacs for the AOY championship.
In 2018 his season started out with a 91st-place bomb at Alabama’s Lake Martin — an event that should have played right into his hands. But from there things greatly improved. In all, he fished nine Elite-level events, the Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell and a single Bassmaster Open at Lake Champlain.
Including the 91st at Lake Martin, he finished 18th at the Classic, fifth at Grand Lake, 34th at Kentucky Lake, 68th at Lake Travis, 43rd at Sabine River, 56th at La Crosse, 37th at Oahe, 24th at Champlain, 10th at St. Lawrence and 17th at the AOY Championship at Georgia’s Lake Chatuge.
That’s upward trajectory. Notice the substantial improvement at Sabine compared to his very first visit as an Elite rookie. Feider is getting stronger.
But he won’t forget the struggle.
“I hate losing — hate it,” he said. “I committed to being done with the struggle and focusing only on catching bass. Those early years and tough tournaments along the way made me into the angler I am now. And I guarantee you there will be more disasters in my future.”
The other trend you need to be aware of is Feider’s movement in the AOY standings from year-to-year. In 2016 he finished in 47th after his miracle come-from-behind second place and first place at Mississippi River and Mille Lacs respectively.
In 2017 Feider finished the season in 14th place, in 2018 he fished his way into a very respectable 18th place. He’s currently in eighth place with the remaining events in 2019 playing right into his wheelhouse.
“I love the St. Lawrence River,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable place and I’m very excited to get back there this year. But I want another shot at Cayuga in a bad way. When I watched Greg Hackney flip his way to victory a few years ago, I knew it was going to fit my strengths. In 2016 I dropped the ball. Not this time.”
Sure, when smallies are on the menu, you can safely bet on Feider, but don’t forget how competent he is with big northern largemouths. Time and time again he’s proven how capable he is on southern reservoirs, especially this week on Guntersville where he finished in 11th place.
The regular season ends on Oklahoma’s Ft. Gibson Lake, a tournament that was postponed due to severe local flooding and will now occur mid September. Interestingly, in 2012 Feider finished in third place to Kevin Short and Jason Christie on Fort Gibson during a Bassmaster Open — in September no less.
“I’m very excited for how the second half to the season sets up,” he said. “A lot can happen, but things can go wrong so I’m not going to get cocky. The end of the season is going to be fun.”
Beneath the witty sense of humor, epic mullet and mustache is a man who is extremely passionate about the outdoors and especially about a growing love for his young family at home in Minnesota. A relatively new husband and father, Feider’s life trajectory — alongside his fishing career — is certainly trending upward.
“I have a great thing going at home,” he said. “My wife Dayton and daughter Rose are my support team, without them none of this matters. I go through a lot of data using FaceTime every night, but I’m grateful that Dayton keeps the wheels on the Feider bus when I’m gone. They are both such a huge part of my life. We make a good team.”
It would only make sense for “The Amazing FeiderMan” to make a run at the 2019 AOY title.
Here are some theoretical points predictions. Consider that the winner of each event earns 100 AOY points; at this point in the season it will take an estimated 765 points to win the AOY title.
Take Feider’s current standings, to win AOY he’ll need approximately 286 points accumulated across the three remaining regular season events and the AOY championship (four tournaments). If you break that down even farther, he’ll need to earn 71.5 points per tournament or finish in 28th place or better at each of the remaining events to have a shot.
And we’re headed north where he’s historically dominant and most comfortable.
All theoretical statistics, of course, but you get the picture. And you have to keep in mind for that to occur, other anglers who are currently above him in the standings will have to fall.
Momentum in this sport is hard to stop. He certainly has momentum on his side.
It’s a pretty safe bet that by the time the 2019 season is in the books, Feider will be in the hunt.