Taking a moment to rewind to an article where we talked to Seth Feider about his 2015 Elite season, here is an excerpt, eight spots, eight spots is all that separated Bloomington, MN native Seth Feider from qualifying for the Bassmaster AOY Championship event on Sturgeon Bay this past September. Feider does not want to be in this position again as this year’s AOY Championship is right in his back yard on Mille Lacs.
Currently Seth is practicing for the BASSfest event being held on Lake Texoma in Durant, OK and this event kicks off the second half of the season for the Elite Series anglers. At the halfway point Seth sits in 80th place in the year-end standings, but just 81 points out of the key 50th spot that would qualify him for the Mille Lacs AOY event.
Seth is still able to climb the standings and be fishing in September in Minnesota, as anglers that were in his spot last year managed to climb the rankings and move into the top 50. “I’m fully able to do this, but for the rest of the year, there are no more throw away tournaments for me,” said Seth. “Each event is crucial for accumulating points and working my way towards that 50th spot!”
With four events left on the schedule for 2015 that range from this week’s event in OK, then to Cayuga in New York, the Potomac River in Maryland and then the regular season finale on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, WI, the mid-season break came at a good time for Feider.
“The first half of the season was a sprint and it felt good to come home and fish my home waters of Mille Lacs and Minnetonka,” grinned Seth. “I was able to refocus and really hone in on my entire rod, reel and line set up’s for the rest of the season.”
Getting all of his gear ready and paired perfectly for each fishing situation he’ll face will hopefully aid him in eliminating lost fish that happened at an opportune time’s during the first half of the season, like on day one at Norfork where a lost 2 lb smallmouth early on in the day, resulted in Seth only bringing in four fish, this cost him a check and a top 50 finish.
“I really do feel like I’ve practiced better this season and that I am just one fish away from consistently cashing checks. With the caliber of anglers I’m competing against on the Elite’s, you can take a second off of your game, because that is when you slip back, these guys are good,” exclaimed Feider.
These week’s event on Lake Texoma could play out well for Seth as there lakes smallmouth bass fit into Seth’s wheelhouse and with the new Rapala Shadow Rap Shad at his disposal he could put a hurting on these smallies!
Following the Texoma event, Feider will head east to New York and fish Cayuga Lake June 23-26 and this event has him excited. Seth spent some time on the lake last year and really like how it compares to the lakes we have in Minnesota. “This event is going to be a grass flipping event, so my VMC hooks, tungsten weights and Suffix 832 braid are going to be key pieces of my gear,” said Feider.
An interesting gear tip Seth provided us with is that he likes to flip a lower lb test braid than many anglers will flip grass with. “I’ll flip 30 lb with my drag a little loser, than if I was flipping with 50 or 60 lb braid. The thinner diameter line cuts through the grass better and I feel I get a few more bites with that thinner diameter line.”
Good luck this second half of the season Seth and be sure to stay tuned to Classic Bass for updates on the second half of Seth’s season on the 2016 Elite Series.
To follow Seth this off season and next year on the Elite Series, check him out on Facebook and Instagram at SethFeiderFishing.
