Feeling Comfortable at Cayuga was Key For Seth’s Success
Elite Series Pro Seth Feider continued to climb the Bassmaster AOY standings in his quest to be inside the top 50, resulting in him being able to fish the 2016 Bassmaster AOY Championship being held on Mille Lacs this September. He did this by finishing in 17th place at Cayuga Lake in New York last week and it moved him up to 61st in the AOY standings; this stop on the Elite’s was one that Seth was looking forward to all year long, “it felt like home to me!”
Feider who accumulated a total 3-day limit of 52 lb 6 oz had an ok practice, but it wasn’t as good as he thought it was going to be and he definitely didn’t think that the bags would be as big as they were on day one. In practice he searched out the vast amount of grass that Cayuga has to offer and found the bass relating to weedlines in the eight to ten foot range. “This was shallower than I thought they would be, but I just put the trolling motor down and covered water,” said Seth.
For practice Seth used a ½ oz Outkast RTX jig, this lure did result in some catches during the tournament as well, but a weightless Texas-rigged Senko is what caught the majority of Seth’s fish on his primary area. This area had cleaner water and Seth could actually see the bass he was catching and on day one he assembled a 19 lb limit in a short amount of time. “I was fortunate enough to upgrade two other fish on day one, one on a Terminator Frog and the other a bedded fish that boosted me up another half a pound,” said Seth.
Seth’s Gear –
Jig: Daiwa Steez AGS 7’9” Extra Heavy rod, Daiwa Zillion SV reel, 30 lb Suffix 832 braided line
Senko: Daiwa Steez AGS 7’ Medium rod, Daiwa Steez reel, 10 lb Suffix 832 braided line with a 10 Suffix fluorocarbon leader, #1 VMC Niko hook
Seth shared this area with another angler initially on day one, but other Elite Series anglers moved in on day two as they picked off their bedded bass on day one of the event. “I really felt comfortable out on the lake and getting that early 19 lb’s on day one allowed me to search out new water,” stated Seth. “I actually found some new schools of bass in other grass beds; these came in handy on days two and three.”
As we talked to Seth, he was just getting settled into his hotel room in Maryland, where he will be exploring the Potomac River, the sight of the next Elite Series event in August. “I’m going to do a lot of driving,” said Seth. “I’ll run into the back of creeks to look for grass and do some side imaging out on flats, looking for some odd ball stuff that could get overlooked.”
To follow Seth this off season and next year on the Elite Series, check him out on Facebook and Instagram at SethFeiderFishing.
