Seth Feider was born nearly seven years after Chris Groh, but the two Bassmaster Elite Series pros might as well have been separated at birth.
They both are from the Midwest – Feider from Minnesota and Groh from northern Illinois, just a few miles south of the border with Wisconsin. They have similar bass fishing experiences too, fishing many of the same lakes on the same tours against familiar competitors.
On the Elite Series, the two are practically inseparable, and they’re also easily identifiable. Both Feider, 34, and Groh, 40, sport shoulder-length hair which gives them a look different than many of their fellow pros.
Feider and Groh might be just as well known on tour for their offbeat sense of humor. They’re planning a reality TV show during the 2019 season to capture their unique perspective on fishing and life. It’ll be a behind-the-scenes look at their experiences on the Elite Series, and cameras are just as likely to hear conversations about potato chips and hair care products as they are motors and monofilament.
Both pros are solid sticks, so expect big bass catches, too.
When did you two meet?
Feider: I think the first time I met him was at an Open on Sturgeon Bay (in 2010 or 2011). I didn’t talk with him much, but he was fishing with a buddy of mine and I remember thinking “I’ve never seen a guy drive a boat like that.” I mean just crazy. There’s like a 4-foot chop out there, and he’s just wide open smashing ‘em and crashing ‘em. He has no fear. It’s amazing he can still walk after that.
Groh: Me and Seth being from the Midwest, we ran into each other on multiple events. I had heard about “Seth the Hammer” for a long time. I had heard so much about how good he was – we used to fish a Cabela’s team series – and I spent a lot of time in Minnesota fishing. We got to really hanging out at Sturgeon Bay. I have a lot of fishing friends in Minnesota, and Seth came with it.
What drew you to one another?
Feider: He doesn’t give a ‘you know what,’ and in my book, that’s something to admire. But he’s a good dude, man. We get along. We fished similar areas growing up.
Groh: That whole age thing, him being 6 or 7 years younger than me. I was very, very excited to get to know him. Dude, you just knew his destiny. I got to see it prior to the Elites. I looked up to him. It takes a lot of pride for a 40-year-old guy to say he looks up to a younger angler like that, but I wouldn’t take those words back for anything. He’s always been real. I love that in my family and in my friends.
Being from the North, you grew up fishing in different circumstances than southern or western pros. Do you northern pros have to stick together, and if so, is that to your advantage?
Feider: When we’re up north, in New York tournaments and stuff like that, being from the North may help. But I think it’s a disadvantage being up here for the most part. We’re covered up in ice for four or five months out of the year. And the majority of our season gets fished down south. I really struggled with that when I first started. I’m still not great down there, but I get a little better every year. All I had ever fished before was natural lakes; all that grass, smallmouth. Then you go down south, you have rivers and reservoir systems, no grass, plenty of rocks, standing timber. It’s stuff we don’t see.
Groh: Trust is very difficult. I only have two or three guys I’ll tell everything too. Whether it’s an open on Lake Minnetonka or an Elite event now. We’re so honest with each other on the water, because we look at things through the same lens. It’s a northern angler lens.
You guys are planning a reality show for the 2019 Elite season. What can you tell us about that?
Feider: We are basically going to document our season behind the scenes more so than the actual fishing. It will be the traveling, the hanging at the house cooking, rigging, drinking a few beers. We want to give some insight to the rest of our world; show the stuff the fans don’t see. I think it’s going to be really funny.
Groh: It’s going to be raw, unfiltered. You’re going to see how we really are.
What’s one thing a fan watching the show will find surprising about you guys?
Groh: We’re done tying baits in the morning, and this kid will sit down, slam half a Mountain Dew and fall asleep in 30 seconds. How does someone do that? Look, the show is going to be real. It’s going to be honest. It’s going to be unfiltered, raw, edgy. It’s not going to be Brandon Palanuik or Hunter Shryock dropping fish to music. The world needs that, and we’re going to have big fish, too. But I think the normal everyday angler or fan wants to see a little of what goes on behind the scenes. That’s what we’re going to give them.
Feider: I don’t know if there’s one thing in particular, but we’re going to find out. I can say there’s a lot more to us than what we say on stage. Like, we could do a lot of talking about what’s the best flavor of Dorito.
Well, what is the best-flavored Dorito?
Feider: Spicy Sweet Chili. It comes in the purple bag. Cool Ranch used to be a really solid flavor, but now they don’t put as much flavor dust on it, so those are not quite up there like they used to be. But Spicy Sweet Chili is coming on strong.
Groh: There’s an example of what you’ll see on the show right there! He yelled at me at the gas station: “Hey, if you’re still filling up, grab me a Snickers and some Doritos.” Then he screams at me because I got the wrong kind. I mean, he’s screaming like a baby, and then he just stops and goes back to rigging another rod.
Ya’ll both are rocking the long hair. So the question is, who’s got the better locks?
Feider: I think Chris does. It’s a lot prettier than mine. He’d make a lot of women proud. If a woman had my hair, she might give herself the Sinead O’Connor (shave it off). I have split ends, dreadlocks in there that show up every couple days. It’s out of control. But Chris, he takes really good care of his hair. I’m sure he’s using a full regimen of product. There’s no way he’s waking up like that, it’s too pretty. We’ll find out on the show. I may pop in with him on the shower and see how many bottles he has in there.
Groh: I do use product. And by the way, Seth’s wife wants him to have better hair. We’re trying to work on that here. I’m trying to get him to have better hair and show the world what good products there are out there. We’re real serious business when it comes to fishing, but there’s still a party in the back, right?