Day on the lake: Seth Feider

The Mullet Militia: That’s what Seth Feider fans are called. They don blonde mullet wigs that look much like Feider’s preferred hairstyle, and loudly cheer him on while he’s competing on the Bassmaster Elite Series. This militia is growing, as the sophomore pro has been making serious waves within the pro ranks. He won the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Mille Lacs Lake and posted a second-place showing the event prior on the Mississippi River. Feider is a smallmouth specialist, but as you will see, he can figure out the green fish with the best of them.

6:42 a.m. Feider and I drive through a downpour on the way to Lake P, but the rain stops just as we arrive at the boat ramp. Feider removes an arsenal of Daiwa rods and reels from storage, then checks the weather radar on his smartphone. “Better keep that rainsuit on,” he warns. “More thundershowers are moving this way, and some of them look nasty.”

7 HOURS LEFT

6:55 a.m. We launch the Bass Cat. The water near the ramp is 51 degrees and clear. “I expect bass to be moving toward shallow water by now; they should hit a jerkbait, crankbait or jig. I also plan on throwing an A-Rig; we can’t use them in tournaments, but they’ll for sure catch big bass in late winter.” He drops his trolling motor and moves to a ledge just outside of the lake’s no-wake zone.

6:59 a.m. Feider makes his first casts to the ledge with a Rapala Shadow Rap Deep long-billed jerkbait in the elite blue pattern. He reels the suspending minnow down to 8 feet and ­retrieves it with a blend of aggressive jerks and pauses. “Are there any smallmouth in this lake?” (No.) “I’ve caught 7-pound smallies on this lure.”

7:03 a.m. Feider drags a 3/8-ounce green craw Outkast ­finesse football jig with a matching generic craw trailer across the ledge. We’re sitting in 20 feet of water; he’s casting to 9 feet.

7:06 a.m. The jig dredges up a wad of slimy grass, so Feider switches to the jerkbait.

7:10 a.m. Feider rigs a Hog Farmer A-Rig with five Daiwa swimbaits on 1/8-ounce jigheads, then slow rolls it across the ledge.

7:16 a.m. He hops the finesse jig across a nearby ­submerged rockpile in 12 feet of water.

7:33 a.m. While heading for Lake P’s dam, Feider spots a submerged hump on his electronics, then fishes it with the A-Rig, jerkbait and jig without success.

7:45 a.m. He hangs the A-Rig in a deep, submerged brushpile and breaks it off. “I really hate to lose that rig! I’ve only got one more of them with me.”

7:48 a.m. Feider casts a phantom brown Storm Wiggle Wart crankbait to the hump. “This is a classic coldwater crankbait. It looks just like a live crawfish.” The plug comes back covered in slimy grass. “The only place I’ve seen any sign of life on my graph so far has been offshore over deep water. The water’s not that cold; there should be some fish moving up shallow.”

6 HOURS LEFT

7:55 a.m. Feider moves downlake to hit a steep channel bank with the Shadow Rap.

8:01 a.m. He casts a 1/2-ounce craw colored Outkast Juice Jig with a matching generic craw trailer to the channel bank.

8:09 a.m. Feider enters a sheltered cove and pitches the Juice Jig to a dock. “I’m graphing some scattered brushpiles around these docks that should hold fish.”

8:13 a.m. Feider jerks the Shadow Rap in front of a dock. “With this heavy cloud cover, they could be ­suspending way out from these docks instead of hiding ­under them.”

8:18 a.m. Feider rigs up another A-Rig, then fancasts it around the middle of the cove. The skies are getting darker and the wind has picked up.

8:24 a.m. As thunder rumbles, Feider casts a generic green pumpkin finesse worm on a 3/16-ounce shaky head to a steep bank at the cove’s entrance. Nothing.

8:38 a.m. Feider blasts uplake to a deep channel bank, where he tries the A-Rig and Shadow Rap. “The wind’s blowing straight into this spot, so they should be here!” But they’re not.

5 HOURS LEFT

8:55 a.m. The channel bank doesn’t pay off, so Feider moves to an offshore hump he’s spotted with his electronics and swims the A-Rig slowly across the structure. “Are there any fish in this lake? I’m sure not seeing many signs of life on my electronics.”

9:01 a.m. The skies open up and the wind howls as Feider moves to a nearby channel bank to try the A-Rig, which he promptly hangs in some deep, unseen object.

9:08 a.m. Feider finally pulls up his A-Rig, which is tangled in a waterlogged trotline buoy. “Catfishermen! You gotta love ’em!”

9:10 a.m. He resumes casting the A-Rig while wind-drifting a steep bank.

9:14 a.m. The bank terminates in a clay point. Feider jerks the Shadow Rap across the tip of the structure and bags his first keeper bass of the day, a 1-pound, 2-ounce largemouth. “That fish was holding right where the end of the point drops off into the river channel. He barely swiped at the lure.”

9:20 a.m. The rain momentarily subsides. Feider runs straight across Lake P to another steep bank, where he tries the Shadow Rap. “It’s impossible to both fish slow and cover lots of water, but I’ve got to slow down my presentations. These fish are really inactive.”

9:26 a.m. Feider enters a pocket off the main lake and pitches the Juice Jig to a submerged tree. “I read in Bassmaster that these little pockets can hold some monster prespawn bass.”

9:29 a.m. The Shadow Rap fails to elicit a strike in the pocket. “The bass obviously didn’t read that Bassmaster article!”

9:32 a.m. Feider locates a ­submerged brushpile at the entrance to the pocket. He hits it with the Juice Jig, gets a tap, swings and misses.

9:33 a.m. He gets another jig bite in the brushpile but can’t stick the fish. “That must be a bluegill. It just nipped at the trailer.”

9:36 a.m. Feider drifts downwind while casting the Shadow Rap. “There’s a lot more wood cover on this side of the lake, which hopefully is a good thing.”

9:44 a.m. It’s raining again as Feider continues wind-drifting uplake with the Shadow Rap.

9:48 a.m. He bangs the Wiggle Wart off an isolated log. “There should have been one there!”

4 HOURS LEFT

9:57 a.m. Feider is drifting down a long channel bank, alternating among the jerkbait, Juice Jig and Wiggle Wart.

10:06 a.m. Feider retrieves the A-Rig parallel to the side of a clay point.

10:10 a.m. Time for some lure adjustments. Feider rigs ­another rod with a shallower-running version of the Shadow Rap; it’s in a shad pattern called carbon. He also changes Wiggle Wart colors to chartreuse with an orange belly and rigs a No. 6 Rapala Shad Rap crankbait, black back/silver sides, on a spinning rod.

10:17 a.m. Feider casts the Shad Rap parallel to a steep bank and grinds it slowly across the bottom. He gets a bump, but the fish doesn’t hook up.

10:25 a.m. Feider tries the Juice Jig and Wiggle Wart in a shoreline pocket.

10:30 a.m. Feider bags his second keeper, 1 pound, off the edge of a shallow flat on the deep jerkbait.

10:41 a.m. Feider moves uplake to a long point, which he combs with the jerkbait. What’s his take on the day so far? “Other than the weather being brutal, the only pattern I’ve found so far is points and channel banks close to deep water. I’m going to keep covering water and hopefully get dialed in to more and bigger fish.” A bolt of lightning pierces the sky. “Whoa, that was too close!” Feider steps off the boat’s deck to lower his profile. “You’re a human lightning rod when you’re standing up and waving a graphite pole in the air.”

3 HOURS LEFT

10:55 a.m. The rain has slacked off. Feider has thrown his entire lure arsenal at channel swings, points and stickups along another 150 yards of shoreline without success.

11:05 a.m. Feider catches his third keeper, 2-2, off the side of a point on the Shadow Rap Deep.

11:10 a.m. He bags a 15-ounce keeper (No. 4) off the same spot on the finesse jig.

11:23 a.m. Feider probes a channel bank with the finesse jig.

11:30 a.m. Feider rockets farther uplake to a rock-lined bank. His side-imaging electronics reveal a 7-foot ditch running near shore, which he probes with the Wiggle Wart and jerkbait.

11:41 a.m. The rain has died. Feider drags the finesse jig around a retaining wall.

11:47 a.m. Feider casts the Wiggle Wart to a dock.

2 HOURS LEFT

11:55 a.m. He tries the deep jerkbait in front of another dock.

12:08 p.m. Feider makes his longest run yet to the extreme back end of a long tributary arm, where he casts the Wart around shoreline rocks. The water here is slightly warmer (54 degrees) and murkier than downlake.

12:14 p.m. Feider ties on a chartreuse and white 5/16-ounce War Eagle spinnerbait and slow rolls it around the rocks. No takers.

12:18 p.m. He moves to the back of a large, shallow pocket to try the spinnerbait. “I’d like to fish this spot on the next warm, sunny day; those big girls should be stacked up in here.”

12:23 p.m. Feider runs back downlake to fish the deep ­jerkbait where a 25-foot channel swings in close to shore. “The bottom contour uplake is too flat; I need to stick to these steeper areas.”

12:26 p.m. A bass slams Feider’s jerkbait right at the boat; he swings aboard his fifth keeper, 1 pound, 2 ounces. “He’s not big, but he sure is enthusiastic!”

12:43 p.m. Feider moves to the point where he caught his first keeper and catches a 1-pound, 6-ounce bass on the ­jerkbait. “Good, I finally culled that 15-ouncer!”

12:50 p.m. Feider drifts past the point to another channel bank and bags keeper No. 7, 3 pounds, 8 ounces, on the Shadow Rap Deep; it culls the “pounder” caught earlier. “Now that’s more like it! Maybe the bigger fish are finally starting to move up.”

1 HOUR LEFT

12:59 p.m. It’s raining again as Feider continues jerkbaiting the channel bank.

1:15 p.m. Feider does a 180 and works his way upwind while chunking the A-Rig at the channel bank. “I’m really surprised I haven’t had any hits on this thing today. I’ve caught some toads on it this time of year.”

1:25 p.m. Feider races downlake to a point he fished earlier and tries the deep jerkbait. A small bass flashes on the lure, momentarily hooks up, then shakes off.

1:37 p.m. Feider moves to a nearby point and catches his eighth keeper, 1 pound, on the jerkbait. It’s no help to his weight total.

1:43 p.m. He catches keeper No. 9, 1 pound, 12 ounces, off the same spot on the same lure.

1:46 p.m. More thunder and heavier rain as Feider makes his final casts of the day to the point.

1:55 p.m. Feider’s time is up. He ends his wet, windy day on Lake P with nine keepers, the five biggest of which weigh 9 pounds, 14 ounces.

The Day in Perspective

“I was expecting a more active bite with these thunderstorms moving through, but it was surprisingly tough out here today,” Feider told Bassmaster. “The bite got a little better as the day wore on, but the big fish never moved up. The deep jerkbait on channel banks and points was definitely the ticket today; all my fish were suspending in open water and not around any cover. If I were to fish this lake tomorrow, when it’s supposed to be sunny and colder, I’d expect bass to be much tighter to cover, and I’d probably spend more time pitching a jig than I did today.”

WHERE AND WHEN SETH FEIDER CAUGHT HIS FIVE BIGGEST BASS

1. 1 pound, 2 ounces; main-lake point; elite blue Rapala Shadow Rap Deep jerkbait; 9:14 a.m.

2. 2 pounds, 2 ounces; main-lake point; same lure as No. 1; 11:05 a.m.

3. 1 pound, 6 ounces; same place at No. 1; same lure as No. 1; 12:43 p.m.

4. 3 pounds, 8 ounces; channel bank; same lure as No. 1; 12:50 p.m.

5. 1 pound, 12 ounces; main-lake point; same lure as No. 1; 1:43 p.m.

TOTAL: 9 POUNDS, 14 OUNCES