Seth Feider stated out as your basic bass bum.
Today, he is the reigning Bassmaster Angler of the Year champion.
What happened in between is a remarkable story about how a reserved, blue-collar young man transitioned into one of the most formidable and popular anglers on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour.
It didn’t come easily. In fact, it was so difficult at times, he almost quit.
There was never a silver spoon in Feider’s mouth, and like many wannabe pros, he had to pinch pennies to finance his path to stardom. In fact, a 2015 fundraising party at David Fong’s Chinese Restaurant and Sports Bar in Bloomington, Minn., helped kick-start his rookie Elite season.
“People donated kegs and some stuff was raffled off to help cover half my expenses,” Feider says. “The rest I racked up on credit cards.”
And, as a youngster who dreamed of becoming a pro angler, he admits to not being a good student, either.
“All I ever thought about was fishing, so I skipped a lot of school,” recalls the Minnesota angler. “If it was April or May, there’s a good chance I was on the water and not in school. I had to take night school to get the classes to graduate high school.
“It’s not something I’m proud of, but hey, it worked out.”
It sure did. He fished as a junior co-angler in the Minnesota Pro-Am during high school, and then started fishing team tournaments around the state. In his 20s, he fished the pro division of two different Minnesota Pro-Am circuits, won Angler of the Year in both and won the championship and a boat at the end of the season.
He sold the boat and used the money to fish the FLW Eastern Series — where he bombed.
“I kind of gave up and went back to fishing team tournaments, but a buddy talked me into giving a pro career another shot,” says Feider. “I signed up for the Central Division of the Bassmaster Opens [in 2012] and finished 10th in points, and it was a huge confidence boost.”
He spent the next two years fishing the Northern Opens, where he qualified for the Elites.
Again, his confidence was tested. He blanked his first day on the Sabine River as an Elite angler and finished 73rd.
“I was so intimidated about lining up against guys like Greg Hackney and Jason Christie, my idols,” he says. “Honest to God, I felt like I was way in over my head and cried on the way home.”
He won $30,500 that year, less than he paid in entry fees, and the self-doubts piled into the next season.
“I sucked because I was more worried about cashing checks than winning trophies,” he said. “That doesn’t work on the Elites.”
After a horrible start in 2016, he hit rock bottom at the Potomac River near the end of the season. He pondered quitting again.
“I figured I was going to get kicked out of the Elites [because of low ranking], but we had one more event on the Mississippi River at La Crosse. I said, ‘Screw it, I’m going to go back to fishing the way I fished my home lakes and not worry about how everyone said you had to fish that river.’”
It worked. He finished second at La Crosse, squeaked into a berth in the Angler of the Year season finale on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs and won that event.
“La Crosse was a turning point for me,” he said. “It was the first time I fished with confidence and realized I could fish with these guys. The rest is history.”
It was an amazing turnaround. He won more than $100,000 in 2017, qualified for the Bassmaster Classic the next four years and locked down the Angler of the Year trophy last season.
In his mind, the AOY trophy affirms he’s the real deal.
“I won a couple of tournaments but nothing like an Elite Series [tournament] — a four-day event where everyone is trying,” he explains. “This is a huge milestone and means I’m in. You know what I mean? I’m really, really in.”
It’s not easy regaining that kind of confidence when you bottom out, but Feider says the difference was going back to fishing his own way, shutting off dock talk and fishing to win.
Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer noticed another change.
“He went back to being Seth Feider,” Mercer insists, “instead of trying to be like other people or trying to conform and not be different. And he hasn’t NOT caught them since that day.”
He had four Top 10 finishes last year, and his worst finish was 29th on the Tennessee River. He pocketed $160,000 from tournaments in addition to the $100,000 for winning the AOY title. His career B.A.S.S. winnings are nearly $890,000, most of which has come in the past four years.
Feider says he also returned to his strengths as an angler, which include fishing shallow with a big rod in his hands. While most might assume Minnesota anglers grow up as finesse anglers, Feider did not.
In fact, his idol was Denny Brauer and remains so today. He modeled his style after Brauer and bought all of his signature products throughout those early years.
Oddly enough, he’s never met Brauer, a 17-time Bassmaster winner through the mid-1980s and early 2000s and former AOY and Classic champion.
“I’ve never met him and [I’m] not sure I want to,” Feider laments. “I’d be like a little schoolgirl and probably wouldn’t be able to talk. And I’m serious about that.”
Rapala spokesman Dan Quinn says he always knew Feider was a gifted angler, but his transformation as a well-rounded pro has been incredible.
“We knew of him before he left Minnesota to go pro,” Quinn recalls. “He was a great angler but was very quiet and lacked a lot of the off-the-water skills we need in someone to represent us.”
But Feider’s fishing skills were undeniable. Rapala gambled, and Quinn is thrilled with the results. The 37-year-old pro has become a great ambassador for the company and is relatable to both the serious and weekend bass angler.
“We’ve got some great pros on our team, but Seth is the best on-camera guy we have,” he says. “We shoot a lot of content, and he outperforms everyone. People believe him because he won’t tout anything unless he believes in it. He’s superloyal, has great product development insights, gives solid feedback and certainly doesn’t get wishy-washy with us. To see where he was in the beginning and how he has grown as a pro angler is truly phenomenal.”
Bassmaster TV host Mark Zona agrees wholeheartedly, noting that Feider is a righteous guy who “does things the right way.”
What does that mean?
Feider shrugs and explains it this way.
“I don’t call people for waypoints and I find my own fish,” he asserts. “And, of course, I won’t be a piece of crap on the water. I don’t pull in on anyone and don’t fish around people.
“I also don’t bend the rules — I don’t even read the rule book. People who pore over the rule book are cheaters. I know the size limit and when I have to check in. That’s it.”
Obviously, Feider isn’t your cookie-cutter kind of pro angler. His hair lies across his shoulders; his broom-like moustache drapes his upper lip; and he’s likely the most superstitious angler on tour.
“I love the guy; he’s a great roommate and [has] taught me so much,” says 2021 roommate Chris Groh. “But he will drive you crazy with his superstitions.”
Groh says you should never kill a spider in Feider’s boat, and if he’s having a good tournament, he wears the same clothes. Everything has to be done in a specific order or it shakes up his karma.
And don’t ask him to wash his boat.
“We flew in a photographer from the West Coast to do a Rapala photo shoot with Seth,” recalls Quinn. “He tells me he will be there but he won’t wash his boat and that it’s real dirty. He says, ‘I haven’t washed it all year and I can’t start now.’
“He was right. It was filthy, but we worked around it.”
Quirky? Sure. Feider makes no apologies. It’s who he is and who he will remain as he pushes toward what he believes is the real pinnacle of B.A.S.S. stardom: a Bassmaster Classic title.
“The AOY is just a milestone, and, honestly, was never on my radar until halfway through this season,” he admits. “Ever since I saw my first Bassmaster Classic on TV, I’ve looked at it as the ultimate goal. Sure, I want a blue trophy and a century belt, but the Classic title is the really, really big deal.”
His growth as a pro angler has made that a possibility — provided his boat stays a little crusty and no one squishes a spider into its flooring.
Originally appeared in Bassmaster Magazine in 2021.