Seth Feider's Pattern, Baits & Gear
Seth Feider was one big bite shy of the win despite not losing any fish that would have helped and executing his plan without a hitch. "I committed to practice up north in the Inland Sea part of the lake because it takes too much time and there's more risk running south to Ticonderoga," he said. "It turned out to be a good decision since it didn't seem like the guys who made that run had more than 15- or 16-pound limits. "I was looking for good largemouth spots, places with milfoil that was topped out, and I found six or seven good spots," he noted. "I mixed in some dock-fishing too. "After I had some good (largemouth) areas I went and found a couple good smallmouth spots too, since the largemouth fishing didn't get good until late morning," he added.
On day 1 he weighed all largemouths, as the smallmouth spots didn't provide any specimens over 2 1/2 pounds. "I stopped fishing hard around 1 p.m. and went looking for other areas, but I didn't find any," he said. He landed in 4th place.
Day 2 was bright and calm, perfect for his largemouth plan. To his surprise, the smallmouths were active early and he got most of his weight before going to the green fish. He upgraded with a big bite before the day was over and turned in his best day of the event. He rose to 2nd place, partly on the back of the 6-06 brute largemouth he caught from a boat dock. That ended up being the big fish of the tournament.
Day 3 was a carbon copy of day 2, and again the smallmouth turned on. He left them at 8:30 a.m., but never upgraded much on the largemouths and sank again to 4th place, having made the all-important cut to the Top 10.
Day 4 was overcast with shifting, sometimes strong winds, and between the weather and his waning faith in his largemouth spots, Feider elected to chase smallmouth all day. The brown fish cooperated enough to again lift him to 2nd place to finish the tournament.
His smallmouth spot was a grass point in 10 to 12 feet of water on a big flat. He caught them on a dropshot and a crankbait. His biggest fish on day 4, a 4 3/4 pounder, ate a Carolina-rigged craw. The largemouths ate a jig and a Texas-rigged craw-style bait pitched to grass and boat docks.
Gear:
Dropshot gear: 7' medium-light Daiwa Tatula Elite Cody Meyer Edition rod, Daiwa Exist 4000 spinning reel, 8-pound Sufix 832 braid (main line), 8-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon leader, 3/8-ounce Woo! Tungsten dropshot weight, No. 4 VMC Neko hook, unnamed fluke-style bait (green-pumpkin).
Crankbait gear: 7'4" heavy-action Daiwa Tatula Bladed Jig rod, Daiwa Tatula 100SV casting reel (7:1 ratio), 12-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon line, unnamed medium-diving crankbait (ghost minnow).
Jig gear: Daiwa Tatula Elite Brent Ehrler 7' MH rod, Daiwa Steez SV 8:1 reel, 30-pound Sufix 131 braid main line to 20-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon leader, 5/8-ounce Outkast Tackle Stealth Feider jig (money craw color), unnamed chunk-style trailer.
He used a fluorocarbon leader because the clear water and somewhat sparse grass allowed the fish to see the braid too easily.
Texas rig gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Daiwa Kage rod, Daiwa Tatula SV casting reel (8:1 ratio), 30-pound Sufix 832 braid (main line) 20-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon leader, 1/2-ounce Woo! Tungsten flipping weight, 4/0 VMC heavy wide-gap ringed hook, unnamed craw style bait (green-pumpkin).
Carolina rig gear: 7'5" medium-heavy Daiwa Steez Bottom Contact rod, Daiwa Zillion casting reel (7.3:1 ratio)l, 20-pound Sufix Advance fluorocarbon (main line), 14-pound Sufix Advance monofilament leader (3'), 5/8-ounce Woo! Tungsten flipping weight, 2/0 VMC round-bend worm hook, unnamed craw-style bait (green-pumpkin).
He likes a monofilament leader on the Carolina rig because the leader is prone to develop knots when casting at times, and mono will not break as easily as fluoro when knotted. Also, sometimes the mono will help float the bait off the bottom a little, whereas the fluoro sinks.
Bassmaster Elite Tour Lake Champlain 2-5 Patterns - BassFan 8/7/20 (Jonathan Manteuffel)
