By B.A.S.S. Communications Staff
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Since he started coming to Lake Champlain as a Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Seth Feider has never caught two 5-pound largemouth in the same day.
That changed on Day 1 of this year's derby as he landed a 6-pounder and another largemouth over 5 1/2 pounds to anchor a 23-pound, 11-ounce limit of green fish that lifted him to the top of the leaderboard on Thursday.
“Those really big 5s are super rare,” he said. “I’ve never caught two in the same day, but I did today, and they go a long way when everyone is catching 3- and 4-pound fish. I don’t know how the rest of the week will play out, but I had a really fun day.
“There’s no place I’d rather win one than on Champlain.”
On a day where 100 limits of bass were caught, 21 of which were over 20 pounds, Feider holds a 1-pound advantage over 2nd-place Greg DiPalma and a 2-pound advantage over 3rd-place Kyle Patrick.
It was the 2022 Angler of the Year's biggest bag ever at Lake Champlain, adding to an already impressive track record at the famed fishery in eastern New York. He has two second-place finishes in 2017 and 2020 as well as a fourth in 2021. Last year, however, Feider missed the Day-3 cut and finished a disappointing 67th.
“Last year hurt,” he said. “I have a really good track record on this lake. It fishes a lot like home, just with bigger fish. I love fishing here.”
Feider opened the morning targeting the pelagic smallmouth Lake Champlain has become known for in the last several years with his forward-facing sonar. That turned out to be a particularly frustrating venture for the veteran angler.
“They were giving me problems, so I said to hell with them, and I went bass fishing,” Feider said. “I was just sucking at ‘Scoping. I was missing my casts, landing short, not getting bit and I lost one. I had a spot (close by) that's decent for largemouth, so I’ll go catch a few of them and then come back and Scope and it won’t bother me as much when they won’t eat my minnow.”
It was a day-altering decision as Feider landed his first lunker largemouth within his first couple of casts in the area. After landing another 4-pounder, Feider fully committed to the largemouth bite and fished seven or eight different areas, three of which produced his bag. A jig and a Texas rig were his most productive baits, while his biggest bass ate a frog.
Unlike in years past, Feider has found the largemouth are more spread out than usual. He got bites around wood, docks, rock and grass throughout the day. Most of the 25 bass Feider landed were between 2 and 3 pounds on Day 1.
“Normally you can go to a bay and camp out. This year, there are some bays I go into to catch one bass I shook off. It’s not an endless supply,” Feider said. “It’s probably because of the high water. When they were grouped up, they were more offshore in the submergent vegetation. The high water has them doing a little bit of everything.”
The Elite pros enjoyed sun and relatively calm conditions for most of Day 1, but change is on the way as the remnants of Hurricane Debby are forecast to move through the area starting on Friday, with stormy conditions continuing through Saturday morning.
That will make life much more difficult on Feider as far as navigating the fishery.
“If it gets windy, it will be really hard for me to catch them. A lot of my stuff is protected but getting from (here to there) will be a problem,” he said.
DiPalma, meanwhile, landed his entire 22-11 limit of smallmouth in the first two hours of the day off two shallow boulders in 12 feet of water. The New Jersey pro believes the crawfish population is high in the area and has seen several smallmouth spit them up as he was fighting them.
He primarily used a dropshot and a jighead minnow to land his limit.
“There are definitely fish in the area. It is a niche little area, and I have it to myself,” DiPalma said. “Tomorrow, the wind is going to change and the next day it's going to change again. These are smallmouth, and they can swim away.”
Once he filled out his limit, DiPalma made a long run south to the Ticonderoga region of Lake Champlain to try and catch a 6-pound largemouth. While he caught plenty of bass, he did not land the giant he was looking for.
Patrick landed a 21-11 mixed bag on Day 1 to land in 3rd place. He anchored his bag with a 6-2 largemouth, which was the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day. The rookie from Cooperstown, N.Y., spent the day targeting smallmouth, landing three on the day.
But as he was moving through a section of grass in 15 to 20 feet of water, he received a surprising largemouth bite that clued him into a different program.
“I committed to smallmouth, and I was throwing a Berkley Flat Worm and I got a largemouth bite. So, I pulled some rods out of the box and caught that 6-2 and a 4-2,” Patrick said. “It was fortunate that I ran into some largemouth.
“They were congregated in one section. It’s not like you can do that anywhere on the lake. I would have had 18 pounds if I had just smallmouth.”
A jig, a dropshot and a Damiki rig were Patrick’s three best baits on Day 1.
Alabama’s Justin Hamner, winner of the 2024 Bassmaster Classic, leads the Angler of the Year standings with 669 points as of Thursday. Tennessee’s Jacob Foutz is 2nd with 654, followed by Illinois rookie Trey McKinney in 3rd with 652. Missouri’s Cody Huff is 4th with 650 and Chris Johnston of Canada is 5th with 639.
The full field will launch from the Plattsburgh City Dock beginning at 7 a.m. ET Friday and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. The field will be cut to the Top 50 anglers after the Day 2 weigh-in before the Top 10 anglers take center stage on Sunday.
Day 1 Standings
1. Seth Feider -- New Market, MN -- 5, 23-11 -- 103
Day 1: 5, 23-11
2. Gregory DiPalma -- Millville, NJ -- 5, 22-11 -- 102
Day 1: 5, 22-11
3. Kyle Patrick -- Cooperstown, NY -- 5, 21-11 -- 101 -- $1,000.00
Day 1: 5, 21-11
4. Patrick Walters -- Eutawville, SC -- 5, 21-10 -- 100
Day 1: 5, 21-10
5. Brandon Lester -- Fayetteville, TN -- 5, 21-08 -- 99
Day 1: 5, 21-08
6. Jacob Foutz -- Charleston, TN -- 5, 21-04 -- 98
Day 1: 5, 21-04
7. Robert Gee -- Knoxville, TN -- 5, 21-01 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 21-01
7. Wesley Gore -- Clanton, AL -- 5, 21-01 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 21-01
7. Chris Zaldain -- Fort Worth, TX -- 5, 21-01 -- 97
Day 1: 5, 21-01
10. Matt Herren -- Ashville, AL -- 5, 21-00 -- 94
Day 1: 5, 21-00
11. Will Davis Jr -- Sylacauga, AL -- 5, 20-15 -- 93
Day 1: 5, 20-15
12. Austin Felix -- Eden Prairie, MN -- 5, 20-14 -- 92
Day 1: 5, 20-14
13. Joey Cifuentes III -- Clinton, AR -- 5, 20-13 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 20-13
13. Matt Robertson -- Kuttawa, KY -- 5, 20-13 -- 91
Day 1: 5, 20-13
15. Jay Przekurat -- Plover, WI -- 5, 20-09 -- 89
Day 1: 5, 20-09
16. Koby Kreiger -- Alva, FL -- 5, 20-08 -- 88
Day 1: 5, 20-08
17. John Cox -- Debary, FL -- 5, 20-07 -- 87
Day 1: 5, 20-07
18. Jacob Powroznik -- North Prince George, VA -- 5, 20-06 -- 86
Day 1: 5, 20-06
19. John Garrett -- Union City, TN -- 5, 20-01 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 20-01
19. Logan Latuso -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 20-01 -- 85
Day 1: 5, 20-01
21. Chris Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 5, 20-00 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 20-00
21. Wes Logan -- Springville, AL -- 5, 20-00 -- 83
Day 1: 5, 20-00
23. Cody Huff -- Ava, MO -- 5, 19-15 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 19-15
23. Trey McKinney -- Carbondale, IL -- 5, 19-15 -- 81
Day 1: 5, 19-15
25. Cooper Gallant -- Bowmanville, ON -- 5, 19-14 -- 79
Day 1: 5, 19-14
26. Bob Downey -- Detroit Lakes, MN -- 5, 19-13 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 19-13
26. Jeff Gustafson -- Kenora, ON -- 5, 19-13 -- 78
Day 1: 5, 19-13
28. Cory Johnston -- Otonabee, ON -- 5, 19-12 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 19-12
28. Tyler Williams -- Belgrade, ME -- 5, 19-12 -- 76
Day 1: 5, 19-12
30. Justin Hamner -- Northport, AL -- 5, 19-11 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-11
30. Bryan Schmitt -- Deale, MD -- 5, 19-11 -- 74
Day 1: 5, 19-11
32. Drew Cook -- Cairo, GA -- 5, 19-10 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 19-10
32. Logan Parks -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 19-10 -- 72
Day 1: 5, 19-10
34. Jason Christie -- Dry Creek, OK -- 5, 19-07 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 19-07
34. Caleb Sumrall -- New Iberia, LA -- 5, 19-07 -- 70
Day 1: 5, 19-07
36. Shane LeHew -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 19-01 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 19-01
36. Lee Livesay -- Longview, TX -- 5, 19-01 -- 68
Day 1: 5, 19-01
38. Ed Loughran III -- Richmond, VA -- 5, 19-01 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 19-01
39. Taku Ito -- Dalton GA -- 5, 19-00 -- 65
Day 1: 5, 19-00
40. Alex Wetherell -- Middletown, CT -- 5, 18-15 -- 64
Day 1: 5, 18-15
41. Michael Iaconelli -- Pitts Grove, NJ -- 5, 18-13 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 18-13
41. Alex Redwine -- Blue Ash, OH -- 5, 18-13 -- 63
Day 1: 5, 18-13
43. Carl Jocumsen -- Queensland, AUS -- 5, 18-12 -- 61
Day 1: 5, 18-12
44. David Mullins -- Mt Carmel, TN -- 5, 18-11 -- 60
Day 1: 5, 18-11
45. Caleb Kuphall -- Mukwonago, WI -- 5, 18-10 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 18-10
45. JT Thompkins -- Myrtle Beach, SC -- 5, 18-10 -- 59
Day 1: 5, 18-10
47. Kyle Norsetter -- Cottage Grove, WI -- 5, 18-09 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 18-09
47. Clifford Pirch -- Payson, AZ -- 5, 18-09 -- 57
Day 1: 5, 18-09
49. Clark Wendlandt -- Leander, TX -- 5, 18-09 -- 55
Day 1: 5, 18-09
50. Hunter Shryock -- Ooltewah, TN -- 5, 18-08 -- 54
Day 1: 5, 18-08
51. Drew Benton -- Panama City, FL -- 5, 18-07 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 18-07
51. Gerald Swindle -- Guntersville, AL -- 5, 18-07 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 18-07
51. Matty Wong -- Honolulu, HI -- 5, 18-07 -- 53
Day 1: 5, 18-07
54. Jamie Hartman -- Newport, NY -- 5, 18-06 -- 0
Day 1: 5, 18-06
55. Scott Canterbury -- Odenville, AL -- 5, 18-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 18-05
55. Timothy Dube -- Nashua , NH -- 5, 18-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 18-05
55. Ben Milliken -- New Caney, TX -- 5, 18-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 18-05
55. Jake Whitaker -- Hendersonville, NC -- 5, 18-05 -- 49
Day 1: 5, 18-05
59. Brandon Cobb -- Greenwood, SC -- 5, 18-03 -- 45
Day 1: 5, 18-03
60. Brock Mosley -- Collinsville, MS -- 5, 18-02 -- 44
Day 1: 5, 18-02
61. Matt Arey -- Shelby, NC -- 5, 18-01 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 18-01
61. Cliff Prince -- Palatka, FL -- 5, 18-01 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 18-01
61. Kyle Welcher -- Valley, AL -- 5, 18-01 -- 43
Day 1: 5, 18-01
64. Kyoya Fujita -- Yamanashi, JAPAN -- 5, 18-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 18-00
64. Bill Lowen -- Brookville, IN -- 5, 18-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 18-00
64. Bryan New -- Leesville, SC -- 5, 18-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 18-00
64. Luke Palmer -- Coalgate, OK -- 5, 18-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 18-00
64. Frank Talley -- Belton, TX -- 5, 18-00 -- 40
Day 1: 5, 18-00
69. Brandon Card -- Salisbury, NC -- 5, 17-15 -- 35
Day 1: 5, 17-15
70. Cole Sands -- Calhoun , TN -- 5, 17-14 -- 34
Day 1: 5, 17-14
71. Brad Whatley -- Bivins, TX -- 5, 17-13 -- 33
Day 1: 5, 17-13
72. Hank Cherry Jr -- Lincolnton, NC -- 5, 17-12 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12
72. Mike Huff -- London, KY -- 5, 17-12 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12
72. Jordan Lee -- Cullman, AL -- 5, 17-12 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12
72. Scott Martin -- Clewiston, FL -- 5, 17-12 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12
72. Bryant Smith -- Roseville, CA -- 5, 17-12 -- 32
Day 1: 5, 17-12
77. Mark Menendez -- Paducah, KY -- 5, 17-10 -- 27
Day 1: 5, 17-10
78. Chad Pipkens -- Dewitt, MI -- 5, 17-08 -- 26
Day 1: 5, 17-08
79. David Gaston -- Sylacauga, AL -- 5, 17-07 -- 25
Day 1: 5, 17-07
80. Jonathan Kelley -- Old Forge, PA -- 5, 17-05 -- 24
Day 1: 5, 17-05
81. Keith Combs -- Huntington, TX -- 5, 17-02 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 17-02
81. Greg Hackney -- Gonzales, LA -- 5, 17-02 -- 23
Day 1: 5, 17-02
83. Kenta Kimura -- Osaka, JAPAN -- 5, 17-00 -- 21
Day 1: 5, 17-00
84. Buddy Gross -- Chattanooga, TN -- 5, 16-14 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 16-14
84. Pat Schlapper -- Eleva, WI -- 5, 16-14 -- 20
Day 1: 5, 16-14
86. Marc Frazier -- Newnan, GA -- 5, 16-13 -- 18
Day 1: 5, 16-13
87. KJ Queen -- Catawba, NC -- 5, 16-10 -- 17
Day 1: 5, 16-10
88. Stetson Blaylock -- Benton, AR -- 5, 16-08 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 16-08
88. Rick Clunn -- Ava, MO -- 5, 16-08 -- 16
Day 1: 5, 16-08
90. Justin Atkins -- Florence, AL -- 5, 16-05 -- 14
Day 1: 5, 16-05
91. Tyler Rivet -- Raceland, LA -- 5, 16-00 -- 13
Day 1: 5, 16-00
92. Paul Mueller -- Naugatuck, CT -- 5, 15-13 -- 12
Day 1: 5, 15-13
93. John Crews Jr -- Salem, VA -- 5, 15-12 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 15-12
93. Steve Kennedy -- Auburn, AL -- 5, 15-12 -- 11
Day 1: 5, 15-12
95. Todd Auten -- Clover, SC -- 5, 15-05 -- 9
Day 1: 5, 15-05
96. Joseph Webster -- Hamilton, AL -- 5, 15-03 -- 8
Day 1: 5, 15-03
97. Jason Williamson -- Aiken, SC -- 5, 14-15 -- 7
Day 1: 5, 14-15
98. Ray Hanselman Jr -- Del Rio, TX -- 5, 14-04 -- 6
Day 1: 5, 14-04
99. John Soukup -- Sapulpa, OK -- 5, 14-00 -- 5
Day 1: 5, 14-00
100. Brandon Palaniuk -- Rathdrum, ID -- 5, 13-01 -- 4
Day 1: 5, 13-01
101. Bernie Schultz -- Gainesville, FL -- 3, 08-00 -- 3
Day 1: 3, 08-00
