I never thought of Seth Feider as a veteran tour pro. Granted, time slips by quicker these days, but to me, Feider still seemed like a newcomer.

There’s no way the guy flew under the radar. Everything about Feider screams "different." The trademark haircut and corresponding gruff style goes against the grain of today’s politicking, wanna-be pro. No, Feider doesn’t seem to care if he impresses you. His fishing will.

So it came as a bit of surprise when I learned Feider had been on the Bassmaster Elite Series for seven seasons. He’d won a couple of Elite events – Angler of the Year Championship derbies that lacked payout and mainly settled the score on Classic cuts. And, while he’s appreciative of any victory, Feider admits that a regular-season blue trophy is the aim of his current campaign.

Along the way, Feider just dominated the 2021 points race, taking down what many consider to be the pinnacle accomplishment of the sport. Now a household name on tour, it’s hard to believe that Feider still hasn’t won a full-field event. It shouldn’t be long.

Things have changed within Feider’s game. You don’t bounce around making checks and then suddenly wake up one day and decide to beat the Elite Series field into a stupor.

With the facts now in front of me, I had to know more. What was it about his approach that brought Feider into the ranks of the best in the sport?

“I cared less,” the interview started, “and fished exactly how I wanted.”

Feider got right to the point.

“A lot of tournaments (in 2021), I had bad practices. That doesn’t bother me anymore.”

Feider went on to explain that poor practices often result in his best finishes. It’s a pattern he’d seen repeat itself. Today, he believes he’s solved the mystery behind this occurrence.

Outstanding early catches often forced Feider to fish a dying pattern. “I saw the wining fish in practice, and I ended up beating a dead horse,” he summed up. Conversely, with little or nothing to go on in the opening round, Feider was able to “stay more fluid” and fish current conditions.

Feider further explained that his tournament upbringing lended itself to the mistaken identity. One-day tournaments, like he was used to, were completely different than pro events, where patterns often change throughout the tournament.

And this whole “pattern” nomenclature must be discussed, as he sees it. “A Northern guy gets waypoint orientated,” Feider said. He compared geographic differences. According to Feider, Northern fisheries set up best for “spot” fishing, whereas those in the South are best approached by fishing “patterns all over the lake.” Feider concluded that his approach had to change to match this circumstance, something that could only come from experience.

That type of thing doesn’t come overnight. Feider admitted to an initial lack of confidence fishing below the Mason-Dixon Line. Such brought on a tendency to second-guess his decisions. As Feider attempted to fish ways in which he was uncomfortable, or with unfamiliar lures, results were poor, resulting in more bad decisions. Dead horse syndrome.

First, Feider made a decision to utilize comfortable techniques,and improve on others. “I made a conscious decision to get better at cranking,” he said. The aggressive fish around his Northern home prevented him from having to utilize a crankbait much. But Feider quickly learned that “there were fish that would only bite a crankbait.” He switched to a glass rod and dialed in the subtleties of his favorite Rapala baits.

Feider continued to lean hard on his favorite methods, as well. Flipping and pitching had always been a staple, swim jigs and ChatterBaits filled in much of the rest.

Along with technique improvements, Feider went old-school for much of the season. “It was a pair of sunglasses, get on the trolling motor, and go,” he summed up. Sure, modern technology helps, but Feider pointed out that, for his comfort, nothing beats “instinctual and up on the bank.”

So Seth Feider has matured, one could say. His experience has led him to trust his decisions, thus, in turn, resulting in better choices and more confidence. Professional bass fishing’s secret ingredient, and often the most important. Or is it luck?

“Every decision I made was the right one. I couldn’t do wrong,” Feider concluded. A lucky horseshoe, he added. A perfect example was the result of a fizzled smallmouth pattern at Lake Champlain, where Feider then “just went fishing," ending up with a 19-pound bag of largemouths.

It’s easy to think that the deck was stacked in his favor, but consider what it took to get there. To be leading the Angler of The Year race – nearly guaranteed the title unless things go horribly wrong – and then to be staring down just that. What’s it take to just go fishing? To push back the distractions of what will likely be the most important title of your life, turn off the graphs on one of the best smallmouth lakes in the world, pick up a flipping stick and go to the bank with the clock running out. Tick, tick, tick.

Luck? Hardly.

It takes the skill set and know-how of a tour veteran who snuck up on us and quickly became one of the best.

(Joe Balog is the often-outspoken owner of Millennium Promotions, Inc., an agency operating in the fishing and hunting industries. A former Bassmaster Open and EverStart Championship winner, he's best known for his big-water innovations and hardcore fishing style. He's a popular seminar speaker, product designer and author, and is considered one of the most influential smallmouth fishermen of modern times.)