It’s still early in the Elite Series season, and there’s lots of fishing left to go, but right now Seth Feider is your AOY leader. Notably, a substantial percentage of the year’s remaining casts will take place up north. If indeed the Minnesotan seems likely to end up on top, and you enjoy celebrations, then it would behoove you to be present at the season-ending stop on the St. Lawrence, where he’s finished 10th, 12th, 18th, 28th and 34th.
If you’re the top brass at B.A.S.S., you can’t admit it, but a Feider title would be a huge boost for the brand. Not only is he a homegrown talent – and one who loudly rejected the offer to go to the Bass Pro Tour – but he has oodles of personality. There’s no doubt he’d embrace the role and bring some occasionally-sorely-lacking color to it.
Then again, if he does not come out on top there are plenty of other stories in the top 10: (2) Patrick Walters (golden child, future Hall of Famer?); (3) Drew Cook (former college angler, 2019 Rookie of the Year); (4) Jason Christie (returning star); (5) Brock Mosley (rising star); (6) Kyle Welcher (poker player); (7) Hank Cherry (defending Classic champ, although he may not still be defending at that point); (8) Chris Johnston (would be the first foreign AOY); (9) Greg Hackney (see Christie); and (10) Steven Kennedy (the only one who might give an acceptance speech better than Feider’s, possibly referencing the Fibonacci sequence). And of course it’s not certain that someone won’t jump up from 11th or beyond to claim the title – as noted above, there’s lots of ground left to cover.
BASS has been fortunate in this regard in recent years. Look at this year’s rookies and you’ll see that they all have a particular story to hang their hat on, something that makes them distinct. Whoever claims the AOY and/or ROY titles will do it on the basis of performance, but what they do with them – and how it reflects upon BASS – means far more to the sport.
