The names change, but the results are remarkably the same when the Elite Series comes to the Mississippi River at La Crosse. In looking back at Day 1 in 2016, you can get a pretty good idea of what you’ll see on the leaderboard after today’s weigh-in.
Ott DeFoe won in ’16 with a four-day total of 63 pounds, 10 ounces. He had one of three 17-pound bags caught on Day 1, along with Casey Ashley, who led with 17-10, and Jordan Lee, who was third with 17-2. DeFoe caught 17-7.
There were also three 16-pound bags, four 15-pound bags and 11 bags in the 14-pound range. Only 19 of 107 anglers failed to weigh-in a 5-bass limit.
Seth Feider was one of 20 anglers who weighed 13-pound bags on Day 1. He was in 40th place with 13-1. That would be Feider’s worst day. He sacked 19-5, 16-9 and 13-8 over the next three days to finish in second place with 62-7. As you may remember, that was the springboard to Feider’s rising stardom on the Elite Series. His pro career was, admittedly, on life support before La Crosse in August of 2016.