Classic: Feider's final practice day

Follow along as Seth Feider prepares for his third career Bassmaster Classic.

Feider had a few goals going into the final day of practice.

1. Learn something new.

2. Stay away from his one good area he already has.

3. Find confidence in a bridge or two just in case that becomes a prevalent bite.

4. Check the water color in different regions of the lake to see what changing conditions have altered.

Feider made a couple quit stops to experiment in areas he hadn’t fished this week.

Eel grass has been one of the biggest fishing structures at Guntersville. It’s also been a great water filter as Guntersville has maintained a solid water color even with heavy rains hitting the region.

Feider experimented with open water areas and then got up close and personal with some shallow cover.

Matted vegetation can hold fish through all water temperatures because it will hold heat and produce oxygen for fish in the area.

A young angler fished off a nearby dock for a few minutes.

A spinnerbait is always a great spring time lure. This one had a hammered gold willow leaf.

Feider’s famed mustache was out and on display for all to see.

Patrick Walters fishes nearby at this spot.

I have to admit, it’s good to see another angler reeling with his left hand since that’s my go-to.

There were some big trees laid down in the water to fish.

A blue herron heads out.

So does Luke Palmer.

Mike Huff fishes down the bank from where Feider stopped.

He makes a quick adjustment at the next location.

Time to pull out another rod to experiment.

Feider chose to fish some grass.

There were some isolated matted grass patches.

So Feider flipped around to see if that would work.

We head under a bridge to check out another area.

Here is what some eel grass looks like on a graph while fishing.

Feider kept a solid number of rods out all day with diverse lures.

He rearranged some rods. This was a key bait at the 2019 Bassmaster Classic that Ott DeFoe won. Feider gave it a try for a few minutes.

Plenty of rock around Guntersville to try.

He makes a quick switch.

Feider hooks up with his first bite of the day.

A keeper, but nothing that he believes will win him the Bassmaster Classic.

Solid chunk though.

Another spot and another hook up.

This time with a big fish. One that got Feider excited.

A 7-pounder is always welcomed in the boat.

This gave Feider some confidence to build off of.

He kept looking for another spot or two that could add to his arsenal.

He covered some water and put some miles on his BassCat/Mercury combo today.

Feider had his Humminbird graphs dialed in to mark any slight grass change or contour he liked.

Feider put it on the trailer and made his last practice cast for the 2020 Bassmaster Classic. Feider thinks this Classic will break records and 74 pounds will be the winning weight. 69-11 is the current Classic weight record for the five-fish limit era of tournaments.