What better day to start my new series, “How’d You Meet Your Angler?” than Valentines Day, when we celebrate romance and love.

Behind the scenes, the wives of the professional anglers contribute a lot to the success of their spouses. I wanted to find out some of the unique stories of how they met and fell in love.

I’m excited to start with Seth Feider and his wife, Dayton Feider. When I told her that I had to laugh at many of her answers, Dayton responded “I’m glad you think it’s funny. I just answered very honestly.”

HPFC: Can you share the story of how you and Seth first crossed paths?

Dayton Feider: We met through Brad Leuthner, who is now fishing the Opens, and my friend Jackie, who I was going to nursing school with at the time. They set us up before my first semester of nursing school finals and the Sturgeon Bay tournament. There is a bit more to the story but that is the appropriate answer.

HPFC: What were your initial impressions or your husband when you first met him?

Dayton Feider: I thought he was super cute and funny. He wasn’t the best to give details of his life. I really needed to pull information out of him to get to know him. I literally didn’t know he had siblings until they were at Christmas two years after we had started dating. I thought he was very passionate about hunting and fishing. I didn’t quite understand the extent of the obsession when we first started dating.

HPFC: Did you know anything about fishing when you first met?

Dayton Feider: Kinda. The extent of my fishing experience was dock fishing with my grandpa Alan as a kid and catching panfish. My stepdad also was super into walleye fishing, he took me out once, which resulted in me thinking that northerns were called “snakes.” I could bait a hook.

HPFC: What if anything, did you know about professional bass fishing before you met?

Dayton Feider: I didn’t know a thing about professional fishing. I had watched it on TV maybe twice as a kid, but I didn’t think it was as big as it is. Bass fishing in the North is very different than in the South. Like even now, my family thought it was just an expensive hobby for Seth, until they saw him on TV in 2021. The only three people that got it were my Grandpa Alan, my dad and my stepdad.

HPFC: Was there a specific moment or event that made you realize your feelings were more than just friendship?

Dayton Feider: For me it was the day we met. I knew he was going to be my end game. I can’t explain it, I just knew. I don’t know what his answer would be, but for me that was it.

HPFC: How long have you been married?

Dayton Feider: We have been married 6 years. Together for almost 12 years.

HPFC: When you met was he already fishing professionally or did he have another job and what was his profession?

Dayton Feider: The year that we met was 2012, He had just started to do the Opens. I had ZERO idea of what the Opens were, what they did, who BASS was. When we first met, he was spraying insulation and working construction. He had some weird jobs when he was trying to get into the Elites. I can’t remember all of them but that’s the jist.

HPFC: How did the two of you come to terms with him going out and living his dream?

Dayton Feider: That’s a tough one. If he had never gotten into the Elites, I don’t know he would still be trying fishing professionally. Getting into the Elites really set the course for us to have kids. And, if we didn’t have kids yet I would be totally fine with him going and trying to follow whatever he needed to do. Now if he wasn’t in the Elites and we had the three kids, we have now that’s a different story. He would be working a 9-5 and be miserable, until at least until the kids would be school age.

HPFC: What doubts might you have had with him going on tour and how did you overcome them?

Dayton Feider: Our whole relationship, he would be gone for weeks at time. We had figured out what each other needed from the relationship long before we were married. Adjusting to the Elite schedule was easier than the Opens, because he would also be doing more local tournaments, practicing more, prefishing more, and he was gone way more before the Elites vs. after. Especially after kids, the hardest adjustment he has had to make was dialing the local tournaments back. He would practice from sunup to sundown for a Denny’s tournament for weeks while fishing the Elite tournaments. That had to stop. If he’s home, he’s home, no being gone all day if the kids are home. The deal was he needed to be home for either morning or evening.

HPFC: How do you manage the frequent separation and limited time together due to his on the road schedule?

Dayton Feider: We talk on the phone every day. On days that I’m not working or have the kids at home, we might talk 5+ times a day. Sometimes it might be once a day. Video chatting was a game changer. Honestly, I have a GPS on his phone and truck, which makes me feel better about him being gone. He never tells me where he is staying or what town he is in which makes me anxious, I can’t fall asleep without knowing he’s safe somewhere, and not dying on the side of a road.

Pro bass angler Seth Feider and his wife Dayton

HPFC: How do you adjust when your husband returns home after being away for weeks at a time practicing or from competitions?

Dayton Feider: Lord, sometimes it’s a struggle. He hangs out with a bunch of dudes, Like they just fish, eat, sleep. I think only women will understand when I say I need to retrain him every time he comes home. He’s improved a lot with each kid, I will say. It takes a solid three days after he leaves and three days back home to fully adjusted. I hate when his schedule has him home for only like six days then gone again, it kills me.

HPFC: Are there any activities or special events that you and your husband enjoy doing when you are together after he has been gone all season?

Dayton Feider: We are homebodies. Honestly, just watching a movie on the couch or playing with the kids is the best thing in the world right now. We do like to go and get sushi.

HPFC: Do you have any pet peeves?

Dayton Feider: He is the king of procrastination and is probably the messiest person I have ever met. Extremely disorganized.

HPFC: What do you think your husband’s pet peeves are of you?

Dayton Feider: I am a clean freak that wants things done ASAP. Also, whenever he sits on the couch, supposedly I have a habit of telling him to do something as soon as he looks comfortable. I don’t think so, but I hear that a lot.

HPFC: What are your retirement plans?

Dayton Feider: Seth and I really want to own land and have a farm. I love the idea of having a homestead, with all the animals and gardens. That’s the goal. I really want to build a home where my kids will want to be there and have amazing memories.

HPFC: What is something off the wall that no one knows about the two of you?

Dayton Feider: There’s about a 7 ½ year age difference between us. When we first met, I was 20 and he was 27. He used to have to sneak me into bars.

I hope you find these professional angler soul mates’ love stories fun and enchanting. Check back in the coming weeks to see whose story of love I have found next to share.