The Starting Spot: Bass on Antique Tackle, 2026 Bassmaster Opens Schedule, and Wheeler Is Still Hungry

The Starting Spot Daily Bass Fishing Headlines are the perfect way to start your day with some of the top bass fishing articles on the internet. It’s the quick, informative, how, where, and who you need to know. So, rub the sleep from your eyes, pour that first cup of the day, and head to your Starting Spot.

Today on The Starting Spot: Bass on Antique Tackle, 2026 Bassmaster Opens Schedule, and Wheeler’s Still Hungry | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In this edition of The Starting Spot:

-Antique tackle collecting is a satisfying pursuit for many anglers interested in the sport’s history. Vintage treasures are neatly kept in glass display cases where you can look but don’t touch. But avid collector, Bill Sonnet is catching 5-pounders on topwater lures over 100 years old.

-Bassmaster has announced their 2026 Opens schedule, revealing that half of the eight tournaments are going to be no forward-facing sonar. No coin flip this time.

-As I suppose no one is surprised to learn, Jacob Wheeler’s appetite for winning is not yet satisfied. In fact, he has a whole list of things he’s practicing to get better at during the off season.

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Fishing with Antique Tackle

by Brent Frazee

According to an article on Wired2Fish.com: When Bill Sonnett says he enjoys “old school” bass fishing, he isn’t exaggerating. Sonnett not only collects antique fishing gear, he fishes with it. Other bass fishermen can have their high-powered boats, expensive rods and reels, and high-tech electronics. Sonnett would rather putt around in his small rowboat and fish the way his ancestors did.

He uses topwater lures that are almost 100 years old, baitcasting reels from the World War II era, tubular glass rods made in the early 1950s, and a beat-up metal tackle box from the 1940s. He relives history every time he goes fishing, and he regularly proves that the vintage tackle can still catch big bass…MORE.

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B.A.S.S. announces 2026 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens schedule, Live Sonar rule change and EQ qualifications updates

by B.A.S.S.

From an article on Bassmaster.com: B.A.S.S. officials today unveiled the schedule for the 2026 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN, eight tournaments spread across two divisions that will challenge anglers on some of the country’s most iconic fisheries.

The Opens have long served as a proving ground for aspiring pros, and in 2026, the trail will once again deliver a diverse slate of fisheries, from Florida grass lakes to Northern smallmouth waters. As always, the stakes are high — the Opens offers competitors a pathway to qualify for the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier Series (EQs) presented by Bass Pro Shops and ultimately the upper echelon of tournament bass fishing: the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series…MORE.

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Wheeler Still Hungry After AOY #4

by Todd Ceisner

In a story on BassFan.com: Jacob Wheeler has a sobering message for the Bass Pro Tour field: There are still things he wants to get better at.

Oh, is that so, Mister 10-time champion? Mister four-time Angler of the Year? You want to get better at some things, eh? What could you possibly have identified as a weakness after another spring and summer of dominance on the water? Shaving a second off the time it takes to deploy your trolling motor after pulling up to a new spot perhaps?

“I have a list in my phone of things that I have to work on this fall that I’m weak at or need to clean up,” Wheeler told BassFan in a phone interview a few days after closing out the 2025 BPT season with a victory at Saginaw Bay where he clinched his fourth AOY title in the trail’s seven-year existence.

Hey everyone, did you hear that? He’s got a (gulp) list…MORE.

Thanks for starting your day with Fishing On SI. Lines in!