The Starting Spot: Expert Spybait Fishing Tips, 2025 Bassmaster HS All-State Team, and Invasive Smallmouth?

In this edition of The Starting Spot:

-Tactical Bassin’s Matt Allen can’t believe how overlooked the incredibly effective spybait is in 2025. Do you fish it? Do you know anyone who fishes it? Allen provides everything you need to know to put this bait to work for you.

-The 33-student Bassmaster All-State High School fishing team has been named. Competitors were awarded these coveted team spots based on bass tournament competition results, academic achievements and a demonstration of achievement and leadership in conservation and community service.

-Obviously, I love smallmouth bass and it’s difficult for me to picture a lake where I wouldn’t like them to live. But I can also understand proper lake management when it’s based on sound scientific data. In Colorado, a lake that is supposed to be a brook tout and lake trout water is struggling because smallmouth are so competitive.

The Most Overlooked Bait Of 2025! (You Should Try This Spybait Again)

by Matt Allen

From a video on Tactical Bassin’s YouTube channel: Spybaits are one of the most underrated lures in bass fishing! Their ability to catch big fish in both clear and stained water is remarkable. There aren't many baits that are this good, that go unnoticed by the majority of anglers. From fan casting flats, to ledge fishing, to targeting schooling fish, the spy bait should have a place in your box.

It's amazing how many anglers look right past the spybait. They don't look like much in the water, but they catch a ton of fish! From the smaller 70 and 80 sizes for Smallmouth and Spotted Bass, to the larger 90 and 100 sizes for big Largemouth, these baits have earned their place on the deck of the boat. . …MORE.

Top Student Athletes Named To The 2025 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team

by The Fishing Wire

According to an article on TheFishingWire.com: Thirty-three of the top high school anglers from across the country have been named to the 2025 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team.

The students were selected for this honor based on their success in bass tournament competition, academic achievement and leadership in conservation and community service.

To be considered for the All-State Fishing Team, a student must have been nominated by a parent, coach, teacher or other school official. Students enrolled in grades 10-12 with a current-year grade point average of 2.5 or higher were eligible.

B.A.S.S. received nearly 200 nominations from across 25 states. From these, judges selected 33 student anglers to make the All-State Fishing Team…MORE.

$10,000 Prize for Removing “Invasive” Smallmouth Bass From Southwest Colorado’s Ridgway Reservoir

by Bob McNally

In a story on Wired2Fish.com: The 10th edition of the Ridgway Smallmouth Bass Classic ran from July 5 to August 10, with $20,000 in cash on the line for anglers removing bass from the lake.

Smallmouths are considered a non-native invasive species in that part of Colorado, as biologists believe they compete with native and prized brook and lake trout. Bass are more aggressive than trout and other native fish in the state, so smallies must be removed and anglers are helping to get them out of Ridgway.

The tournament is held every-other-year, and this year the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department (CPW) offered $20,000 in prize money to those fishermen removing smallmouths. Top prize for the fisherman catching the most smallmouths and turning them in to the CPW this year won $10,000. The second place angler received $5,000, and the third spot won $1,000…MORE.

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

The Most Overlooked Bait Of 2025! (You Should Try This Spybait Again)

Top Student Athletes Named To The 2025 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team

$10,000 Prize for Removing “Invasive” Smallmouth Bass From Southwest Colorado’s Ridgway Reservoir

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