The Starting Spot: New 2026 BPT Payouts, Fall Bass Tips, and Youth Fish Art Contest

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: New 2026 BPT Payouts, Fall Bass Tips, and Youth Fish Art Contest | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In this edition of The Starting Spot:

-Big changes coming for Major League Fishing’s Bass Pro Tour next year. First, the field is going to be cut to just 51 pros for 2026, but we already knew that was coming. Today they announced how they’re shifting payouts around and who gets what.

-Bassmaster Elite pro Luke Palmer is excited for his favorite time of year. It’s not quite fall yet, he says, but it’s really close. In this article he shares a bunch of great insights and tips that you can apply to your fall bass fishing to make it your favorite time of the year, too.

-Yes, strictly speaking, this one is not a bass article. But the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) Wildlife Forever 2026 Fish Art Contest is all about getting youth excited about fishing and developing creativity, and it could be about bass. Texas folks, get your kids involved.

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Major League Fishing announces Bass Pro Tour payout structure enhancements for 2026

by Bass Pro Tour

From a press release on MajorLeagueFishing.com: Major League Fishing, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today significant enhancements to the payout structure of the Bass Pro Tour for the 2026 season. The adjustments, driven by angler feedback, mark another step in establishing the Bass Pro Tour as the most competitive and rewarding circuit in professional bass fishing.

The Bass Pro Tour roster will feature 51 anglers next season, creating the most exclusive and challenging field in the history of the sport. With the most accomplished lineup ever assembled, every cast, every fish and every decision will carry even greater weight.

For 2026, MLF is expanding the cut line at each event…MORE.

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One of my favorite times of the year

by Luke Palmer

From a story on Bassmaster.com: We’re not too far from one of my favorite times of the year, but we’re not there yet. I’m talking about fall in Oklahoma, and my gut tells me it won’t be much longer.
I fished a tournament on Lake Eufaula the second week of September, and the water temperature was in the 80s. At that temperature level, the fish are not concerned with chasing bait. They’re still in that late summer pattern, and they still haven’t made any transition to the backs of creeks.

During that tournament, I caught them early on topwater and then moved out to deep brush, timber and anywhere I had caught them in August. I didn’t even look for those shallow patterns…MORE.

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2026 Youth Fish Art Contest Accepting Entries

by The Fishing Wire

The Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) has opened the Texas division of Wildlife Forever’s 2026 Fish Art Contest for entries.

The Fish Art Contest will accept entries until Feb. 28, and is part of an international conservation education program designed to foster youth interest in fish, fisheries and fishing.

“The Fish Art Contest does a tremendous job of exposing students across Texas to the wonders of Texas’ fish and fisheries resources through the nexus of art,” said Tom Lang, TFFC director. “We always look forward to this time of year when we are once again amazed by the outstanding work and artistic interpretations of these young Texans.”

Participants must submit a completed entry form and an original illustration of a wild fish found in Texas. Applicants in grades 4-12 are also required to submit a one-page creative writing piece. Once the entrance form is submitted, applicants must mail their artwork to TFFC, 5550 FM 2495, Athens, TX, 75752. The physical artwork must have a landscape orientation between 8X10 inches and 9X12 inches and be postmarked no later than Feb. 28…MORE.

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