The Starting Spot: BPT Team Series Finals, How AOY Affects the Classic, and 2,978 Fish in 24 Hours

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.

In today's Starting Spot: BPT Team Series Finals, How AOY Affects the Classic, and 2,978 Fish in 24 Hours | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In this edition of The Starting Spot:

-Major League Fishing’s Team Challenge Event has come down to two final teams—Adrian Avena and Dustin Connell vs. Mark Davis and Gary Klein. It’s kind of a new guard old guard showdown. Should be interesting.

-The Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year race has finally been settled with Chris Johnston winning his second title in as many years. But what happened to the rest of the field? Who qualified to fish the 2026 Classic?

-Yes, this isn’t really a bass fishing story, per se, but it’s one worth knowing about. I guess technically, Marathon Man, Jeff Kolodzinski may catch some bass in the nearly 3,000 fish he’s aiming to catch in 24-hours, but in years past it’s been mostly bluegills. It’s a pretty amazing feat and it’s all for a great cause. Go, Jeff!

---

Avena and Connell cruise into Championship Round, Davis and Klein claim final spot

by Joe Opager

From an article on MajorLeagueFishing.com: Adrian Avena and Dustin Connell left little doubt on Thursday, posting a wire-to-wire performance on the northern stretch of the St. Clair River to win Knockout Round Match 2 at the B&W Trailer Hitches Challenge Cup Presented by 5-hour ENERGY®. Representing Team YETI, the duo landed 24 scorable smallmouth bass weighing 50 pounds even, securing their spot in Friday’s first Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops Championship Round of the season.

Team YETI set the pace early, stacking up 18 pounds in the opening period and steadily building their total with another 21-5 in the second. Connell’s 5-8 bruiser – the biggest bass of the week so far – anchored their catch and earned Berkley Big Bass honors.
Mark Davis and Gary Klein of Team B&W Trailer Hitches, meanwhile, overcame a slow start to rally into second place…MORE.

---

AOY Update: Some final points on the points race, end of season gives clearer picture of 2026 Classic

by Christopher Decker

According to an article on Bassmaster.com: As exciting as the final day of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River was, it ended up having very little impact on the final Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race in terms of qualification for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic or Elite Series requalification. Jay Przekurat and Kyoya Fujita did settle third place in AOY, with a much heftier check heading to Przekurat’s bank account. 

But there are plenty of interesting observations about the final points standings. Here are a couple of things I find interesting about how it all shook out…MORE.

---

World Record in Jeopardy

by FTR

In a story on FishingTackleRetailer.com: Jeff Kolodzinski is a man on a mission – a Marathon Man out to break a record he already holds. Starting at 5:00pm on September 10th and ending 5:00 pm on September 11th at Camp Dallas, outside Spring Bay, Illinois, he will attempt to catch 2,978 fish on hook and line to break his own record of 2,977 set in 2022. The long-standing fishing industry charity event began in 2006, and this year’s is setting up to be the biggest yet!

Not only is Kolodzinski the current world record holder for fish caught in a 24-hour period, but he also represented the United States seven times in international competition at the World Championship of Freshwater Fishing. He currently serves as the Content Marketing – Senior Manager for Fishing at Johnson Outdoors and is a longtime fishing industry professional with dozens of awards and accolades.

Jeff “Kolo” Kolodzinski is not doing it to merely break his own world record…MORE.

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