The Starting Spot: Cook Wins NPFL, Bassmaster College National Champions, and a New Super Deep Crankbait

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.

The Starting Spot: -Bass pro Drew Cook goes wire-to-wire on the St. Lawrence River for his first NPFL victory -Andrew Blanton and Garrett Smith win a sudden death fish-off on Cherokee lake to become the first ever two-time College National Champions. -Bill Lewis Lures has announced a new take on deep crankbaits with their DR 24, capable of diving to 24 feet deep. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In today’s 7-14–25 edition of The Starting Spot:

-Bass pro Drew Cook goes wire-to-wire on the St. Lawrence River for his first NPFL victory.

-Andrew Blanton and Garrett Smith win a sudden death fish-off on Cherokee lake to become the first ever two-time College National Champions.

-Bill Lewis Lures has announced a new take on deep crankbaits with their DR 24, capable of diving to 24 feet deep.

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Drew Cook Claims First NPFL Shield with Finale Friday Victory

by Justin Brouillard

Per reporting on TheNationalProfessionalFishingLeague.com: It took three days and nearly 700 miles of running, but Drew Cook conquered the mighty St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, going wire to wire to earn his first NPFL victory and a cool $100,000.
With three calm and sunny days—something rare this spring and summer in New York—the NPFL arrived in Massena at the perfect time, and the anglers capitalized on it. Many chose to make the long run to the mouth of the lake, with some venturing into Ontario, setting new records in the process…MORE.

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Smith and Blanton take the victory at College Championship

by Christopher Decker

According to an article on Bassmaster.com: For the first time ever, overtime decided the Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Even more history was made at Cherokee Lake when Andrew Blanton and Garrett Smith landed a 2-pound largemouth just five minutes into their sudden death fish-off with Carson Newman’s Andrew Turner and James Sumrell and became the first ever two-time College National Champions.
With a three-day total of 43 pounds, 3 ounces, plus their overtime largemouth, Blanton and Smith became the first team since the inception of the College Series to win multiple National Championships, doing so in back-to-back fashion after hoisting the trophies at Lake Hartwell in 2024…MORE.

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Bill Lewis DR 24

by The Fishing Wire

Per coverage on TheFishingWire.com: The new DR 24 is the newest dive into deep waters for Bill Lewis Fishing. The DR 24 is a deep-diving crankbait that can reach depths up to 24 feet deep. 

“The DR 24 is the culmination of ideas and concepts that I’ve had for probably the last 12 or so years,” explains Crispin Powley, Senior VP of Fishing at GSM. “I wanted to be able to design a deep-diving crankbait that’s body amplified the effect of the lip. The key design concept of the DR 24 is the “shoulder ledge” that acts as an extension of the lip, increasing pressure on the bait and allowing a smaller bait to achieve incredible depths…MORE.

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