The Starting Spot: Johnston Crushes St Lawrence, Eigbrett Wins Champlain, and the Jr National Champs

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: -Canadian Chris Johnston goes wire-to-wire at the St Lawrence Invitational, surprising absolutely no one. -Bad weather shortened the Bassmaster Kayak event on Champlain and Bailey Eigbrett gets the win. -Parker Smith and Carson Randan claimed the 2025 Bassmaster Junior National Championship title at Clarks Hill. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In today’s 7-28–25 edition of The Starting Spot: It's a Special All-Tournament Edition

-Canadian Chris Johnston goes wire-to-wire at the St Lawrence Invitational, surprising absolutely no one.

-Bad weather shortened the Bassmaster Kayak event on Champlain and Bailey Eigbrett gets the win.

-Parker Smith and Carson Randan claimed the 2025 Bassmaster Junior National Championship title at Clarks Hill.

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Johnston completes another tour de force on the St. Lawrence

by Jody White

In a story on MajorLeagueFishing.com: Technically, the Johnston family is not inevitable on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, but this weekend, they looked pretty hard to beat. On Lake Ontario, Cory and Lynn Johnston won the Thousand Island Open out of Kingston – with more than a 5 1/2 -pound average per fish. Meanwhile, running nearly to Lake Ontario every day, Chris Johnston weighed 76 pounds, 1 ounce over three days to win Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 6 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches in fine style.

Finishing second (again!) Hayden O’Barr tallied 68-8 on the week, and Banks Shaw, Brent Anderson and Clay Reece all got over 67 pounds, but nobody was really close to Johnston after he sailed through Day 2. The win is Johnston’s second at the FLW Tour or Invitationals level, his first coming back in 2018 on the Harris Chain. For this win, he pocketed $80,000 and burnished his already sterling record on the big river…MORE.

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Kayak: Eigbrett claims title at Lake Champlain

by Christopher Decker

Per an article on Bassmaster.com: Bailey Eigbrett entered the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Lake Champlain presented by Native Watercraft with one goal; qualify for the 2026 Bassmaster Kayak National Championship in Knoxville.

Not only did he accomplish that goal, but he also claimed a big trophy to add to his mantle.

The Cheektowaga, N.Y., angler claimed the victory in his home state, landing a limit of smallmouth measuring 100.25 inches. Eigbrett’s total included three smallies measuring 20 inches, a 20.5-incher and a 19.75-incher, enough to edge out Pennsylvania’s Nick Audi, who finished second with 100 inches…MORE.

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Smith and Randan win 2025 Junior National Championship

by Pete Robbins

Per an article on Bassmaster.com: With a Day 2 catch of 8 pounds, 7 ounces, Tennessee’s Scotts Hill High School Anglers Junior duo Parker Smith and Carson Randan claimed the 2025 Bassmaster Junior National Championship title at Clarks Hill Lake with a two-day total of 20 pounds, 7 ounces.

Parker and Smith, 14 and 13 years old, respectively, were in third place after the first day with a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds. That had them a mere 3 ounces out of the lead. On Day 2, as the bite tightened up for just about everyone, they landed 8 pounds 7 ounces to win by 1-04 over the second-place Junior Keystone Bassmasters team of Weston Bouchikas and Luke Hoskinson…MORE.