The Starting Spot: McKinney Leads St Clair, Thrift Leads Saginaw, and Bass Hall of Fame Scholarships

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: Trey McKinney Leads the Bassmaster Elite on St Clair, Bryan Thrift Leads the final BPT of the year on Saginaw Bay, and the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame hands out 8 Scholarships | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

In this edition of The Starting Spot:

-The 2025 Basmaster Elite series on St Clair and the BPT on Saginaw Bay, it’s a bad day to be a smallmouth bass. Phenom Trey McKinney sacked up 24-pounds, 11-ounces for the day one lead on St Clair.

-The Bass Pro Tour anglers did include some quality largemouth in their catches from Saginaw Bay. At the end of the day it was veteran Bryan Thrift landing 48 scorable bass for 127 pounds, 11 ounces, who holds a commanding lead over second place Edwin Evers.

-These are the stories that remind me why I’m a big fan and supporter of the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame. They’ve announced 8 students who will benefit from this year’s Fishery Management Scholarship Program.

---

McKinney marches into Day 1 lead at Lake St. Clair

by Christopher Decker

In a story on Bassmaster.com: In his first two years as a Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series angler, Trey McKinney has come to realize that a northern smallmouth bass is smarter than a southern largemouth. On Day 1 of the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, McKinney found the right cadence to trick five big brown fish into biting.

The 20-year-old phenom from Carbondale, Ill., leads the 101 Elite Series field with 24 pounds, 11 ounces, anchoring his bag with a 5-10 smallmouth. McKinney’s lead over second-place Matt Robertson is just 11 ounces, while Will Davis Jr. trails by 1-8…MORE.

---

Thrift paces field on blistering Day 1 at Saginaw Bay

by Mitchell Forde

In a story on MajorLeaguFishing.com: The vast waters of Saginaw Bay yielded a little bit of everything on Day 1 at Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats. While much of the Bass Pro Tour field power fished for largemouth, some used finesse tactics to catch smallmouth and a few combined both approaches during Thursday’s opening day of qualifying.

All of the above tactics produced bunches of bass. Bryan Thrift led the way, boating 48 scorable bass for 127 pounds, 11 ounces. One of four pros to top the 100-pound mark on the day, he leads Edwin Evers by 16-9. Thrift’s banner day saw him catch the most scorable bass, amass the most weight and tie for Berkley Big Bass honors with a 4-11 largemouth.

“I didn’t expect it to be that good,” Thrift said. “I thought I could catch some bass, but I never thought I could catch them that good.”…MORE.

---

BFHOF has awarded scholarships under its Fishery Management Scholarship Program

by FTR Industry Wire

According to a story on FishingTackleRetailer.com: For the third consecutive year, the Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (BFHOF) has awarded scholarships under its Fishery Management Scholarship Program. This program aims to provide financial support and encouragement to high school and college bass anglers pursuing careers in fields that will directly contribute to healthy fisheries, essential access, and clean rivers, lakes and reservoirs, consistent with the BFHOF’s mission.

The eight selected applicants will each receive $2,500 to pursue their studies. The recipients include…MORE.

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