Bass-Fishing History Made at St. Lawrence River
Trey McKinney catches the heaviest single-day bag of smallmouth bass in history and becomes the youngest ever to win Angler of the Year at the 2026 Bassmaster Elite finale.
Chase Sansom / Bassmaster Photo.
CLAYTON, NY (August 30, 2026) – A Buddhist proverb speaks of three things that cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.
The sun was obscured by clouds throughout much of this past week’s final event of the 2026 Bassmaster Elite season on the St. Lawrence River. The moon was also hidden – partially by clouds but also by a day-one lunar eclipse. The truth, however, revealed itself in bright fashion on one of the world’s undisputed best bass fisheries. After two consecutive second-place AOY finishes in the first two seasons of his Elite career, 21-year-old Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Illinois has made history once again, weighing the heaviest one-day bag of smallmouth bass ever with 30-11 on day-two, while topping the talented 2026 Elite field to become the youngest-ever Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year.
Trey gets a hand from Bassmaster Elite emcee Dave Mercer and tournament director Lisa Talmadge to display his record-setting 30-11 bag of bronze at the day-two weigh-in. Andy Crawford / Bassmaster Photo.
McKinney weighed 26-8, 30-11, 26-2, and 24-4 over the four days of competition, largely fishing a dropshot and a jighead minnow in the wind-blown northeast end of the world’s 13th largest freshwater lake (insert preferred name here). His primary weapons included a prototype 6th Sense insect-style plastic and a 6th Sense 5” minnow deployed on a pair of 7’1” St. Croix spinning rods, either a Legend Tournament Bass LBTS71MF or a Legend X2 LXTS71MF.
Chase Sansom / Bassmaster Photo.
McKinney’s four-day total of 107-9 was two pounds lighter than first-place winner Evan Kung’s, but heavy enough to fend off AOY challenger, Cory Johnston, who trailed McKinney in the AOY race coming into the St. Lawrence River event by just one point.
Those at the top of their game are frequent targets of criticism. McKinney has not been immune, but his long list of accomplishments illustrates the undisputed truth of who he is in the world of bass fishing at just 21 years of age.
2018 (Age 13)
- Won the Junior Bassmaster Championship.
- Won the FLW Junior World Championship.
- Won the USA Bassin Next Generation Classic.
- First angler to win all three of those major youth titles in the same year.
2019-2020 (Age 14 & 15)
- Earned victories in national high school fishing competition, including High School Fishing Open events.
- Continued building a reputation as one of the top young anglers in the country through FLW/MLF youth and high school circuits.
2021 (Age 16)
- Recorded a BFL tournament victory and multiple Top 10 finishes during the season.
- Won Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Illini Division Angler of the Year.
- Youngest angler ever to win a BFL Angler of the Year title as a boater.
2022 (Age 17)
- Won two BFL events during the season.
- Finished 2nd in the BFL Regional Championship (Region 3).
- Repeated as BFL Illini Division Angler of the Year.
2023 (Age 18)
- Competed in his first season of Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers (EQs).
- Earned four top-10 finishes in the Opens/EQ schedule.
- Finished 3rd in the Bassmaster Opens EQ standings.
- Became the youngest angler ever to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series.
2024 (Age 19)
- Won the Bassmaster Elite Series event at Lake Fork, Texas, becoming the youngest Bassmaster Elite Series champion in history.
- Became the youngest angler ever to earn a Bassmaster Century Belt.
- Finished 2nd in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) standings.
- Became the youngest Rookie of the Year (ROY) winner in Elite Series history.
2025 (Age 20)
- Finished 4th in his first Bassmaster Classic with 67-7, after qualifying through his rookie Elite season.
- Won the Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, setting the Lake St. Clair Bassmaster four-day weight record with 96-1.
- Finished 2nd in the Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) standings for the second consecutive year in just two seasons in the Elites.
- Represented Team USA in the 2025 Pan American Games, earning a team gold medal.
2026 (Age 21)
- Finished 2nd in his second Bassmaster Classic with 57-8.
- Finished in the top 25 in eight out of nine Bassmaster Elite events, including five top-ten finishes.
- Caught the heaviest one-day bag of smallmouth bass in Bassmaster competition history… 30-11 on day two of the Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River.
- Finished 2nd with 107-9 to earn his second Century Belt in the Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, while sealing the 2026 Bassmaster Angler of the Year title at age 21 – the youngest AOY winner in history.
“St. Croix Rod has enjoyed a partnership with Trey since the beginning of his remarkable career, and we couldn’t be any happier or prouder to see him add his first Angler of the Year title to his resume,” says bass junkie and St. Croix Vice President of Innovation, Ryan Teach. “Like everyone else, we’ve enjoyed watching Trey continue his upward trajectory and growth as an angler over the past ten years. But those of us who know Trey the person are most gratified, perhaps, by the fact that he has remained true to who he is… a respectful and grateful young man of great faith and talent who avoids excuses and takes personal responsibility in every situation.”
After two consecutive second-place AOY finishes in his first two Elite seasons, Trey McKinney is the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year. Andy Crawford/Bassmaster Photo.
Congratulations to 2026 Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year, Trey McKinney. The fishing world can’t wait to see what you’ll do next. Congratulations also go out to Trey’s St. Croix Team members, JT Thompkins who caught 103-0 to earn a Century Belt and 7th place at the Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River plus a 19th-place finish in AOY; Bob Downey who finished 15th in AOY; and Pat Schlapper who finished 40th in AOY. All four anglers are projected to qualify for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic Presented by Under Armour, March 19-21, at South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.
