Trey McKinney Wins 2026 Bassmaster Elite AOY, Cory Johnston 2nd!

BASS Press Release

CLAYTON, N.Y. — Trey McKinney has finally defeated the Johnstons.

Thanks to a second-place finish in a heavy-weight battle at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River, the third-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., claimed his first Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, earning 735 points over the nine-event season to outlast Canadian Cory Johnston and become the youngest angler ever to win the prestigious trophy.

The previous owner of that title: Kevin VanDam, who was 24 when he won his first AOY in 1992. 

“This feels unbelievable,” McKinney said. “When I caught the 6-pounder later in the day, I knew that bass had won me $100,000 and Angler of the Year, something I have dreamed of all of my life. I choked trying to win it for the last two years and have been so close. Then I immediately thought about trying to win the tournament.

“It was a grinder year for sure. I was up, down, sideways, behind, ahead. I respect Cory so much. He caught them so many times when I didn’t.”

With the $100,000 check, McKinney now has over $900 thousand in career earnings. He is on pace to become one of the greatest tournament anglers ever, but for McKinney, his next bite is still the most important.

2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River Day 3: Trey McKinney Leads (Trey extends AOY spread over Cory Johnston)

Canadians: Kung 2nd, Cory Johnston 9th, Chris Johnston 9th & Gustafson 39th

Illinois pro Trey McKinney maintains the lead on Day 3 of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a three-day total of 83 pounds, 5 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release 

CLAYTON, N.Y. — Trey McKinney was so nervous ahead of Day 3 of the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, he nearly threw up on the side of the road driving to takeoff. It didn’t get much better until he landed his first quality smallmouth of the day, a 5-10 that calmed his nerves and carried him to another excellent day on Lake Ontario.

The three-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., leads the tournament with a three-day total weighing 83 pounds, 5 ounces, adding 26-2 on Day 3 after landing 26-8 on Day 1 and a record-breaking limit weighing 30-11 on the second day. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I was shooting for 27 pounds, but I worked my butt off today,” McKinney said. “I felt like I was going to throw up a couple times in the morning, but once I caught my first big one I told myself to chill out. I caught a second one, and I really calmed down and just fished.”

He not only maintained his lead over Evan Kung in the tournament but strengthened his grip on the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year lead, opening up a 10-point lead over Cory Johnston, who will enter Day 4 nearly 6 1/2 pounds behind in ninth place.

As it stands, the entire Top 10 is on pace to crack the 100-pound mark on Championship Sunday while McKinney is on pace for a 109-pound four-day total. Only three anglers on Semifinal Saturday did not reach a limit. 

One large area of Lake Ontario has served as home base for McKinney this week as he targets smallies on a deep sand flat with subtle rock veins, boulders and drops. On Days 1 and 3, a 2 1/2-inch bug imitator rigged on either a 1/2-ounce or 3/4-ounce drop shot was the best producing presentation. On Friday, however, a 5-inch minnow played a key role.

The mornings have generally been the better bite window for the 21-year-old, except for the 30-minute early afternoon flurry that lifted him to his historic Day 2 bag. 

2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River Day 2: Trey McKinney Grabs Lead with Record Breaking Smallmouth Limit!

Canadians: Kung 2nd, Cory Johnston 4th, Gustafson 7th, Chris Johnston 48th & Gallant 64th

Illinois pro Trey McKinney has taken the lead on Day 2 of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a two-day total of 57 pounds, 3 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release 

A 16-minute flurry, plus another 6-pounder not long after, lifted Trey McKinney to Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series history on Day 2 of the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River. His limit of smallmouth weighing 30 pounds, 11 ounces is the heaviest sack of all brown fish in B.A.S.S. history.

Not only that, but it also vaulted the pro from Carbondale, Ill., into the lead with a two-day total weighing 57-3 with two days left in the Elite Series season. His lead over second-place Evan Kung is just over 2 pounds while his lead over Cory Johnston in Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year is five points. 

“I was so excited, I didn’t even know what to do,” McKinney said. “The whole way back, I was staring at the sky because I knew the Good Lord was watching over me today.”

At the current pace, the record for a four-day winning weight in smallmouth country could very well be shattered. It was again a day full of 25-, 26- and 27-pound bags of strictly smallies and anglers needed more than 23 1/2 pounds per day just to make the Top 50 cut.  A mere 20 pounds a day resulted in an 87th place finish. 

McKinney’s mighty Friday performance wouldn’t have been possible had he not returned to his starting area, and the location that yielded his 26-8 Day 1 total. With camera boats and other anglers around, he managed to land 23 pounds, but all the pressure from the crowd had the smallmouth spooked.

2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River Day 1: Tucker Smith Leads 27-05lbs!

Canadians: Kung 4th, Cory Johnston 14th, Gustafson 25th, Gallant 26th & Chris Johnston 30th

Alabama pro Tucker Smith has taken the lead on Day 1 of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a total of 27 pounds, 5 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

CLAYTON, N.Y. — The waves out on Lake Ontario were taller than Tucker Smith at times on Day 1 of the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River, but the second-year pro from Alabama was up for the challenge.

The defending Rookie of the Year caught a five-bass limit of smallmouth weighing 27 pounds, 5 ounces to claim the lead, just an ounce ahead of California’s Bryant Smith.  All that damage was done within a two-hour span early in the morning. 

“Whenever the wind blows, it pushes bait through my area. I think the weather and wind really helped the bite,” Tucker said. “I’ve had a few rough tournaments this year, but I think God was trying to humble me. It seemed like last year I couldn’t do anything wrong. This year, it’s been good and then really bad. It would be nice to end the season on a good note.”

Despite the giant waves and gusty winds that made navigation difficult and fishing almost impossible in some areas, it was a monumental day across Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River. To crack the Top 25, Jeff Gustafson needed 25 pounds while 90 of the 98 anglers brought back limits weighing 20 pounds or better. 

If 50 cut was today, an angler would need 23-7 to move on to the next day. 

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Alex Korl Wins 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens at Lake Erie Presented by Battery Tender!

Wire to Wire win for Korl!

By Pete Robbins, BASS Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York’s Alex Korol overcame a lingering case of bronchitis and two hard-charging Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pros to win the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender with 75 pounds, 9 ounces of smallmouth bass over three days of competition. 

In a tournament where weights were generally tightly-packed, his winning margin of 3-11 seemed immense. The difference between second and fourth was a mere 8 ounces.

Elite Series rookies Nick Trim of Wisconsin and Aaron Jagdfeld of Michigan came in second and third with 71-14 and 71-8, respectively.

“I know how special this is and how hard it is to come by,” Korol said. “It is just unbelievable.”

This event featured an absolute rarity in multi-day Great Lakes tournaments — three days with no weather warnings, delays or cancellations. The service crews remained busy, but the tournament went on as scheduled, as did the entirety of the Opens schedule this year.

2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens at Lake Erie Presented by Battery Tender Day 2: Alex Korol Continues to Lead!

With a two-day total of 52 pounds, 2 ounces, New York's Alex Korol holds the lead at the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender.

By Pete Robbins, BASS Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Korol said that he “just wanted to see how he could compete against this caliber of fisherman,” but through two days of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender he’s left no doubt about his abilities on the eastern basin of this Great Lake. The 33-year-old from Fairport, N.Y., has totaled 52 pounds, 2 ounces of Lake Erie bronze and holds a lead of nearly 2 pounds over Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Aaron Jagdfeld in 2nd.

Dillon Falardeau is 3rd with 50-5, just an ounce behind Jagdfeld.

“I really didn’t know what I was on after practice,” Korol said. “But I think the area is so strong because the bass are staying with the bait and the bait is still there. It blows my mind. With the calm conditions there were tighter groups today.”

But that doesn’t mean that amassing 27-1 and 25-1 bags has been easy. He said that the bass are extremely wary, and once he catches one or two out of a group it pays to leave and find some unmolested fish. Furthermore, he’s been sick for over a week and couldn’t celebrate his Day 1 lead because he was at urgent care.

Korol says that he’s fishing a drop shot, a common offering this week, “but the way I’m working it is extremely unique. It makes it into more of a reaction bite.”

His plans for Championship Saturday?

2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens at Lake Erie Presented by Battery Tender Day 1: Alex Korol Takes Commanding Lead with 27lbs!

By Pete Robbins, BASS Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  With a limit of 27 pounds 1 ounce of Lake Erie smallmouth, Alex Korolof Fairport, N.Y., is one of three western New York anglers at the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender. But closing out the victory in his first Bassmaster Open is far from a done deal. 

A remarkable 114 anglers topped 20 pounds today, and they’re tightly-packed down the leaderboard.

Forty-five of them will get paid tomorrow, and right now the 45th place angler has 22-5. A pound more than that was good for 22nd place while a pound less is enough for 73rd place.

B.A.S.S. hasn’t visited this part of Lake Erie since a 2008 Elite Series tournament won by Kotaro Kiriyama. In that event, eight anglers had 20 pounds or more on Day 1, led by Matt Reed’s 23-3. As noted above, that amount would have barely been inside the money cut today.

“I feel like they’re bigger now,” said former Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series champion Mike McClelland, one of the handful of anglers who fished that 2008 tournament and who is also competing this week. “Maybe we just have the technology to catch them better now.”

Forward-facing sonar is allowed in this tournament, the last of the four Division 1 Opens. Korol said that the technology is part of his game plan, but the key is the presence of baitfish in his best area, a half-mile stretch of water where he spent the day.

“There’s not much there otherwise,” he said. “It’s the bait that’s keeping them there.”

While he doesn’t reside far away, Korol has fished far more on Lake Ontario than on this portion of Erie, and on the limited occasions that he has been here it’s generally been in other months.

Major League Fishing announces historic changes to Phoenix Bass Fishing League for 2027

New team/solo format, five All-American Championships and exclusive $120,000 Phoenix Ultimate Tournament Rigs headline major transformation

BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced today a historic series of changes to the 2027 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine, introducing a new team/solo format, five regional All-American Championships and significantly increased awards and advancement opportunities, including direct advancement to REDCREST for five anglers.

The changes represent the most substantial evolution of the BFL since the introduction of the boater/co-angler format in 2000.

Beginning in 2027, anglers may compete alone or with a teammate, allowing partners to share expenses and compete together throughout the season. The circuit will feature 20 divisions organized into five regions, with five one-day qualifying tournaments per division.

“This is one of the biggest changes in the history of the Bass Fishing League,” said Major League Fishing co-founder and CEO Boyd Duckett. “For more than 44 years, the BFLs have provided everyday anglers with the opportunity to compete close to home and work their way onto the sport’s biggest stages. The BFL format has, however, evolved over the years, from boat-on-boat draw, to boaters and co-angler and now team/solo. This latest evolution makes it easier to compete with a friend to share expenses, or fish solo to protect your hotspots, while offering more money, more championship opportunities and more reasons than ever to fish.”

Tournament winners and the Top 30 teams in each division will advance to one of five no-entry-fee All-American Championships that push life-changing rewards closer to home than ever before. Each winning team will receive an All-American limited-edition Phoenix powered by a 250-horsepower outboard valued at $120,000. The top-of-the-line 21-foot boats will feature custom All-American branding and will be built specifically for the five championship-winning teams as the ultimate fishing machine.