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| Canadian pro Evan Kung has won the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River with a four-day total of 109 pounds, 9 ounces and officially qualified for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS) |
CLAYTON, N.Y. — Evan Kung entered this week's Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River in danger of losing his spot on the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series for 2027. Not only did he save his spot on tour, the Canadian went ahead and won his first B.A.S.S. trophy, breaking records as he did it.
Kung blasted a four-day total of 109 pounds, 9 ounces to claim his first blue trophy, the heaviest winning weight consisting of all smallmouth in Bassmaster history, overtaking Patrick Walters 105-pound winning total at the St. Lawrence River in 2023. He also became a member of the Bassmaster Century Club for the first time.
The victory also qualifies Kung for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Bass Pro Shops next March.
“This is by far my biggest win,” Kung said. “It was a tough year for me, so it was great to end it like this. I couldn’t think of a better ending.”
The second-year pro was in contention all week, opening the tournament in fourth place with a limit weighing 26-9 before jumping to second place on Day 2 with 28-9. He maintained second by landing 26-11 on Semifinal Saturday before taking the top spot with a sack weighing 27-12, a limit anchored by a 6-13 smallie that earned Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day honors.
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.
Canadians: Kung 2nd, Cory Johnston 9th, Chris Johnston 9th & Gustafson 39th
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| 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.
Canadians: Kung 2nd, Cory Johnston 4th, Gustafson 7th, Chris Johnston 48th & Gallant 64th
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| 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.
Canadians: Kung 4th, Cory Johnston 14th, Gustafson 25th, Gallant 26th & Chris Johnston 30th
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| 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.
5 All-American Regions: NEW Team/Solo Format
100 1-Day Qualifying Tournaments: 5 per Division | 20 Divisions
5 3-Day, NO-ENTRY-FEE All-American Championships – 1 Per Region:
Wire to Wire win for Korl!
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.
