We do it every year and, even though the general format varies minimally, Night of Champions never fails to kick off the Bassmaster Classic with a memorable mix of admiration for those who climbed the previous year’s mountains, camaraderie among folks that love competitive bass fishing and laughter — lots of laughter.
Prefacing what Bassmaster Emcee Dave Mercer termed “the 56th edition of the greatest spectacle in sport fishing,” the 2026 Night of Champions delivered the goods with just enough of the serious stuff to balance a saucy blend of family photos and epic smack talk.
The Angler of the Year speech is always the event’s premier element and this time around, we heard from the same guy who spoke at last year’s event. Repetition may equal boredom in some venues, but not in this sport.
Winning AOY is the pinnacle of bass fishing achievement. Back-to-back titles? Well, eighth-year Bassmaster Elite Chris Johnston joined a prestigious club with only three other consecutive champs: Roland Martin (1971-73, 78-79, 84-85), Guido Hibdon (1990-91) and Kevin VanDam (2008-11).
Before we get to Johnston’s speech, a few notables merit a mention.
Flashback Photos: Noting the trend of younger anglers reaching the sport’s highest level, Mercer shared childhood snapshots of current Elite anglers. The collection included Kyle Welcher in blue shorts and a white cowboy hat, Jordan Lee in a suit and tie, 2025 Rookie of the year Tucker Smith with a tiny bass, noted duck hunter Seth Feider with a pair of mallards, two-time AOY Brandon Palaniuk in his early wrestling days and Johnston, along with his older brother and fellow Elite Cory, holding a musky.
Without question, 2025 Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill won the cringeworthy-but-in-an-adorable-kinda-way award for the toddler photo his mom provided. Respectfully, we’ll keep the details slim, but it looked like a rather warm day in Fothergill’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minn. and there’s a good chance Mercer’s “buns of steel” observation might gain some traction.
G-Man Moment: Requesting prayers and reverence for two-time AOY Gerald Swindle, whose mother, Dell Swindle, passed the previous weekend, Mercer turned to a tradition the G-man started with his 2016 Angler of the Year speech — recognizing all of the sponsors in attendance and thanking them for their investment in bass fishing.
The Hunt for a Hundred: B.A.S.S. C.E.O. Chase Anderson presented 11 Century Belts to anglers who tallied 100 pounds or more in four days of 2025 Elite competion. Recipients were:
- Kyle Welcher – Pasquotank River, 118-12
- Tucker Smith – Lake Fork, 127-8
- Paul Marks – Lake Fork, 126-11
- Trey McKinney – Lake Fork, 122-3
- Kyoya Fujita – Lake Fork, 121-13
- JT Thompkins – Lake Fork, 120-4
- Tyler Williams – Lake Fork, 110-9
- Wesley Gore – Lake Fork, 107-6
- Easton Fothergill – Lake Fork, 106-8
- Jay Przekurat – Lake Fork, 106-7
- Seth Feider – Lake Fork, 101-8
AOY Again
Introducing his fellow Canadian, Mercer’s trademark wit humorously foreshadowed some of Chris Johnston’s own side-splitting remarks.
“This is Chris’ second time winning Angler of the Year,” Mercer began. “Chris isn’t used to second — that’s Cory’s position in life. I shouldn’t say that, because Cory’s actually leading Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year for 2026.”
A short where-it-all-started video summarized how Chris Johnston grew up fishing and playing pond hockey in Peterborough, Ontario. As he recalled: “I fished my first tournament with my dad when I was 11 and the only reason I got to go was because my brother was grounded.”
It gets worse.
Contrasting a punchy, well-planned 2025 AOY speech, Johnston slow-rolled us by claiming he had used all of his good material last year, but the comedy was just around the corner. In fairness, he included a solid statement of the tenacity and determination requisite to such lofty goals.
“I kinda flew under the radar during the 2025 season,” Johnston said. “I went out and I cashed checks. I didn’t do it in a flashy way; it wasn’t an exciting season by any means. I didn’t make a top-10, but it was meant to be.
“It seems cliched, but my takeaway from last year was ‘Never give up.’ For example, at the St. Johns, I had 12 1/2 pounds and I was heading back toward weigh-ins and I had 10 minutes left to fish. I pulled into this area and threw my wacky rig on a seawall, which I’d done 100 times that day and I caught an 8 1/2-pounder.”
Giving Thanks: Acknowledging those whose belief helped shape a career now marked by an amazing achievement, Johnston singled out his longstanding sponsor, Under Armour, the performance apparel company that has supported him for two decades — and now is the presenting sponsor for the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic.
Johnston also thanked his father, Lynn Johnston for introducing him to bass fishing.
“Thank you dad for bestowing the knowledge on me,” he said. “I know you tried to teach Cory, but he was a slow learner.”
It gets even worse.
Along with thanking girlfriend Catherine, for watching over his sons, Beckett and Beau, Johnston recognized his mother, Anne, for many years of fishing lunches, as well as a strong moral influence.
“She always wanted fairness between my brother and I,” Johnston said. “When I was growing up, I’d win an MVP playing hockey and she’d say, ‘I hope Cory wins one.’ I’d win a fishing tournament and she’d say, ‘I really hope Cory wins a fishing tournament.
“This year, she had a talk with me before the season and she was like, ‘Your brother’s a little down in the dumps. Help him win AOY this year.’”
Johnston’s response: “Mom, I did my job, I gave him a good head start, but now he’s on his own.”
Rallying the troops
Johnston may have chosen fishing as his career path, but hockey remains a passion. The sport’s a pretty big deal in the Great White North, so it’s no surprise that Johnston was not happy with the results of the U.S.-Canada Winter Olympics matchup.
Hence, this charge to his brother and their fellow Canadian and Classic competitor Cooper Gallant.
“America took something from us a few weeks ago and it’s just not sitting well with me,” Johnston said to rising chuckles. “You guys can have our lumber, you can have our oil, you can even call us ‘the 51st state,’ but what you guys took was our gold medal.
“So, Coop, Cory, we have some work to do this week. The Bassmaster Classic, it’s an American trophy, but we gotta take something back to Canada.”
Game on.
