Two-time Elite Series champion Trey McKinney has a girlfriend, but his date for the Bassmaster Classic’s annual Night of Champions was his mother Kim.
“I’m honored that he still wants me around,” she said, thankful for the time that she has, but also knowing that at some point the now 21 year-old will have to fly the coop. Mrs. McKinney has been by her son’s side nonstop throughout his burgeoning career, while her husband has been more involved with their daughter’s barrel racing.
“We just really connect,” she said, as her son greeted one well-wisher after another a short distance away.
Indeed, tonight there were several signs that the field is skewing younger. The first was that the balding pates of years gone by – uncovered by hats, which are discouraged but not barred on this semiformal evening – have been replaced by hockey hair, immaculate flow and semi-ironic mustaches. There aren’t as many wedding rings, either. Half of these kids missed their proms to fish tournaments, after all.
“I’m pretty sure a quarter of the field is under the legal drinking age,” said back-to-back Angler of the Year Chris Johnston in his after-dinner speech.
But whereas some teenagers might shun parental supervision or accompaniment, in this field it’s welcomed and celebrated.
“It’s really cool to be able to share this night with someone who’s been there your whole life,” said Brandon Palaniuk, whose extended family was here in Knoxville in 2023 as he gave his second AOY acceptance speech, much like Johnston did tonight. “You’re here because of them. They’ve been there your whole life, they’re your longest-standing support system. It’s nice to be able to give back.”
Palaniuk will compete in his 14th Classic this week. He was of legal drinking age when he fished the first one in 2011, but at 23 he’d yet to sketch out the family life that has become critical to him – the next generation support system that takes care of him on the road and provides him with additional inspiration towards excellence.
“It doesn’t feel like that long ago I was in their shoes,” the still-young veteran said. “But I wouldn’t trade where I am now for anything.”
Winning AOY comes with special privileges and an increased number of seats at this invitation-only dinner. For the winners, it’s not only spouses and parents who get the nod to attend. Johnston, whose sister couldn’t attend this year and whose brother Cory earned tickets with his own on-the-water performance, brought not only his children but also his father’s tournament partner, who inspired him as an additional surrogate parent.
When Kyle Welcher gave his AOY acceptance speech in Tulsa in 2024, he invited not only his wife and mother, but also his grandmother, Anna Guess.
“The grandparent is the person who gives you unconditional love,” said the young pro who financed the start of his career by playing cards. “She’s also the one who got me into poker. When I was 2 years old she’d shuffle the cards in front of me, and some of my best memories are going to her house to play. She didn’t know anything about professional bass fishing until I made the Elite Series, but she’s my biggest supporter. My whole life we’ve been as close as two people can get.”
Some anglers have no Night of Champions date not because they can’t find one, or because they don’t want one, but for other reasons altogether. First-time Classic qualifier Dakota Ebare’s girlfriend Shelby could not be in Knoxville this week because she is due to give birth to the couple’s first child any day now. Despite her physical absence, Ebare said that her presence was undeniable.
“I was single for a long time because I put so much into fishing,” he said. “It’s a big part of why I struggled so much in my first year on the Elite Series. I neglected everything else in my life. I neglected my friends, my family, even my faith and I took it out on fishing.”
Things started to get better when he went from fishing for one to fishing for two, and improved exponentially when it was elevated to fishing for three. Ebare said that the timing of the birth may be less than optimal – he’d prefer to be there if at all possible – but its impending occurrence has increased his love for the sport and desire to excel.
“I have a healthy relationship with fishing now,” he stated. “I love it again. It’s a blast. In the big picture, it’s not really just about me.”
Indeed, family support systems were the theme for the evening, even as supposedly individual achievements were feted.
Someone among this brotherhood of anglers will take home the biggest prize of all on Sunday night by winning the mother of all tournaments. For one night at least, what at first glance seemed like an uncomfortable high school dance turned into the ultimate family reunion.
