In his second year on the Elites, Trey McKinney is showing his first was no fluke.
The 20-year-old from Carbondale, Ill., is once again in the mix for the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title.
“We’re trying to be,” said McKinney, who stands third, 13 points behind leader Jay Przekurat and nine back of last year’s winner Chris Johnston.
With two events left in the season, McKinney said he expects a battle royale for the trophy and $100,000 prize, perhaps even going down to the final weigh-in.
“They’re such good anglers. I could make back-to-back Top 10s and still not win Angler of the Year. That’s possible,” he said. “Jay has been in the Top 10 most of the time, every time I’ve been in there.
“You don’t know what’s going to happen. Somebody’s going to slip. I don’t know who, if it’s going to be me, Chris or Jay. There’s no telling.”
If not for a catastrophic mistake last year, McKinney most likely would have added AOY to his Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year title. Leading the season-long point standings after six events, McKinney suffered a heart-breaking disqualification, something he’s working to bury.
“It’s always going to be there,” he said. “I made some mistakes. I wish I could go back. All I had to do is be at the ramp five minutes earlier, that’s it. Something as simple as that, five minutes, can make that big of a difference.”
Last year, McKinney grabbed the AOY lead with his historic victory at Lake Fork. With two more Top 10s and never finishing worse than 22nd, McKinney built a 59-point lead after six tournaments.
Then came Smith Lake.
On Day 2, McKinney had the big bass and big bag that could have helped him make another Top 10, but he misremembered his check-in time and took a DQ, losing that day’s weight. Receiving only 11 points for 93rd, McKinney dropped 24 points behind the new leader. Another Top 10 in the final event left him AOY runner-up.
This year, McKinney has worked to be more cognizant of every aspect of tournament competition, yet admitting he can still zone out during a flurry.
“I’ve been really cautious,” he said. “I’ve been fishing so hard. I kind of push myself a little bit over what I should. I get exhausted, I get tired, I forget things. At that point, I’m just fishing. Nothing else even enters my mind. That’s when I’ve always slipped up.”
If not for a slip in the season-opener at the St. Johns River, McKinney would again be leading AOY. Last year, a no-wake infraction there sent him to the penalty box. After the delayed takeoff, McKinney traveled “way up river” to finish 17th. This year, trying to ply the same region, he posted an 89th.
“Last year, I never saw a boat. Not one,” he said. “This year, there were probably 15 anglers up there. I kind of got spun out. There’s only a few spots, and I couldn’t get on any of them. I started fishing my way back, and it just never ended up happening. That one really got me.
“Ever since then, we’ve put our head down on the grind and tried to make sure to give ourselves a shot, and so far we’re really blessed.”
The climb started with an eighth at Okeechobee. McKinney then led Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armor. A slower Day 2 on Lake Ray Roberts hurt his chances — he came in with the best weight on Championship Sunday to finish second.
His hot hand continued with a third at the first-time Elite Pasquotank River. After an 11th at Hartwell, McKinney vied to defend his title at Fork. His run of six consecutive 30-plus pound days there ended with 21-5 on Day 3. With the CrushCity Monster Bag of 38-2 on Day 4, he wound up third with another Century Club belt.
Asked which events he felt were his best this year, McKinney went with Texas.
“As far as finding the fish, it would have to be between Fork and Ray Roberts,” he said. “When you get the feeling and you know what’s there, that’s my favorite. In those tournaments, in practice when it clicks, I know what to run. It’s just having the feeling.
“These other tournaments, I’ve got in some areas and found some good stuff, but those two I found what I felt I had a pretty good chance to win.”
Texas fishing again suited McKinney with a 29th at the Sabine. He then recorded his fourth Elite Top 10 this year with a sixth at Lake Tenkiller, slashing his AOY deficit of 57 points.
Most anglers on a hot streak might want to get right back out there, but McKinney said he appreciates the two-month hiatus before the final swing.
“I love to be able to get a break, get my head right, get rested up, get everything ready, get organized,” he said. “It’s actually a good thing — I get to pre-practice.”
When contacted, McKinney was on Lake St. Clair for the first time. He said he suffered through “one of the most brutal two days of smallmouth fishing I’ve ever had,” but he’s hoping to figure it out.
“St. Clair is the one I’m kind of worried about,” he said. “There’s no contour. It’s just pure luck if you run into them and get them to bite. It can change so quick, even if you find them. They roam and can be a half a mile away by tomorrow. That’s definitely the tough one for me.”
The St. Clair Elite is Aug. 7-10, and the season finale on the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., follows Aug. 21-24.
“I’m most excited for La Crosse. I like that type of fishery,” McKinney said. “I haven’t been there in three years. The river has probably changed a bunch, but it’s definitely an awesome fishery.”
With another AOY shot on the horizon, McKinney has his foot on the pedal hoping to make up ground on two more experienced on smallmouth. In 2024, Johnston benefitted from having the finale on his home waters of the St. Lawrence River. This year, Przekurat, of Plover, Wis., could have home-fishery advantage as he lives two hours from La Crosse.
“Locals don’t always excel,” said McKinney, pointing out Jason Christie’s 91st-place finish on Tenkiller, where he lives. “Sometimes history hurts you, but Jay is one of those people where I don’t think it will hurt him.
“We’re definitely going to have to catch a lot of bass in these next two tournaments. Whether it happens or it doesn’t, we tried. We had a little comeback rally, gave ourselves an opportunity to get it done, it’s just can we finish it off?”
That is the $100,000 question.
