Inside Elite Boats

Inside Elite Boats: Tristan McCormick

A post-game day look inside the rig of the Elite from Tennessee.

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It’s Day 2 at the 2026 Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River, and Tristan McCormick just trailered his Phoenix 721 ZXL. What you will see is an inside look at a Bassmaster Elite pro’s boat just after a full day of competition. 
McCormick is already a two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier (2022, 2023). The first berth was from the Bassmaster College Series, when he was a Bethel University standout. McCormick then went on to the next level, winning a 2022 Bassmaster Open at Lake Hartwell. 
The Phoenix 721 ZXL spans 20 feet, 11 inches with a wide beam of 96 inches. This supports the massive front deck serving as a fishing platform and storage system. 
The bow is where the game-day work happens with a full suite of Garmin electronics and trolling motor. The electronics cluster features a Garmin LVS34 16-inch LiveScope Plus system featuring ECOHMAP. Below are two Garmin ECHOMAP Ultra 2, 12-inch Chartplotters. Those are mounted to a Boatlogix Triple Bow Panel Mount. 
The Force Pro features brushless motor for 100 pounds of thrust, along with anchor lock and the all-in-one GT56UHD-TR transducer. The system includes the new Spy Pole with motorized sonar control that unlocks all the features when connected to the GT360UHD transducer. 
Spy Pole provides 360-degree scanning with OneVü sonar allowing anglers to see a bird’s-eye view of fish and structure in every direction around the boat in 2D and 3D views. This allows an angler to fish without having to constantly rescan.
The system locks down for secure traveling.
Beneath this lid is a massive center storage compartment packed with game-day baits and related terminal tackle. McCormick switches out the baits based on the type of water and season when a given tournament takes place. 
Strike King soft plastics of all types for the spawning cycle were in play on the Arkansas River for the mid-April tournament. 
A close-up look at the highly organized storage compartment.
Plastic bags also aid with organization.
 The port side rod storage is loaded with stout tackle for the prevailing bite in heavy cover. 
The game-day assortment of Lew’s rods and reels. 
On the front deck you can see the rigs used throughout Day 2. 
Baitcasters were definitely in play.
Someone lost a bet and the payback is pasted to the inside lid of the center storage compartment. 
McCormick’s brand is featured throughout his boat, including on the console. 
Another suite of Garmin ECHOMAP Chartplotters are mounted to the Boat Logix Dual Console Mount. 
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The cockpit features integrated storage options for tools and baits. 
Strike King Rage Bugs and other baits were used on this day. 
A look at the terminal tackle used for Day 2.
There’s an array of branded decals on the passenger side …
… and they include a tribute to Aaron Martens. 
Like many Elite pros, McCormick uses the Starlink Mini. 
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A suite of PowerHouse Lithium Batteries fills the rear utility compartment. Those include three Deep Cycle 36V 60Ah batteries that are parallel rigged for the trolling motor. A 16V 140Ah deep cycle battery is used for powering the Garmin suite of electronics. A 12V 160Ah deep cycle battery is used for cranking the outboard. 
A Yamaha 250 V MAX SHO and Power-Pole 10-foot shallow water anchors complete the package. Thanks for the tour, Tristan!

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