The Starting Spot: Bassmaster Elite Series Edition: Trey McKinney vs. Chris Johnston in Historic AOY Showdown

One of those two, 20-year old, Trey McKinney, is coming off of a victory at the St Clair event two weeks ago. Actually, the word victory is putting it too lightly. It was a wire-to-wire dominating beat down. But the angler he’s tied with in AOY points, Chris Johnston, finished that St Clair event in a very solid 11th place.

Chris Johnston’s Mississippi River Experience

Johnston, the current reigning Angler of the Year, has history and a very solid track record at LaCrosse, while this is McKinney’s first time competing on this stretch of the Mighty Miss (at least in a major event). Then again, nobody would have predicted a young, southern Illinois angler like McKinney could ever best Johnston on a world famous smallmouth fishery like Lake St Clair.

Why This Finale Is Too Close to Call

Johnston is rock steady. McKinney performs so far beyond his years it's staggering. This final event on the Mississippi River is truly too close to call.

My Personal Connection to the Mississippi River

Plus, if you’ve been reading my work since back in the day, you might remember the Mississippi River between Wisconsin and Minnesota was my home water many years. I have fished dozens of club, regional and BFL tourneys on the River. I even won a BFL at LaCrosse. So, I’m fired up to reconnect with this beautiful bass fishing part of the country.

What to Expect in This Exclusive Tournament Journal

For the next several days I plan to publish a series of articles that might be slightly different than my normal offerings—more like journal entries. Maybe even bullet-pointed. Just quick, fun, interesting insights.

I want to share my good fortune with the bass geeks like myself and give you all a good taste of the interesting things I see and hear this week. It will be a peek behind the curtain to find out what these pros actually go through, what their off-stage personalities look like, what it takes to put one of these tournaments on, the local’s reactions, and anything else you don’t normally get to see through the normal tv, internet and magazine coverage.

Behind the Scenes with FXR Pro Fish Team

And specifically, I’ll get a great chance to know and feature the FXR Pro Fish team—Trey McKinney, Beau Browning, Justin Hamner, Cooper Gallant, Logan Parks, Bryan Schmitt, Matt Robertson, Bryan New, Tyler Williams, and JT Thompkins.

Intro Teaser -Walleye Fishing the Mississippi River

No, this isn't bass fishing. But while waiting for the Elite event to start, I got the opportunity to hit the Mighty Miss for a couple hours with FXR Pro Fish walleye Jedi and 2024 National Walleye Tour Champion, Tom Huynh. Tom is a super nice guy, with mad forward-facing sonar skills, and a super natural teaching style. Oh boy, did I learn some things today! And, man did he under-promise and over-deliver on the big walleyes this sunny, calm, mid-August afternoon on Lake Pepin. Look for future articles with some tips that will blow your mind.

Also of note, Tom doesn't care about bananas on his boat because he's too busy catching big walleyes.

This is going to be fun. Come on along!

You Might Also Like These Bass Fishing Stories: