A 21-Year-Old from Illinois, a 41-Year-Old Canadian, and the Smallmouth Capital of the World: Inside Bass Fishing's Most Electric Rivalry
Bass fishing doesn't often make headlines outside the angling world. Tournament results tend to circulate within a tight-knit community of devoted followers — guys who know the weight of a five-pound smallmouth the way a football fan knows a quarterback's completion percentage. But every so often, a storyline emerges from the water that's compelling enough to spill over into the mainstream, and that's precisely what happened during the final weekend of August 2026 on the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. What unfolded wasn't just a fishing tournament. It was a generational duel between two countries, two anglers, and two entirely different visions of what competitive bass fishing can be.
The "Angler of the Year" competition for the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series came down to a weekend battle between a 41-year-old Canadian pro and a 21-year-old hotshot from Southern Illinois, playing out in the smallmouth bass paradise of the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario. The setting couldn't have been more fitting. This stretch of water along the U.S.-Canada border is hallowed ground for bass anglers — a place where the river narrows into churning current breaks and then opens into the vast cold depths of Ontario, where brown-backed smallmouth grow fat and heavy and fight like something twice their size.
The Stage: Clayton, New York, and the Smallmouth Promised Land
In the final event of the 2026 season, 98 Elite anglers took off from Clayton, N.Y., with many venturing out into Lake Ontario where giant smallmouth awaited. Clayton, a sleepy river town in Jefferson County just a few miles from the Canadian border, is accustomed to hosting major fishing events, but even by local standards the energy surrounding this particular tournament was different. The Angler of the Year title, the Bassmaster Classic berths, and the careers of multiple professionals hung in the balance simultaneously.
The winner stood to earn $100,000, a coveted blue trophy, and a berth into the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic. The St. Lawrence River, including the eastern section of Lake Ontario, ranks third in Bassmaster Magazine's Top 10 Best Lakes of 2026 and had hosted 28 pro events and 10 Elite-level tournaments. The fishery's pedigree is unmatched. In three consecutive Elite visits prior to 2026, the river produced Century Club belts — meaning the winning weight exceeded 100 pounds over four days of competition. Pre-tournament expectations were sky-high, with 2022 Rookie of the Year Jay Przekurat openly predicting that Lake Ontario would be where the record-breaking catches would come from.
The Water Itself
Current breaks, seams, and boulders make up most of the habitat in the river proper, but there are also protected flats and bays where smallmouth can be found. The farther east anglers travel, the heavier the current becomes. As one veteran pro put it, the river can always produce a winning weight, but sustaining it over four days against what Lake Ontario offers is another matter. And yet, as the same angler noted, some of the biggest smallmouth in the world live in the river. That tension — river versus lake, calculated grinding versus going big — would define the entire event from Day 1 through Championship Sunday.
After two days, the anglers with the top 50 weights would advance to Semifinal Saturday, when the field would be cut to 10 for Championship Sunday. It's a format that rewards consistency as much as brilliance, and it's exactly what makes the AOY race so tactically layered. A single catastrophic day doesn't end you; a series of mediocre ones does.
The Protagonists: McKinney and Johnston
Trey McKinney — Illinois Kid, Big Water Warrior
The third-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., came into the event having earned 735 points over the nine-event season, needing to outlast Canadian Cory Johnston to claim the title. McKinney entered the week as the AOY points leader, which is a position that carries both privilege and pressure. He didn't need to win the tournament outright — but he needed to avoid disaster while one of the most experienced Canadian anglers on the tour was lurking behind him, ready to pounce on any mistake.
Somewhere around mid-morning on Day 1, McKinney was battling a five-pound smallmouth in waves almost twice as tall as he is — conditions that would have sent a lesser angler back to the dock. He swiftly moved to his driver's seat and lifted the bass out of the water more gracefully than anyone could have expected. The waves on Lake Ontario were the biggest the youngster from Illinois had certainly ever seen, but flirting with disaster appeared to be paving the way to another Elite Series top-10 finish and the trophy that had eluded him for two years running. That image — a 21-year-old from landlocked Southern Illinois, standing in a heaving boat on the open waters of Lake Ontario, horsing a five-pounder into the livewell — captured something essential about what makes competitive bass fishing so demanding and so dramatic.
At 21, McKinney had the chance to become the youngest AOY winner ever, eclipsing Kevin VanDam, who was 24 when he won his first of seven titles in 1992. VanDam is the Mount Rushmore of professional bass fishing, a man who dominated the sport so thoroughly for so long that breaking any of his records carries a particular weight. Surpassing VanDam's youth record wouldn't just be a statistical footnote — it would be a statement about a new generation arriving ahead of schedule.
Cory Johnston — Canada's 41-Year-Old Closer
On the other side of that record chase stood Cory Johnston, the Canadian veteran whose experience on big northern water systems made him one of the most dangerous anglers in the field for an event on the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario. At 41, Johnston carries two decades of professional fishing knowledge into every tournament, including intimate familiarity with the kind of cold, deep, clear water that separates the St. Lawrence from the man-made reservoirs in the American South where much of the Elite Series calendar is spent. Johnston was McKinney's chief rival for the AOY title heading into the season finale. For an angler of Johnston's vintage to be in position to win his first AOY at 41 would have been its own remarkable story — a veteran finally collecting a prize that had long seemed destined for younger hands.
The U.S.-Canada dynamic added another layer of texture that was impossible to ignore, particularly given the political backdrop of 2026. With trade tensions, tariff disputes, and broader friction between Washington and Ottawa defining the bilateral relationship throughout the year, the idea of an American kid and a Canadian veteran settling a score on shared border waters carried a charge that went well beyond bass fishing.
Championship Sunday: Records Fall in Clayton
While the AOY race commanded the narrative, a separate, equally stunning story was developing simultaneously: Canadian pro Evan Kung had entered the week in danger of losing his spot on the Elite Series for 2027, and not only saved his place on tour but went ahead and won his first B.A.S.S. trophy, breaking records in the process. It was the kind of week that reminds even jaded fishing veterans why they watch.
Kung blasted a four-day total of 109 pounds, 9 ounces to claim his first blue trophy — the heaviest winning weight consisting entirely of smallmouth bass in Bassmaster history, overtaking Patrick Walters' 105-pound winning total at the St. Lawrence River in 2023. To put that number into perspective for the uninitiated: catching a hundred pounds of bass over four days of competition means averaging over 27 pounds per day across five-fish limits. These aren't bass — these are smallmouth, a species typically smaller than largemouth, which makes the numbers even more astonishing and reflects the extraordinary quality of the St. Lawrence/Ontario fishery.
The second-year pro was in contention all week, opening the tournament in fourth place with a limit weighing 26 pounds, 9 ounces before jumping to second place on Day 2 with 28-9. He maintained second on Semifinal Saturday by landing 26-11 before taking the top spot on Championship Sunday with a sack weighing 27-12, a limit anchored by a 6-pound, 13-ounce smallie that earned Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day honors. That Championship Sunday fish — a nearly seven-pound smallmouth in a river system already known for producing giants — was the kind of catch that gets told and retold in bait shops for years.
Trey McKinney, who led the first three days of the tournament, finished second with 107-9, while Tucker Smith finished third with 107-1. Nine of the 10 anglers who fished on Championship Sunday earned Century Club belts, while all 10 anglers caught more than 21 pounds on the final day alone. That is a staggering number. In most bass tournaments across most of the country, 21 pounds over four days would be a competitive total. At the 2026 St. Lawrence Elite, 21 pounds was the floor for the final-day field.
McKinney Makes History: The Youngest AOY Ever
On August 30, 2026, from Clayton, N.Y., the announcement was official: Trey McKinney had finally defeated the Johnstons. Thanks to a second-place finish in the heavyweight battle at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River, the third-year pro from Carbondale, Ill., claimed his first Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, earning 735 points over the nine-event season to outlast Canadian Cory Johnston.
McKinney claimed the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title, with the previous holder of the youth record being Kevin VanDam, who was 24 when he won his first AOY in 1992. McKinney's reaction was immediate and unfiltered: "This feels unbelievable," he said.
The Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series is the highest level of professional bass fishing tournaments. Competitors must qualify for the series through the Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens or the B.A.S.S. Nation, and anglers already on tour must re-qualify each year by maintaining enough points throughout the season. The pro anglers compete all season for the opportunity to win points toward the AOY award and to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. In other words, the AOY isn't won in a single weekend — it's the cumulative product of an entire season of grinding across nine different fisheries, in all manner of conditions, against the best bass anglers on the planet. For a 21-year-old in just his third year on tour to claim it is legitimately extraordinary.
McKinney put the finishing touches on his first Angler of the Year title, becoming the youngest to ever hoist the trophy at 21 years old. The symmetry of it all — winning the title on a body of water shared with Canada, against a Canadian rival, with a Canadian angler winning the actual tournament — made the whole weekend feel almost scripted.
Evan Kung's Record-Breaking Win: A Canadian Redemption Story
Evan Kung's tournament victory deserves its own examination, separate from the AOY narrative. His week at the St. Lawrence represents one of the more dramatic individual-tournament storylines the sport has seen in years. He arrived in Clayton fighting for his professional survival. After winning his first B.A.S.S. trophy, Kung said simply: "This is by far my biggest win. It was a tough year for me, so it was great to end it like this."
Kung blasted a four-day total of 109 pounds, 9 ounces and officially qualified for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic. He also became a member of the Bassmaster Century Club for the first time. The Century Club is a distinction earned by anglers who accumulate 100 or more pounds across four tournament days — a standard that not long ago seemed almost theoretical on most fisheries. The St. Lawrence/Ontario corridor has normalized it, and Kung didn't just reach the threshold — he obliterated it.
That Kung, a Canadian, set the all-time heaviest winning weight using entirely smallmouth bass in Bassmaster history while fishing waters that literally straddle the international border is not lost on anyone paying attention. The St. Lawrence River is one of the few major bass fisheries in North America where the Canadian side isn't just incidental — it's essential. Anglers routinely cross into Canadian waters during competition on this fishery, making cross-border logistics and relationship management between the two countries' border agencies a practical concern for tournament organizers.
The Rookie Race: Hudson Holds On
The AOY and the tournament victory weren't the only titles decided on the St. Lawrence. Caleb Hudson held off Fisher Anaya just enough to claim the 2026 Pro Guide Batteries Rookie of the Year title — a distinction he had to sweat out all day at the St. Lawrence without even fishing the final round.
Despite a mistake at Lake Champlain earlier in the season, Hudson had led Anaya in the Rookie of the Year race going into the finale, holding 538 points to Anaya's 526. That Champlain mistake — mistaking his check-in time — cost Hudson a 4-pound penalty for being four minutes late, translating into 17 lost points. That those 17 points nearly cost him the Rookie of the Year title reflects how narrow the margins are at this level of competition. Four minutes late. Seventeen points. The razor's edge between legacy and footnote.
What These Results Mean for Professional Bass Fishing
A Generational Shift at the Top
The 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season finale will be remembered as the moment a new generation formally announced itself. McKinney's AOY, won at 21, changes the historical benchmark for what is possible in competitive bass fishing. VanDam's career — seven AOY titles, three Bassmaster Classic championships — stands as the sport's gold standard. When McKinney becomes the youngest to begin that record, it invites speculation about what the ceiling actually is for a kid who has barely started shaving.
The contrast with Johnston is instructive. The Canadian veteran represents the experienced, technically refined archetype of Elite Series fishing — a pro who has built his career on knowing water like the back of his hand, making smart decisions in tough conditions, and staying out of trouble. McKinney, by contrast, plays a more aggressive game, willing to run hard into open water in six-foot waves to find the kind of concentrations of big fish that make the difference between a top-20 finish and a top-5. That combination of aggression and talent has gotten him to the top of the standings at an age when most aspiring pros are still fishing Opens and hoping to qualify.
The St. Lawrence as the Sport's Premier Stage
The pressure that amplifies at the St. Lawrence season finale — where season-long races, Classic berths, and requalifying are all at stake on a fishery that has produced Century Club belts in the past three Elite visits — is unlike anything else on the circuit. No other fishery on the Elite Series calendar has the same combination of enormous fish, unpredictable weather, navigational complexity, and international dimension. When the wind kicks up on Lake Ontario, those who chased the biggest bags are suddenly fighting for survival in conditions that make their boats feel very small. The river offers shelter, but it also offers less weight. It's a gamble that plays out differently every year.
Pre-tournament, Przekurat said he was expecting huge weights — "possibly the most we've ever seen in a four-day event from this place." He wasn't wrong. Kung's 109-pound, 9-ounce winning total exceeded the previous all-smallmouth record by nearly five pounds. When a prediction like that proves accurate in professional fishing, it reinforces just how reliably the St. Lawrence overdelivers.
The Canadian Angle in a Complicated Year
It would be impossible to write about a U.S.-Canada confrontation in bass fishing during 2026 without acknowledging the broader context. The bilateral relationship between the United States and Canada has been strained throughout the year by trade disputes, tariff battles, and sharp rhetoric from both governments. Against that backdrop, a story in which an American kid from Southern Illinois and a Canadian veteran fight over an "Angler of the Year" title on water they essentially share — and a Canadian ultimately wins the tournament itself — carries an ironic charge that transcends sport.
The St. Lawrence River is one of the most tangible examples of the interconnected nature of the two countries. Shared fisheries, shared border crossings, shared economic infrastructure in towns like Clayton, N.Y., and Kingston, Ontario — the competition on the water is real, but so is the dependence. Border crossing complications have historically threatened tournaments in this region, and local economies feel the effects quickly when fishing traffic slows. When bass fishermen from all over the country descend on the North Country for a week, the motels fill, the bait shops sell out, and the restaurants stay open late. The stakes of keeping this fishery accessible and competitive are economic as much as they are athletic.
The Numbers That Will Be Talked About for Years
In any serious discussion of what happened at the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River, the raw numbers deserve their own moment of contemplation. McKinney's second-place total of 107 pounds, 9 ounces would have won the majority of Elite Series events in history. Tucker Smith's third-place total of 107-1 was nearly identical. The winner posted 109-9. The third-place finisher posted 107-1. The gap between first and third was less than three pounds — across four full days of competition, across dozens of individual fish, across shifting weather and changing conditions on one of the most technically demanding fisheries on the continent.
All 10 Championship Sunday anglers caught more than 21 pounds on that final day alone, and nine of the ten earned Century Club belts for their four-day totals. The Century Club used to be the rarest distinction in Bassmaster competition. On August 30, 2026, it became a near-universal achievement for the final-day field. That speaks to the caliber of the fishery, the caliber of the anglers, and the condition of the smallmouth bass population in the St. Lawrence-Ontario system — a population that, credit to conservation efforts and catch-and-release tournament protocols, appears to be genuinely thriving.
Looking Ahead: McKinney, the Classic, and What Comes Next
Evan Kung's victory at the St. Lawrence also officially qualifies him for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Bass Pro Shops. For Kung, who spent much of the 2026 season on the wrong side of the requalification bubble, that berth represents an almost complete reversal of fortune within a single week. He went from fighting for his professional survival to standing as the holder of a Bassmaster record, punching his ticket to fishing's biggest stage in the process.
McKinney, meanwhile, arrives at the 2027 Classic not just as a qualifier but as the defending Angler of the Year — and as the youngest in history to hold that title. The Elite Series, founded in 2006, grew from predecessors including the Bassmaster Tour, Top 150, and Top 100. In the two decades of its existence, no angler has won the AOY at McKinney's age. He now carries that distinction into a Classic that will be watched with particular interest by the angling world.
Bass fishing has a long history of prodigies who arrive fast and burn equally fast, overtaken by the grind of a long season and the demands of life on the road. It also has a history of once-in-a-generation competitors who arrive young, build relentlessly, and eventually find themselves spoken of alongside the legends. Which version of that story Trey McKinney is writing remains to be seen. But what happened on the St. Lawrence River on the last weekend of August 2026 was, by any measure, one of the best opening chapters the sport has produced in a very long time.
A 21-year-old from Carbondale, Ill. A 41-year-old Canadian veteran. A record-setting Canadian winner. Nine Century Belts on Championship Sunday. And the kind of rivalry between two countries that, for a few days at least, had nothing to do with tariffs or trade policy and everything to do with who could put the most smallmouth in the boat. Sometimes sport delivers exactly the story it's supposed to.
