Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025 -Day 3: Kuphall Maintains Tournament Lead and AOY Finally Decided

An amazing Angler of the Year race has finally come to a close. Day after day of too close to call ends with Chris Johnston as the 2025 Angler of the Year. And now we have one more day to see who will win this final event of the Elite season on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025 -Day 3: Kuphall Holds Tournament Lead and AOY Finally Decided | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

This is the Starting Spot -Bassmaster Elite Edition -Day 3.

Your regular news headlines will resume next week, but until then come behind the scenes with me at the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series season finale on the Mississippi River in beautiful La Crosse, Wisconsin. So, rub the sleep from your eyes, pour that first cup of the day, and head to your Starting Spot.

Johnston Tops McKinney in Epic Bassmaster AOY Battle

They had those anglers responsible for the hottest headlines of Day 3 held backstage until the end of the weigh in. Kuphall and Schmitt were sat between McKinney and Johnston. This really looks like one of those caption contest photos. What do you think Johnston just said? | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

At the beginning of Day 3 Chris Johnston had a 2.5 pound lead over Trey McKinney. By noon, McKinney had a 2.5 pound lead over Johnston. By the end of the day it was, as we’ve said so many times this week, too close to call. 



Chris Johnston is the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Angler of the Year. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

This is the first time in the history of the sport where the Angler of the Year race was a tie at the start of the final event of the year. These two managed to keep the suspense going for three full days of competition. But when the official scales settled, Chris Johnston had prevailed, becoming only the fourth angler in history to earn back-to-back AOY titles. Johnston shares the honor with true legends of the sport Roland Martin, Guido Hibdon and Kevin VanDam. Congratulations to Daiwa Pro Chris Johnston!

McKinney Gracious in Well-Fought Defeat

Trey McKinney getting a helping hand from his number one supporter, mom. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how new Trey McKinney is to the big leagues of this sport. Heck, it’s easy to forget he’s not even old enough to celebrate his amazing Elite season with a beer yet. And I think it’s so easy to forget because he handles himself so well, in so many situations, with a level of grace and maturity beyond what most people ever seem to be able to reach.

Sure, he was excited about the possibility of winning when he first beached his boat at the end of the day. He was surrounded by family and friends doing all sorts of speculative mathematics and trying to remain positive. But once it was official, and he knew he would have to wait at least another year, he was incredibly gracious, grounded, and maybe even a little inspired to figure out how to do it better next time.

And Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Tournament

Caleb Kuphall has held the lead since day one. Can he hold on one more day to become the Bassmaster Elite Champion of the Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin? | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

Caleb Kuphall has led this event from the start and maintains his lead going into the final day of competition. The Wisconsin angler is 1-13 ahead of Bryan Schmitt in second place. FXR Pro Schmitt won the last Bassmaster Elite event at La Crosse in 2022. He says the fish are changing with the river conditions, but thinks he knows how to change with them tomorrow. 



So, even though Rookie of the Year and Angler of the Year are decided, this tournament is far from done being exciting.

FXR Pro Team Standings After Day 3

• 2nd Bryan Schmitt. 48-15
• 9th. Cooper Gallant. 45-14
• FINAL DAY CUT LINE -----------
• 16th JT Thompkins. 43-8
• 20th. Tyler Williams. 41-9
• 27th. Trey McKinney. 27-0
• 57th Justin Hamner. 25-12
• 74th Beau Browning. 24-5
• 75th Matt Robertson. 24-0
• 78th Bryan New. 22-11
• 81st Logan Parks. 22-4

Thanks for starting your day with Fishing On SI. Lines in!