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

The Starting Spot Daily Bass Headlines is taking a slight detour for the next several days. This will still be the perfect way to start your day with the top bass fishing stories on the internet, but for now, they’ll be mini-stories from my own observations here, live at the Bassmaster Elite Series season finale on the Mississippi River in beautiful La Crosse, Wisconsin. Plus, I’ll have direct access to Trey McKinney and the whole FXR Pro Fish team. So, rub the sleep from your eyes, pour that first cup of the day, and head to your Starting Spot.

On today's The Starting Spot: Bassmaster Elite Series Edition: Trey McKinney vs. Chris Johnston in Historic AOY Showdown | B.A.S.S.

Bassmaster Elite Series 2025: AOY Race Comes Down to the Wire

Thanks to the great folks at FXR Pro Fish apparel, this week I have the opportunity to go behind-the-scenes at the final Bassmaster Elite Series tournament of the 2025 season. It’s been a pretty amazing season, but you couldn’t script it for a better ending. This year’s Angler of the Year (AOY) race has come down to a battle of two absolute bass catching killers, who enter this last event in a dead points tie.

Trey McKinney’s Dominant St. Clair Victory

Trey McKineey comes into this last event with a ton of momentum. | B.A.S.S. | Andy Crawford

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

Can Chris Johnston be one of a very elite few to win back-to-back Bassmaster Angler of the Year trophies? | B.A.S.S. | Seigo Saito

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

The Mississippi River at La Crosse holds a lot of great memories for me. | Photo by Shane Beisner

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 for 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 will be slightly different than my usual 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

On the water with FXR Pro Fish walleye pro, Tom Huynh. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

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 really 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.

P.S. Tom caught all of the fish today knowing full well that I had brought a banana with me onto his boat. After the amazing day we had, I thought it was right to leave it with him. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

This is going to be fun. Come on along!

Following are the rest of my entries in this Bassmaster Elite Series of Starting Spot stories:

Day 1: Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025: The AOY Battle Rages On

Get behind-the-scenes coverage of the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series finale on the Mississippi River in La Crosse, WI. Follow Trey McKinney, Chris Johnston, and the FXR Pro Fish team as the Angler of the Year race stays too close to call after Day 1. | Photos by Kurt Mazurek

Day 2: Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025: New Rookie of the Year and AOY Heads to Day 3

In today's Starting Spot: New Rookie of the Year, the Angler of the Year race goes on, and Ride along with FXR Pro JT Thompkins | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

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

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

Day 4 -Launch: Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025: Championship Sunday -Guaranteed Drama on the Big River

Caleb Kuphall leads wire-to-wire into Championship Sunday at the Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025 finale on the Mississippi River. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

Day 4 -Conclusion: Bassmaster Elite Series La Crosse 2025: Pat Schlapper Grabs Victory on Final Day of Competition

Pat Schlapper Wins the Bassmaster Elite at La Crosse in front of his home crowd. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek