WADDINGTON, N.Y. — Trey McKinney was 18 years old when he competed in his first Bassmaster Elite Series tournament. The day after he finished 12th at Texas’ Toledo Bend Reservoir, he celebrated his 19th birthday, on Feb. 25th.
The next week at Texas’ Lake Fork, McKinney became the youngest angler to win an Elite Series tournament when he topped the 103-angler field with a winning weight of 130 pounds, 15 ounces.
The Carbondale, Ill., teenager capped his season Saturday by winning the Dakota Lithium Rookie of the Year title on the St. Lawrence River. McKinney, of course, became the youngest ROY winner in the history of the Elite Series, which began in 2006.
“Highs, lows, we’ve seen everything this year,” McKinney said. “It means so much, especially with this rookie class.”
McKinney credited another Elite Series rookie, Robert Gee, 25, of Knoxville, Tenn., with helping overcome a slow start Saturday. Gee, the tournament leader after three days, gave McKinney a jighead that seemed to give him a spark.
“I caught a 5-pounder,” McKinney said. “That’s what really put me over and I got my mental game back. I went and caught another 5-pounder. I never thought I’d make a Day 4 on a smallmouth event – ever. This is a pretty special time.”
McKinney’s low point this season came at Alabama’s Smith Lake, when he failed to note his check-in time on Day 2 and finished 93rd. It was the only time he’d miss the Day 2/Top 50 cut all year, which included a couple of other top 10 finishes, 6th at Florida’s Harris Chain and 6th at South Carolina’s Lake Murray. His second-worst finish came a week ago at Lake Champlain, where he was 42nd.
If not for the Smith Lake mistake, McKinney might very well have also captured the Angler of the Year title, which Chris Johnston clinched Saturday. Based on the Day 3 standings, Johnston has 758 points and McKinney is second with 734.
It was an exceptional rookie class that McKinney topped. John Garrett, 28, of Union City, Tenn., also won an Elite Series event this season, at Florida’s Harris Chain in April. Garrett completed his season with a 25th-place finish Saturday at the St. Lawrence. All nine rookies who qualified through the 2023 Bassmaster Opens EQ Series finished in 28th place and above, easily qualifying them to compete in the 2025 Bassmaster Classic.
