McKinney Even Surprised Himself With Early Win

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Winning bass tournaments is a habit for Trey McKinney. And at barely 19 years of age, he's already proved that he can do it at the game's highest level.

Less than two weeks ago, McKinney became the youngest angler to ever compete on the Bassmaster Elite Series when the 2024 season opened at Toledo Bend Reservoir. He finished 12th in that derby, and then topped the field the following week at Lake Fork.

He was a three-time BFL winner as a high-schooler as well as the victor in two MLF High School events. Still, nobody could've expected that he'd prevail over a tour-level field in his second outing.

"Yeah, this is wild," he said a day after claiming the trophy and six-figure paycheck at Fork with a four-day total of 130-15. "I really never dreamed that I'd win one this early.

"I had to pinch myself when I woke up (Monday) to make sure it was real."

He caught stringers that exceeded 30 pounds each day and came up just over a pound and a half shy of surpassing Paul Elias' four-day weight record (132-08 at Falcon Lake in 2008). His winning margin was 5-06 over runner-up Tyler Rivet.

He didn't catch any of the Lake Fork giants (fish weighing 9 pounds or more), as multiple competitors did, but he compiled a beefy 6 1/2-pound average for the specimens he took to the scale in Yantis, Texas.

He was phenomenally consistent, weighing either 33-10 or 33-11 on three of the four days. His other bag registered 30 pounds on the nose.

"I was just in the right areas," he said. "A lot of guys had bigger bites, but I looked for places where I could get multiple solid bites. If I could get in the right area and calm down and fish right, I could pick them off one at a time."

He focused on north-facing pockets and caught prespawners, mostly at depths ranging from 3 to 6 feet. Some of the fish were sitting on timber and others were roaming around. His baits included a variety of Strike King offerings – an Ocho stickbait, a Z Too soft jerkbait and a Denny Brauer Structure Jig with a Menace trailer.

Forward-facing sonar (Lowrance ActiveTarget) was a critical component for him. He also gave kudos to his St. Croix rods and Strike King baits. He lost only one fish – a 7-pounder – that would've aided his cause.

He loves sight-fishing, but didn't incorporate it into his game plan for this event due to the cold front that rolled through during competition.

He said the win won't change much in how he approaches the remainder of his rookie campaign.

"I'm definitely going to stay with the same mindset I've had," he said. "On the other hand, this will help me on the mental side of things because I've proved that I can do it."

He and fellow first-year Elite pro Ben Milliken currently share the pole position in the Angler of the Year race, but he said he's not considering that with three-quarters of the season still lying ahead.

"I'm just going to play it by ear and whatever happens, happens," he said.

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