If Chris Johnston had failed to close out his Angler of the Year title today at the 2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River, he could’ve blamed it on the numerous near misses.
He finished 15th, 13th, 11th and 11th in four consecutive tournaments in a row this year before closing out the season with a 19th place finish here. In the middle three – at the Sabine River, Tenkiller and St. Clair – he missed the cut to Sunday by 2 ounces, 13 ounces and 2 ounces, respectively.
But he didn’t have to dig into that half-empty glass. Instead, he celebrated his second straight title by remembering all of the times that he got the boost he needed. “I think in three or four tournaments I caught a key fish in the last 10 minutes,” he said onstage today. Whether it’s Ike’s “Never give up!” or VanDam’s “All about the attitude” or Swindle’s “PMA,” ultimately, titles in this sport come down to mental toughness, and he seems to have that part of the game wired.
Perhaps most oddly and most surprisingly, he earned the title without ever fishing on Sunday. The teen-class finishes were points-gatherers and the key was never finishing worse than 33rd.
For the second consecutive year, Trey McKinney slides into the runner-up spot. He was also 2nd at the Bassmaster Classic this year. Kevin VanDam recently told me that “the only guy who remembers who finished second was the guy who finished second.” That’s not quite true. We remember the greatness of Aaron Martens, which was punctuated by four second-place Classic finishes. But indeed, unless you have Martens-like talent, dedication and long-term success, the near misses get diluted and replace in our memory banks over time.
McKinney has plenty of runway ahead of him. The way that he responds to this disappointment will define his career.
With that out of the way, here’s what I saw, heard and thought on a grindy Day 3 from La Crosse:
Cory Johnston (5th, 46-10) on His Brother – “He’s never easy to live with.” Half of that AOY paycheck smooths out a lot of wrinkles in a relationship. Cory is still within range of the win, a not-insurmountable 4 pounds, 2 ounces behind Caleb Kuphall. If he manages to pull it out, it will prove to be a very, very good weekend for the family. It will also be reminiscent of last year, when he won the season-ending tournament on the St. Lawrence as his brother locked up AOY.
Making the Cut – Rookie of the Year Tucker Smith (10th, 45-7) slid into the ten spot (giving him four more Sunday appearances than the AOY this year), with 45 pounds, 7 ounces, an average of just over 15-2 per day. Again, ounces are critical – he was within a pound of the next four anglers up the chain and beat out 11th place finisher Jordan Lee by an ounce.
It Continues to Smell Like Teen Spirit – Everyone in the Top 10 caught at least 13 pounds every day. The highest-finishing angler who failed to meet that goal was Andrew Loberg in 13th, who narrowly missed it by weighing in 12-15 today. Scott Canterbury (26th, 41-15) was the lowest-finishing angler who had at least 13 every day.
Jason Christie (32nd, 40-8) – “I got goosebumps. It was like a Classic takeoff.”
Ups and Downs — Two members of the Top 10 saw their weights go up each day so far: Kyoya Fujita (6th, 46-5) and Tucker Smith (10th, 45-7). All of our top four anglers in the standings have seen their weights decrease each day.
Pat Schlapper – “All you can ask for is a shot.” He’s 2-14 behind Caleb Kuphall (1st, 50-12) and 1-1 behind Bryan Schmitt (2nd, 48-15). There are still three Wisconsinites in the top four.
Not Lightweights on the Water – If McKinney had won the AOY, we would have likely had the lightest cumulative weight (body weight, not fish weight) for AOY and Rookie of the Year in Elite Series history. I can’t imagine that either he or Tucker Smith weighs more than a buck forty.
Brandon Palaniuk—“I’m pretty sure I’m first man out of the Classic.” He entered the day 43rd in the AOY race and 44th in the tournament. He fell two fish short of his limit and dropped to 47th in the tournament. However, while he ended up 42nd in the AOY race, double quailifiers have Palaniuk confirmed in the 2026 Classic.
Brandon Lester — “Math is not my strongest subject. I promise you that.” Fortunately for him, he’s really good at catching bass and qualified for his 10th Bassmaster Classic. This one will be in his home state of Tennessee, where he finished 6th in both 2019 and 2023.
Jordan Lee — “I caught all of those fish with my trolling motor up.” He drifted through the mats, punching a big weight, and amassed his best bag of the tournament. His 16-14 today, added to 14-4 each of the first two days, moved him up from 34th to 11th.
Cat Scratch Fever – If Trey McKinney had won the Angler of the Year award, he would have been the first winner in a Bass Cat since Mark Davis, who won in both 2001 and in 1995. Mike Iaconelli, a current Bass Cat pro, won in 2006, but did not move from Ranger to Bass Cat until December of that year. Seth Feider, the 2021 AOY, had previously been in a Bass Cat before switching to Ballistic, Blazer, and then Vexus. In the interim, Hank Cherry won the 2020 and 2021 Classics out of a Cat.
Kyle Jessie (1pm) – “It just feels like a very Chris Johnston thing to do, to break his heart in the last few hours of the day.” At that point, Johnston was struggling just to put together a limit. At about 1:30 he culled a fish that he described as a “line burner” with a solid 4-pounder. “Am I ever glad to get rid of him because I think he shrunk,” he said after measuring the fish. He beat McKinney in the tournament (and therefore won AOY) by a mere 1-07. That fish may have been the difference, and it may have proven Kyle Jessie’s clairvoyance.
Fashion Statement – Hank Cherry’s “Scoper” hat. FFS doesn’t seem to have played much of a role this week.
Edge of Seventeen – There were ten bags of 17 pounds or greater on Day 1, and seven more yesterday, including Lee Livesay’s 21-11. Today there were none. Fujita, Smith and Jordan Lee were the only three to top 16 pounds, with Lee leading the field with 16-14. Unfortunately he needed just a touch more as he fell an ounce short of the cut. More time for PF Chang’s and Thai food.
Alex Redwine (44th, 36-8) — “I guess I’ll play some pickleball.” Sounds more relaxing than Seth Feider’s (23rd, 42-4) offseason plan to engage in “some farming.”
The Struggle for Fifteen – Everyone in the Top 10 has averaged over 15 pounds a day through Day 3, but no one has caught at least 15 every day. The top six anglers have all caught over 14 a day, as did Jordan Lee and John Crews, both of whom will not have a chance to make it four for four.
Great Dane – As far as anyone knows, Emil Wagner (41st, 38-1) will be the first Danish-born Classic contender.
KJ Queen (7th, 46-4) – “I promised Dave I’d give him a Boom Shaka Laka so we gotta get us a big one here soon.” He matched his Day 2 weight of 13-11 today, but fell from 5th to 7th in the tournament.
Roll Tide – If Kuphall goes wire to wire and wins, it’ll be his first Bassmaster victory outside of Alabama. He won an Open at Smith Lake in 2019 and an Elite at Guntersville in 2021.
Something About Day 3 – Until this week, Kuphall hadn’t made a Top 10 this year. His top finish was 19th in the season-opener on the St. Johns River and he’d finished in the twenties three times. His last Elite Top 10 was at Chickamauga in 2022, when he finished 5th.
Notable La Crosse Logger Alumni: Max Scherzer, Chris Sale.
