Elite

AOY race: How it unfolded at St. Clair

See the photos of AOY frontrunners Jay Przekurat, Chris Johnston and Trey McKinney broken down day-by-day as they battled it out at the Yokohama Tires Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

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Photography by
Chase Sansom
West Virginia
Photography by
Shane Durrance
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Craig Lamb
Captions by
Kyle Jessie
Captions by
Mike Suchan
The 2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair was the eighth stop of the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season. The Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race was already close, and it tightened after the tournament’s conclusion.
Wisconsin pro Jay Przekurat has been in the driver’s seat for the majority of the year, leading the standings for the past four events before St. Clair.
However, after Przekurat finished 50th at the 2025 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller, his 42-point lead evaporated. That finish left the door open for Chris Johnston and Trey McKinney.
Heading into St.Clair, Przekurat had just a three-point lead over Johnston, the 2024 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year.
Many pundits believed the AOY was a two-horse race between Przekurat and Johnston heading into the final two events, which set up well for both.
Each has a great history on smallmouth fisheries and success on the Mississippi River.
However, just 12 points back sat the young phenom, Trey McKinney.
After a 89th-place finish in the season opener on the St. Johns River, McKinney has been on an absolute heater.
McKinney rattled off a stretch of four Top 10s and never finished lower than 29th. Included in that run was a runner-up finish at the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
McKinney had climbed back into the hunt and was well-positioned to make a big move at St. Clair.
The top three in points received Bassmaster LIVE cameras an Day 1, and the angler from Carbondale, Ill., put on a show, boating 24 pounds, 11 ounces to take the tournament lead.
As Day 1 concluded, McKinney turned his 12-point deficit into a 28-point lead on Chris Johnston.
With his Opens victory on St. Clair last year, Przekurat was expected to again have a strong showing on the smalmouth mecca.
However, Przekurat weighed just 19-7 on Day 1.
The weight doesn’t sound too bad, but it had Przekurat outside the cut in 55th place.
It was certainly a disappointing position for Przekurat, who held the AOY lead since Hartwell four tournaments ago. Yet with weights stacked extremely tight, Przekurat had the chance to gain ground on Day 2, something he has done well throughout his career.
A bag like he caught in winning the 2024 St. Clair Open, when he averaged 25 pounds a day, could get him back in the mix.
As a well-documented smallmouth hammer, Johnston had plenty of eyes on him.
Johnston had a relatively slow start on Day 1.
However, Johnston was able to cull up to 20-2, putting him inside the cut in 40th place.
There was a 40-point swing on Day 1, but the standings aren’t unofficial until the event’s conclusion.
Chris Johnston, 40th (20-2)
AOY: 2nd – 28 points back
Jay Przekurat, 55th (19-7)
AOY: 3rd – 39 points back
Trey McKinney, 1st (24-11)
AOY: 1st
Day 2 would be another critical day in the race.
Johnston needed another good day on Friday to stay inside the Top 50 and have an opportunity to make up more ground on Semifinal Saturday.
Johnston’s morning started well, but it’s critical to continue culling up at St. Clair because a pound can mean 20 or more places on the leaderboard.
Each place in the standings, which can be separated by an ounce, is critical.
It was imperative Johnston make it to Day 3 so he could stay close to McKinney.
Johnston was able to land 21-2, which moved him from 40th to 24th after Day 2.
He cut his deficit by 16 points and had another opportunity to shrink it further on Day 3.
It was even more crucial for Jay Przekurat to have a big day on Day 2.
Being outside the Top 50, the Wisconsin pro needed to move up at least five spots in order to fish on Saturday.
Unfortunately, Przekurat fell back one spot to 56th after Day 2 with 19-12 – eliminating him from the event.
Johnston and Przekurat had hopes McKinney might stumble.
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
McKinney put on another show on Day 2 to maintain the lead in the tournament as well as the AOY.
At the end of Day 2, McKinney held a 13-point lead over Johnston in the point standings.
And increased his lead over Przekurat to 42 points.
After Day 2, Kyoya Fujita moved ahead of Przekurat into third place in the AOY Standings and was 40 points back of McKinney.
Big smallmouth after big smallmouth allowed McKinney to hold a 4-ounce lead in the event.
Smallmouth are notoriously acrobatic. This always makes for epic on-the-water photos.
And when things are going your way, there’s nothing that can stop you.
Catches like this on a spybait are rare. It’s hard to keep fish on a treble hook bait when they’re as acrobatic as this Day 2 smallmouth.
A scoop and a score.
McKinney was having a big time out in St. Clair’s Anchor Bay.
McKinney never appeared as if he felt the pressure of the moment. For much of the event, he was listening to music, which he said helped keep him in a good space mentally.
McKinney puts the fish on the scales and waits in anticipation for his Day 2 weight.
Boom. Another big day.
Trey McKinney 1st (48-5)
AOY: 1st
…
Chris Johnston, 24th (41-4)
AOY: 2nd – 13 points back
Przekurat’s frustration is evident.
Jay Przekurat, 56th (39-3)
AOY: 4th – 42 points back
Przekurat receives his check from Tenkiller for holding the top spot in Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points. It was his fourth consecutive big check, but that gravy train would soon end.
There’s always something on the line on each day of the Elite Series. On the dawn of Day 3, McKinney was not only out to win the tournament but also maintain the AOY lead.
For Johnston, the goal was simple – make Championship Sunday and continue gaining ground on McKinney.
McKinney had maxed out his points and had nowhere to go but down, so the pressure was on.
McKinney put on another show on Semifinal Saturday, putting big smallmouth in the boat one after another.
Another scoop and another score.
McKinney kept locating the larger bass and bringing them in his boat.
With 23-15, McKinney boated the biggest bag of Semifnal Saturday to extend his lead.
Little did McKinney know that Johnston was making a surge up the leaderboard.
McKinney kept focus on his mission.
Elites can’t access BassTrakk during competition, but McKinney might have gotten a false sense of security if he could. Johnston had fallen in the standings on the unofficial scoreboard, but only because he was low on his estimates.
Johnston’s limit of 22-7, third best on the day, moved him up into the Top 10. Unfortunately for Johnston, the leaders were left to weigh and knocked him out of the Top 10 to 11th, just two ounces from making it to Championship Sunday. Johnston gained 13 points to end the day deadlocked with McKinney at 690 points.
Chris Johnston, 11th (63-11)
AOY – Tied for 1st
…
McKinney reacts as his weight pops on the screen. and knows he’s in the drivers seat to win his second Bassmaster Elite Series event.
Trey McKinney, 1st (72-4)
AOY: Tied for 1st
Championship Sunday begins at St. Clair.
McKinney does a little map study to figure out where he will begin his day.
The only way Johnston could take over the AOY lead is if McKinney fell from first.
That’s a lot of pressure for a 20-year-old.
But McKinney again didn’t crack.
He appeared well-focused on the task at hand.
McKinney wasted no time on Championship Sunday, catching a 6-pounder within the first 15 minutes.
This set up McKinney to be well on his way to hoisting the trophy over his head.
Yet again, McKinney caught the biggest bag of the day with 23-13 to slam the door on a dominant wire-to-wire victory.
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It’s easy to have fun when you’re knocking their lights out on Championship Sunday.
Meanwhile, Johnston could only watch it unfold when he joined the set of Bassmaster LiveCast on the shores of St. Clair.
Johnston credited McKinney for doing his job but said he was thrilled to head up to Wisconsin for the final Elite event with the chance to win his second AOY. There are 12 anglers who have won multiple AOYs, including Gerald Swindle (center). Consecutive AOY titles have been won by only three others — Kevin VanDam, Guido Hibdon and Roland Martin — and Johnston said he would be thrilled join them.
McKinney bags his smallmouth at Brandenburg Park, knowing his lead of 4-10 along with another solid limit would be hard to beat.
It would be McKinney’s second Elite title in just two years on the circuit.
What might be going through his mind? McKinney became the youngest Elite champion last year wnning at Lake Fork at 19 years, 1 week.
With his win, the stage is set for an AOY brawl at the final event of the season, the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis.
McKinney and Johnston will begin the competition tied in points.
Be sure to catch all the action August 21-24 on Bassmaster.com as these two anglers battle it out on Bassmaster LIVE.

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