Trey McKinney, a 21-year-old professional fisherman, has become the youngest Bassmaster Angler of the Year ever and also holds the record for being the youngest Elite Series winner in history. According to McKinney, earning respect from his veteran peers took time, but he believes it's necessary for rookies to prove themselves before gaining acceptance. He cites his own experience, where he initially received a hard time from other Elites but eventually gained their respect through his on-paper performance and winning results. McKinney now has normal conversations with his colleagues and feels more welcome in the community.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Trey McKinney has spent most of his professional fishing career being the youngest guy in the room.
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McKinney → spend → room
And apparently, the Bassmaster Elite Series veterans weren't exactly waiting at the dock with open arms.
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veterans → wait → arms
McKinney arrived on the Elite Series as a teenager and immediately started making noise.
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McKinney → arrive → noise
But according to McKinney, earning all those accolades was one thing.
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earning → accord → accolades
Earning the respect of the other Elites took a little longer.
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Earning → earn → Elites
"They're not a very welcoming crew to begin with," McKinney told OutKick OutDoors.
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McKinney → begin → OutDoors
"If you're somebody that's coming on the Elite Series, don't expect a warm hand of, 'Come on, buddy.
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that → come → hand
"
McKinney isn't complaining about it.
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McKinney → complain → it
In fact, he thinks that's probably how it should be.
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it → think → fact
"Rookies coming in, you get a hard time.
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you → come → time
You've got to learn how to prove yourself," he said.
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he → get → yourself
"And once you do that, it honestly makes it that much sweeter."
Watch Trey McKinney's full interview with OutKick OutDoors here:
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it → do → OutDoors
For McKinney, proving himself happened quickly on paper.
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proving → prove → paper
He finished second in the Angler of the Year standings in each of his first two Elite seasons, both times behind Chris Johnston.
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He → finish → Johnston
But he said the first couple of years were still a "hard road" when it came to being accepted by the veterans around him.
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it → say → him
"This year, it's kind of watching things turn around a little bit, gaining respect from certain people that I would never see it from," McKinney said.
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McKinney → watch → it
"Now that I see that they respect me, I respect them just as much.
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I → see → them
He laughed while describing just how different those interactions are now.
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interactions → laugh → ?
"Now I can go out and have a normal conversation with somebody, and they don't just — I'm like, 'Hey,' and they just turn around and walk off," he said.
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he → go → somebody
"Now we can have a conversation like man to man, and it's pretty special to see where it was to where it is now."
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it → have → man
"Exactly," McKinney said.
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McKinney → say → ?
"I feel more welcome.
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I → feel → ?
I feel like I'm out there having fun.
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I → feel → fun
We're doing our job.
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We → do → job
We're competing.
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We → compete → ?
We're competitors, and we realize that.
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we → realize → that
But at the same time, we have the same respect as we do for everybody."
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we → have → everybody
If there were any doubts left about whether McKinney belonged among the sport's best, he pretty well erased them on the St. Lawrence River.
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he → be → River
McKinney entered the final Elite Series event of the season with the Angler of the Year title within reach.
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McKinney → enter → reach
He then caught a 30-pound, 11-ounce five-fish smallmouth limit on Day 2 — the heaviest in Bassmaster history — and put himself in position not only to win AOY but also to win the tournament.
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He → catch → tournament
By Sunday morning, however, the normally cool 21-year-old was feeling every ounce of what was at stake.
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what → feel → stake
"I'd never been so nervous that it affected my fishing, really," McKinney said.
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McKinney → affect → fishing
There was a tournament win, $200,000 and the title he'd spent three years chasing all hanging on one final eight-hour day.
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he → be → day
"I'd be lying if I said it didn't affect me because it did," he said.
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he → lie → me
"I just didn't fish very good.
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I → fish → ?
I got nervous.
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I → get → ?
I got impatient.
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I → get → ?
I wanted it to be over quickly, and it just wasn't."
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it → want → ?
The fish weren't cooperating early, either.
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fish → cooperate → ?
McKinney hit his first few spots and came away with little to show for it.
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McKinney → hit → it
…and 31 more, not listed.
