McKinney Overcomes Early Nerves to Take Day 1 Classic Lead

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Published: 22 March 2025

FORT WORTH, Texas — When Trey McKinney hopped onto the stage at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, the infectious beat of “Church Clap” by Christian hip-hop artist KB filled Dickies Arena.

Though conventional wisdom says don’t ever change what’s working, McKinney’s hype song might as well be “The Kids are Alright” by The Who, because things are, indeed, quite alright for the whiz kid from Carbondale, Ill.

McKinney, who celebrated his 20th birthday only last month, holds the Day 1 lead in the world’s most-celebrated fishing tournament. His limit of five bass totaled 26-9 and gave him a 1-pound cushion over Canada’s Cory Johnston, who’s in second with 25-9.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the 56-angler field are, third, Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill, 24-15; fourth, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat, 23-7; and fifth, Texas pro Lee Livesay (who many pundits consider the favorite here,) with 23-0. The entire field will fish again Saturday, and the Top 25 anglers will make Sunday’s cut, with the winner pocketing $300,000 cash.

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Local Tournaments Urged to Tighten Rules at Weigh-ins

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Published: 11 March 2025

By Louie Stout

We’re about a month away from the start of the bass tournament season and you can bet there will be a lot more forward facing sonar units deployed by Michiana anglers.

Understandbly so. The new technology is amazing and opens a dimension in bass fishing that has never explored.

But it also has exposed a vulnerable population of bass on our lakes that will require additional protection by anglers.

Tournaments have all required fish be weighed alive so they can be released back into the water.

With FFS, that may not be enough.

That’s especially true on deep lakes where large bass will school and suspend in deep water. Smallmouth are extremely vulnerable, especially on lakes like Gull and Paw Paw and other deep lakes where FFS is so effective.

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