CLAYTON, N.Y. -- September 01, 2026 -- Evan Kung, a Canadian pro fighting to keep his roster spot on the Bassmaster Elite Series, won the 2026 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at St. Lawrence River on Aug. 30 with a four-day total of 109 pounds, 9 ounces. The catch set a new Bassmaster record for the heaviest winning weight made up entirely of smallmouth bass. The win also locked in Kung's berth at the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, set for next March.
Kung's total overtook the previous mark of 105 pounds, set by Patrick Walters at the same river in 2023, and made him a first-time member of the Bassmaster Century Club. "This is by far my biggest win," Kung said. "It was a tough year for me, so it was great to end it like this. I couldn't think of a better ending."
Kung Fishes Cautiously Before Chasing Big Bass
Kung entered the tournament ranked 72nd in Elite Series points, needing a strong finish just to keep his tour card for 2027. Each day he aimed to catch enough fish to stay above 70th in the standings before hunting for bigger bites. He opened in fourth place with 26 pounds, 9 ounces, moved to second on Day 2 with 28-9, held second on Day 3 with 26-11, then took the lead on the final day with 27-12, anchored by a 6-pound, 13-ounce smallmouth that won him Big Bass of the Day.
Boulders and a Prototype Lure Deliver the Bites
Kung split his time between the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario, targeting smallmouth in 20 to 40 feet of water around rock structure. In the river, he fished current breaks, large boulders and grass flats where bass roamed; in the lake, he worked boulders and humps. A Great Lakes Finesse Vibra Bug, a prototype lure rigged on a drop shot with a BKK hook designed by Cory Johnston, accounted for 90 percent of his catch, fished on a Douglas spinning rod and Daiwa reel spooled with 10-pound braid and an 8-pound fluorocarbon leader.
On the final day, wind and rain slowed the bite. Kung caught 22 pounds from a spot he expected to produce 18, then found a 5-pound and a 5 3/4-pound bass at an unfished spot to reach 25 pounds. After three unproductive hours on Lake Ontario, he returned to that same spot and boated the 6-13 that sealed the win.
McKinney Sets a Single-Day Weight Record on His Way to Angler of the Year
Trey McKinney, who led the tournament through the first three days, finished second overall with 107 pounds, 9 ounces. The Carbondale, Illinois, pro clinched his first Bassmaster Angler of the Year title at age 21, making him the youngest angler to win the award. On Day 2, McKinney weighed in 30 pounds, 11 ounces, the heaviest single-day limit in B.A.S.S. history, caught on a drop shot with a bug-style soft plastic and a 5-inch minnow bait around subtle rock veins at the mouth of Lake Ontario.
Alabama's Tucker Smith took third with 107-1, fishing humps, points and boulders near spawning grounds on Lake Ontario with a Yamamoto Dagger Minnow rigged on a light jighead. Nine of the ten anglers who fished the final day earned Century Belts, and all ten weighed in more than 21 pounds. Cole Sands took home $3,000 for the tournament's biggest bass, a 7-pound, 6-ounce smallmouth caught on Day 3.