Bassmaster Elite Tournament at Lake St. Clair: Day 1 Review

The opening day of the 2025 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair lived up to its reputation as one of the premier smallmouth fisheries in the country, with impressive catches, intense competition, and an electric atmosphere surrounding the event.

Tournament Leaderboard

Young phenom Trey McKinney, just 20 years old from Carbondale, Illinois, stormed into the Day 1 lead with an impressive five-fish limit weighing 24 pounds, 11 ounces. His bag was anchored by a beautiful 5-pound, 10-ounce smallmouth. McKinney, who currently leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race with 690 points, demonstrated exceptional skill in deciphering the Lake St. Clair smallmouth patterns.

The leaderboard remained incredibly tight, with Kentucky’s Matt Robertson sitting just 11 ounces behind McKinney with 24 pounds even, including the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day at 5 pounds, 14 ounces. Will Davis Jr. claimed the third position with 23 pounds, 3 ounces, just 1 pound and 8 ounces off the lead. The incredible quality of fishing was evident as 44 anglers brought in bags exceeding 20 pounds.

Notable Performances

McKinney’s morning started strong with a 4-pounder followed quickly by his biggest fish of the day, the 5-10 smallmouth. He added a 4-12 before filling out his limit by noon, allowing him to spend the afternoon practicing for the coming days. His success came from targeting specific bottom compositions featuring a mix of tall and short grasses combined with sand.

Robertson employed a two-phase strategy, securing about 17 pounds early before moving to an area with better quality fish where he made several crucial upgrades. He mentioned using two different baits but was secretive about his specific technique, noting only that it was “different from what most people are fishing.”

Davis Jr. experienced a remarkable hour-long flurry around mid-morning, boating two 4-pounders before landing 5-8 and 5-4 bass on consecutive casts. His primary tools were a Big Bite Baits Thresher Worm on a drop shot and a Big Bite Jerk Minnow on a jighead.

Tournament Setting

The tournament is headquartered at Brandenburg Park in Chesterfield Township, Michigan, where daily launches begin at 7 a.m. with weigh-ins scheduled for 3:10 p.m. The venue provides an excellent backdrop for both the competitive and fan experience aspects of the event.

Fan Experience and Activities

Day 1 featured an enthusiastic crowd of spectators at both the morning launch and afternoon weigh-in. The Cheers to Chesterfield Festival ran concurrently with the tournament, offering food trucks, beer service, vendor booths, and kids’ activities throughout the day. Live music followed the weigh-in, creating a festive atmosphere for anglers and fans alike.

The Bassmaster Expo area, which will officially open on Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m., was being set up adjacent to the weigh-in stage, with sponsor displays and interactive activities taking shape for the weekend crowds.

Tournament Context

This event marks the 14th professional B.A.S.S. tournament and 6th Elite Series event on Lake St. Clair, often considered the “sixth Great Lake.” Covering approximately 430 square miles with an average depth of 11 feet, this relatively shallow body of water continues to produce increasingly impressive weights over the years.

Pete Robbins, a veteran Bassmaster writer, noted the remarkable progression of weights over the tournament’s history on Lake St. Clair: “When the tour first visited the big urban bowl in late August of 1994, Michigander Kim Stricker won with 61 pounds 15 ounces. That’s an average of just about 15 and a half pounds a day. Today, on the first day of the 2025 Yokahama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair, 15-8 slides you into a cool 96th place out of 101.”

Looking Ahead

The full field will compete again on Friday, with only the top 50 anglers advancing to Saturday’s semifinal round. The tournament concludes Sunday with the top 10 anglers competing for the championship. With the tight weights and abundance of quality smallmouth, the competition promises to remain fierce throughout the weekend.

Bassmaster LIVE will provide coverage from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day on Bassmaster.com, with additional coverage on FS1 over the weekend.

As Day 1 concluded, the tournament atmosphere was overwhelmingly positive, with competitors and fans alike appreciating both the quality of fishing and the celebratory nature of this premier bass fishing event in Michigan.

Photos: Tim Jarrold – In Play! magazine