Tyler Williams and St. Croix Pro, Trey McKinney, earn individual gold, while Joey Cifuentes and Joshua Weaver take individual silver

PARK FALLS, Wis (October 5, 2024) – Competitive bass fishing in the United States is all about individual performances. No doubt, there’s camaraderie between certain anglers, but almost total prohibition on cooperation means it’s every person for themselves. 

Contrast this with the sport’s growing international stage, where tournaments and championships are team-focused and cooperation between anglers isn’t just encouraged, it’s a necessity. 

An elevated level of cooperation and bass-fishing talent were certainly on display at the global scale last week, when Team USA Bass won gold for the fifth consecutive time at the 5^th Annual Pan-American Black Bass Championships on the St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada. Led by USA Bass Captains, Scott Martin and Jacob Wheeler, the star-studded American Team was rounded out by Brett Carnright, Joey Cifuentes, Emily Freeman, Nick Hatfield, Ryan Latinville, Trey McKinney, Alec Morrison, Rhonda Pitts, Joshua Weaver, and Tyler Williams.

The team of Williams and McKinney caught over 37 pounds in two days of competition to win individual gold, while teammates Cifuentes and Weaver earned silver. Canada was the second nation overall, and China finished third. 

One of America’s best bass anglers, Bassmaster Elite 2024 Rookie of the Year, Trey McKinney, has earned an incredible list of accomplishments at just 19 years of age. McKinney made history in 2018 by winning both the Junior Bassmaster Championship and the FLW Junior World Championship at age 13. He finished third in his first year fishing the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series in 2023 amidst amazing talent and graduated to the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2024 where his success continued. He became the youngest to ever win a Bassmaster Elite Event at Lake Fork, earning a Century Belt by weighing over 100 pounds in the process, won Rookie of the Year, and finished 2^nd in Angler of the Year during his first season in the Elites. He can now add Pan Am Black Bass Team and Individual Champions to that list. He describes fishing for Team USA Bass in international competition as a great experience and an incredible honor. 

“It’s completely different because of the team aspect,” the St. Croix pro says. “You work together continually and have to make the most out of only eight hours of practice. We had a team group chat where we were constantly reporting everything that was happening… everyone had to do their part. Once someone figures out something you can use, it gets communicated so it can be applied everywhere. Tyler (Williams) was able to get on stuff really quick in practice and that benefitted our entire team greatly. It was amazing to fish with him and to be a part of Team USA.” 

USAngling and USA Bass President, Tony Forte, says Team USA not only exhibited championship-level angling skill at this year’s Pan-Am, but also the leadership necessary to maximize opportunity. “From the perspective of USA Bass, we are always looking for anglers who can thrive in a team format,” he says. “Scott (Martin) and Jacob (Wheeler) helped us move the chess pieces around in assembling this team and also did an amazing job leading our decision-making on the water. They always seem to make the right calls.” 

Forte says while Team USA Bass has a history of winning these events, nothing is ever taken for granted and every victory is hard-earned. “It’s so difficult to overcome the home-court advantage the host nations have in these competitions,” Forte says. “These are all exceptional anglers, and last week in New Brunswick we knew the Canadians were going to perform really well, so we knew we needed to be on top of our game.” 

The basic rules of the two-day competition were five bass per team per day, and only the top four teams for each nation contribute to that nation’s overall weight. There are no restrictions on electronics. 

“Ten to twelve pounds of smallmouth for each team is pretty easy on the St. John, but we knew finding next-level fish would be crucial,” Forte says. “We set the goal for each of our teams to catch 15 pounds each day, and by noon on day one, four of our teams had already met that goal.” 

The team of Wheeler and Cartright were one of those teams, and assured a spot in the next day’s field, they actually quit fishing at noon on day one and went scouting to see what they could find to help the other American teams. “That’s a team effort,” Forte says. “As a unit, we outfished, outstrategized, and ultimately outcompeted.” 

As to Williams’ and McKinney’s individual gold-medal performance, Forte gives credit to Captains Martin and Wheeler. “Scott and Jacob recruited the right team,” he says. “Some anglers seem to do well in this format and some don’t. It was interesting to watch Trey and Tyler shine in that space given their young ages. Their angling knowledge and skill coupled with their desire to work for the team were a perfect fit.”

“I hope we can grow bass fishing into an Olympic sport,” says McKinney. “That’s the goal. Not everyone in the world knows what the Bassmaster Elite Series is, but everyone on the world stage knows what a gold medal is. I absolutely love the format. There’s tons of camaraderie, not only with your own team members, but with the anglers representing every other nation. There’s not a lot of drama and everyone is happy to be there. It was a total honor, a great experience, and I’m grateful to have been a part of it. I’d love to do it again!” 

Team USA Bass is headed to Italy for the Black Bass World Championship in just two weeks. It’s a smaller team consisting of Martin, Wheeler, Cifuentes, Scott Canterbury, Dustin Connell, and Fred Roumbanis. Forward-facing sonar is allowed in international competition. “Everyone uses it, and FFS will be super important in Italy,” Forte says. “It definitely levels the playing field for the visiting teams who only have two days to practice.” 

Next Year’s Pan-Am Black Bass Championship will be hosted by South Africa, and Forte says USAngling is hosting the Ice Fishing World Championship in Michigan this February. Participation with USAngling is currently by invitation only. 

“We have 15 different teams which compete globally,” Forte says. “We are always on the hunt for talented anglers with the right combination of skill, attitude, and teamwork for those teams, which in addition to bass include kayak fishing, predator fishing, street fishing, match fishing, saltwater fishing, fly fishing, ice fishing and more. We’re trying to find more competitions where even more talented American anglers can get involved. We also need ambassadors,” Forte adds.

For more information, visit usangling.org. 

About USAngling
USAngling is a 501c3 charitable organization that provides leadership for our U.S.A. National Fishing Teams as they compete worldwide, shares our love of Competitive Angling by engaging America’s youth, supports Conservation actions, and empowers local Community angling groups. USAngling is proud to be America’s home for World Championship angling. We are recognized as the sole U.S. representative to the Confederation International de la Peche Sportive (CIPS), the world sport fishing governing body as recognized by SportAccord.  CIPS is currently made up of 115 member nations representing over 50 Million competitive anglers. It is made up of three divisions: Freshwater, Fly, and Saltwater Fishing. These divisions are further broken down into various teams. USAngling, has the privilege of representing all of these United States fishing teams. At present there are a total of 13 Freshwater sports, 3 Fly Fishing sports, 17 Saltwater sports, and 1 Casting sport. 

About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph®, Mojo, and BASSX, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.