Troy McKinney

Troy McKinney is from the Kansas City area and grew up fishing local waters across western Missouri. After losing his father at a young age, Troy’s grandfather became one of the biggest influences in his life and helped introduce him to fishing. His grandfather was a multi-species fisherman who loved chasing crappie and fishing places like Pomona, Lake of the Ozarks, Pomme de Terre, the Blue River, and other area waters. That early exposure shaped Troy’s love for fishing and gave him a broad foundation that still influences how he thinks about the sport today. Troy began fishing seriously around age 18 or 19 and has spent much of his life in the fishing tackle industry. He has worked with and learned from several well-known people in the local fishing world, including Dave Gray at the old Bass Pro Shops in Grandview, Frank Finsum of Finsum Sports Headquarters, and Steve Rogers of Rogers Lures. Through those relationships, years in retail tackle, and countless conversations with anglers, Troy has built a deep understanding of baits, techniques, seasonal patterns, and local fisheries. While Troy enjoys fishing for multiple species, bass fishing is his primary focus. He especially enjoys the challenge of patterning bass and fooling them with artificial lures. He will chase trout, crappie, walleye, and other fish when the opportunity comes up, but bass fishing is where his passion is strongest. Troy spends much of his time on Kansas City-area and west-central Missouri waters, especially the Jackson County lakes. He has experience on Longview, Blue Springs, Jacomo, Prairie Lee, Lone Jack, Watkins Mill, Rocky Hollow, Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and many smaller local lakes. At one point, he built a notebook of Missouri lakes within 50 miles of the Kansas City metro area so he could better understand the opportunities close to home. Troy’s tournament background is rooted heavily in the local bass scene. He ran the Longview Buddy Bass Wednesday night tournaments for years and was also successful in local events on Blue Springs Lake and Longview Lake. He has fished Red Man events, Rogers Thursday Nighters, and other local tournaments, with strong finishes and tournament winnings on the lakes he knows best. One of Troy’s biggest strengths is the amount of information he has collected over time. He has kept an outdoor diary since he was 12 years old and still uses that history to look back at conditions, patterns, and lessons learned from past trips. Troy also enjoys helping anglers improve. As a retail fishing tackle manager, he spends a lot of time helping new and developing anglers understand baits, build confidence, and expand beyond the one or two techniques they already trust. He enjoys teaching people that bass can be caught on a wide range of lures and helping them build more tools in their fishing toolbox. Troy describes himself as outgoing, easy to get along with, knowledgeable, and willing to share what he has learned. His approach is shaped by years in the tackle business, decades on the water, and a genuine passion for helping other anglers get better. As a Missouri Fishing Intel contributor, Troy brings local Kansas City-area knowledge, bass fishing experience, tackle industry insight, and a practical understanding of how anglers can break down smaller lakes, reservoirs, and regional fisheries across western Missouri.