JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Presented by T-H Marine on Lake Cherokee was a tough tournament for everyone, and it was extremely tough on the Strike King co-anglers. Of the Top 10, only half of them caught a limit any day of the event, and only one caught more than 20 pounds for three days. That one lucky angler was Justin Parchman – he tallied 7 pounds, 4 ounces on Day 1, then 10-3 on Day 2, and two bass for 3-10 on the final day for a winning total of 21-1. For the win, the Oklahoma co-angler earned $50,000, as well as a berth in the Toyota Series Championship this fall.
Parchman may not have needed the help, but he got a lot throughout the week, from a variety of sources.
“My son Jhett plays youth baseball, and he has a quarter that he calls his “lucky quarter,” Parchman said. “I talked to him before I came, and he’s like ‘Daddy, you’ve got to get my lucky quarter, you’ve got to get my lucky quarter.’ I was hesitant, because, it’s easy to lose change in a boat. I thought about it, and finally, I decided I’d better grab it, because he asked me to, and I fished with it the whole time.”
So, the quarter may have helped – according to Parchman, it is straight money in youth baseball.
The other thing that helped was a willingness to adapt. Borrowing some spinning rods from buddy Tommy Barrett, Parchman had to branch out a little from his Oklahoma roots for the win.
“It was beyond tough,” he said. “I fished with Eli Brumnett all three days of practice – the first day of practice, I caught two keepers all day. The second day of practice, I caught one keeper. The third day of practice, I finally broke down — I used spinning rods, which is not my nature at all. I spent more time with a spinning rod in my hand the last six days than I have the last 20 years.”
Put on the Ned rig game by Brumnett, who finished 11th in the event, Parchman plied a baby bass Rapala CrushCity Ned BLT on various heads for all but two of his fish this week. On the final day, he threw the Ned all day long, and it paid off with one super early keeper and another later that got him over the line.
Still, for Parchman, the win was nice, but it wasn’t the goal. Competing in the premier grassroots championship was what he had his heart set on.
“My goal, now that I’ve finished this out, is to qualify for the All-American as a boater,” he said. “My goal as a co-angler was to qualify as an All-American – winning is just the cherry on top of the ice cream. I just wanted to be called an All-American – you can’t take that away from anyone.”
Top 10 Strike King co-anglers
1. Justin Parchman – 21 – 1 (10) – $50,000
2. Caleb Welch – 19 – 12 (9) – $10,000
3. Rodney Tapp – 17 – 11 (9) – $6,250
4. Justin McGaha – 16 – 7 (7) – $5,000
5. Jody Jones – 16 – 4 (7) – $4,500
6. Tyler Nekolny – 15 – 11 (7) – $4,150
7. Ashley Klaus – 15 – 4 (7) – $3,500
8. Randy Paquette – 15 – 3 (7) – $3,000
9. Terry Laverack – 13 – 8 (7) – $2,500
10. Pop Catalin – 12 – 1 (5) – $2,000