Parnell takes Strike King co-angler honors at Chickamauga
DAYTON, Tenn. – limiting out each day, Kendall Parnell stayed consistent to earn the Strike King co-angler win in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division event on Lake Chickamauga. With a 36-7 total, Parnell takes home a new Phoenix package, plus $500 and qualification into the Toyota Series Championship this fall.
On the points side of things, Chris Bensel earned the Strike King Co-angler of the Year award by a wide margin, with 750 points.
Emotions run high for Parnell
An experienced angler, the win was special for Parnell for a few reasons.
“A few years ago, when COVID was real bad, I got it bad,” Parnell said. “For three months I was in the hospital, I was on oxygen, I didn’t think I would ever fish again. The doctors thought I would always be on oxygen. But the Lord blessed me. We take for granted sometimes, we go out and miss a fish, get aggravated and frustrated, and we forget there’s a lot of people who would like to be out there that aren’t able. When we’re able to go out there and have a good time and catch fish, we ought to be pleased with that. I’ve been blessed, I love fishing, I love the Lord.”
He also really loves Chickamauga.
“Chick is just a special place for me, I love this place, it’s probably my most favorite lake,” Parnell said. “It’s probably about 3 1/2 hours back to my house, and there have been times I’ve drove all the way down here at daylight and fished all day and drove all the way home. It’s just a special place, I love it.”
On the week, Parnell had to juke and jive with what his boaters did.
“The first day I caught them on a Carolina rig, a green pumpkin Zoom Brush Hog,” he said. “Yesterday, I caught them on a Yamamoto Senko. The first day, I was out on the ledges fishing deep. Then yesterday, we went up the river fishing shallow. Today, we were back out on the ledges, and I caught most of my fish on a wobblehead.”
Using a 3/4-ounce weight for his C-rig, Parnell thinks fishing it very slowly and running a long leader was key. On Day 2, he fished his Senko on a wacky rig.
One of his goals for the season was to make the Toyota Series Championship, and this win let him punch that ticket.
“That was my whole goal, all year,” he said. “When I went to the Toyota Championship in ‘22, that was an amazing event. The dinner, meeting everybody, the fellowship with one other. My whole goal was just to make Wheeler. I had a bad tournament at Guntersville, I was scared I wasn’t going to make it point-wise. It feels sweet now, not having to worry about points, knowing that I’m going to Wheeler to the Toyota Series Championship.”
Top 10 Strike King co-anglers
1. Kendall Parnell – 36 – 7 (15) – $34,000
2. Nycholas Swanson – 36 – 0 (13) – $5,375
3. Charles Huggins Jr. – 33 – 12 (14) – $4,300
4. Kenny Goodman – 28 – 12 (11) – $3,650
5. Josh Boone – 28 – 6 (8) – $3,150
6. Cooper Jett – 28 – 4 (11) – $2,650
7. Jacob Turner – 27 – 13 (11) – $2,300
8. Travis Bowen – 27 – 8 (10) – $1,825
9. Kevin Henderson – 27 – 5 (11) – $1,680
10. Michael Miller – 26 – 11 (13) – $1,290