CALVERT CITY, Ky. – Strike King co-angler Scott Parsons is going home with a Toyota Series trophy for the third time. The Rogers, Arkansas angler earned this win in fine style at the Plains Division event on Kentucky and Barkley lakes.
Parsons totaled 34 pounds, 5 ounces to win the event by more than 4 pounds over Roger Hughes. This event was presented by Jenko Fishing and hosted by the Kentucky Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The 2021 Toyota Series Championship winner, Parsons fished to his strengths and utilized finesse tactics on Kentucky Lake to score the win. Starting with 11-1 while fishing with pro Stephen Whitesell, he kicked off the first day in eighth place.
“My key bait the first day was a green pumpkin Z-Man Hula StickZ, which I think perfectly imitates a bluegill and not many people throw it,” he said. “I fished that all day on Thursday on a ¼-ounce Arkie U-Bolt Finesse Jig. It’s a finesse wobble head and the fish really seemed to like it.”
Fishing with Joe Hall on the second day, Parsons hauled in 16-1 to take the lead by over 3 pounds. The wobble head was again crucial, but so was a shaky head in the calmer conditions.
“For shallower water, I was casting a 3/16-ounce Buckeye Spot Remover with a green pumpkin Zoom Trick Worm,” he said. “I was catching some of them in a foot of water.”
With a commanding lead going into the final day, Parsons was paired with eventual pro winner Jake Lawrence. He knew he’d be around plenty of fish, but fishing behind someone catching fish with forward-facing sonar requires a new outlook to succeed. He did, and his three bass for 7-3 gave him another win in commanding fashion,
“It was a struggle today because he was catching them everywhere we went and there was nothing I could do because I didn’t know what to throw at,” he said. “I would crank and wind things to hit a rock, stump, or anything. This allowed me to luck into a couple of them.”
He also credited Lawrence for assisting him throughout the day.
“He helped me try to get some more keepers and kept his back graphs on for me,” he said. “This allowed me to see the depth and maps, plus he had side scan on for me, so I knew where some of the stumps and rocks were.”
In addition to his three Toyota Series triumphs, Parsons won a Phoenix Bass Fishing league event and narrowly lost out on another Toyota Series win in 2016 after losing a tiebreaker. With this much success from the back of the boat, you can tell Parsons often gets asked about when he will jump to the front of the boat based on his quick answer.
“It’s a simple answer and it’s that I struggle to find fish; I luck into some but need more time to do it consistently, and I don’t have that much time off from work,” he said of his job as a senior business analyst at Walmart’s home office. “I enjoy this and like just showing up and having fun.”
Top 10 Strike King co-anglers
1. Scott Parsons – 34 – 05 (13) – $34,000
2. Roger Hughes – 29 – 15 (12) – $5,375
3. Ken Coats – 26 – 12 (10) – $4,300
4. Carter Wijangco – 26 – 11 (11) – $3,650
5. James S. Burns – 26 – 08 (9) – $3,150
6. Alan Woodford – 26 – 00 (10) – $2,650
7. Jason Swanson – 25 – 12 (9) – $2,150
8. Pop Catalin – 24 – 10 (9) – $1,825
9. Jason Sandidge – 24 – 03 (9) – $1,530
10. CJ Holbrook – 24 – 03 (10) – $1,290