Parks dominates ABN state
By Greg McCain

SHEFFIELD, AL – Logan Parks lives over 200 miles from Pickwick Lake, but the Tennessee River impoundment has proved to be a special place for him during his fishing career. In fact, his trips to the Northwest Alabama fishery this year could barely be better.

Parks, a recent B.A.S.S. Elite Series qualifier and former Auburn University fishing team member, caught over 47 pounds of bass over two days and captured the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation (ABN) State Championship held out of Riverfront Park. Parks, who won the ABN qualifier on Pickwick in June, easily outdistanced the field of 68 boaters with a 47.03 total. Zeke Gossett (Shotgun Sports Supply) finished second at 38.76, and Lee Byrd (Birmingham Bass Club) took third with 37.99.

See photos from the event at the following link: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjB2fx5.

Parks also boated the Academy Sports + Outdoors Big Fish with a 7.96 Pickwick largemouth on Day 2. He caught the big fish on Day 1, a 5.82 smallmouth.

Avery Padgett, Parks’ cousin and team partner for the tournament, won the co-angler title with 17.84.

The duo combined to win the team competition (total boat weight) as well with over 64 total pounds, almost 24 lbs. greater than the second-place team.

“This is a special place in my heart,” Parks said. “We fished here a lot in high school and fished right here in college. I’ve spent time up here learning the lake. I came up here for two days and just looked around. Two weekends ago, we were here for the Toyota Owners Tournament and were around some good fish but had only three for 12 lbs. I just figured on how to expand on things we were doing then.”

Parks dropped the big bag of the tournament on Day 1, a five-fish limit of 24.88. The catch included two smallmouth and one largemouth well over 5 lbs., including a key fish late.

“I got rid of a 2 ½ pounder with a 5 ½ later in the day Friday, which was a good cull.”

Parks said he was finding fish with forward-facing sonar and also blind casting as well. He caught fish on several different baits, but Padgett said they relied mainly on swimbaits, especially on the first day.

For Parks, finding the fish became an issue each day. He worked over a two-mile stretch far downriver.

“They just kind of moved every day, and I had to relocate them,” he said. “They were definitely not close to where I found them the previous day.”

“Today (Saturday) was a struggle. I caught two fairly early, at least by 8 or 9, and then didn’t catch another until about noon, and then I caught an 8, a 7, and a 6. Because I made such a long run, I had to allow about an hour to get back, which really limited my fishing time.”

Parks begins his Elite Series schedule in late February on Toledo Bend on the Texas/Louisiana border. He said his experiences on Pickwick and other Alabama fisheries, including time spent as a boater and a co-angler, served as a proving ground for the top level of B.A.S.S. competition.

“It’s good to get some momentum going into next year,” Parks said. “I fished with a lot of these guys out here today as a co-angler in the 9th grade. It’s great to come back and hang with them and compete against them. I owe a lot to some of these guys for teaching me what I know.”

While his days on Pickwick may be numbered, he anticipates a future Elite Series event here.

“I hope we come back,” he said. “I love this lake.”

Gossett put together a consistent effort to claim second place, weighing over 19 lbs. each day, but couldn’t overtake Parks. Byrd, who finished one fish shy of a limit for a 15.38 total on Friday, dumped 22.61 on the scales Saturday and moved up the leaderboard to third place.

Other top 10 boater finishers were Donald Griffith (Wiregrass Bassmaster, 28.49); Caleb Swaim (Belgreen Bass Club, 26.29); Chad Sykes (Tennessee Valley Bass Club , 25.83); Larry Franks Jr. (Coosa River Rats 24.46); Jim Barnette (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 23.55); Bruce Sargent (Birmingham Bass Club, 23.16); and Keith Glasgow (Winfield Bassmasters, 22.62).

Among the co-anglers, Padgett benefited from fishing with Parks, a distant cousin, and outdistanced the next angler, Chris Hollingsworth (Shotgun Sports Supply), by almost ½ lb. for the title. Hollingsworth had a two-day total of 17.47. Larry Franks Sr. (Coosa River Rats) and Nick Glenn (Hamilton Bassmasters) tied for third with 15.56.

“I had never been here before,” said Padgett, a Troy University bass team member from Elba, “so I had a great time.”

Despite the dominating wins, Padget said that he and Parks did not boat numbers of fish, but the quality was present among the schools they found.

“We definitely didn’t catch a lot of fish,” he said. “I caught six keepers over two days. I got lucky and caught the right ones. Today, I had one fish and he had two at 12 o’clock, but from 12 to 1, we caught most of our better fish. He caught three to get his limit, and I caught two.”

Included among his total were his first-ever smallmouth catches. He said that he caught all his fish Friday on a swimbait but needed the whole tackle box Saturday. He had one on a lipless crankbait, one on a worm, and one on a jerkbait.

Other top 10 co-anglers were Gene Townsend (Rumbling Waters Bass, 12.61); Will Delaney (Shelton State Bass Club, 10.87); Terry Pinkard (Wiregrass Bassmasters, 10.87); Phillip Sherrill (Coosa Valley Bassmasters, 9.86); Chris Curvin (Neely Henry Bassmasters, 9.52); and Travis Culbreth (Birmingham Bass Club, 9.37).

In the team competition, Zeke and Curtis Gossett (40.92) finished second followed by Jim Barnette and Jonathan Barnette (30.72); Keith Glasgow and McCain Merchant (29.98); Doug Goodall and Gene Townsend (27.93); and Francis Beard and Curvin (21.83). All qualified to fish the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Team Championship on the Harris Chain in Florida December 6-9.

Zeke Gossett was the top finisher among Fishin’ 4 a Cure participants. ABN anglers heavily support the program with funds going to help the fight against childhood diseases at Children’s of Birmingham.

Also determined at the state tournament were Anglers of the Year in both boater and co-angler divisions. Sargent held on to the top spot among boaters and finished atop AOY standings. He won a tight battle with second-place finisher Griffith. Others in the top five were Bo Quinnie (Wiregrass Bassmasters), Glasgow, and Francis Beard (Neely Henry Bassmasters).

Curvin ranked at the top among co-anglers, finishing off a consistent season with his 9th-place effort in the state tournament. Other top finishers in the co-AOY standings were Hudson Choquette (University of Montevallo), Jonathan Barnette (Carbon Hill Bass Club), Donny Davis (Belgreen Bass Club), and Richard White (Alex City Bassmasters).

The state tournament ends the 2023 ABN season. While new B.A.S.S. rules have dissolved the old state team format, various anglers will advance directly to the 2024 B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship. Parks is ineligible to compete due to his Elite Series qualification, but 8 boaters earned their spots in the national championship at Grand Lake (OK) in November 2024. As a result of their 2023 wins in ABN qualifiers, Marty Giddens, David Wesson, and Coby Carden earned a spot there as did Sargent, Griffith, and Quinnie through the AOY standings. Gossett and Byrd also advanced as a result of their state championship finishes.

Among co-anglers, qualifier winners Eddie Rhodes, William Spencer, Colby Bendall, and Curtis Gossett plus AOY leader Curvin and top state championship finishers Padgett, Hollingsworth, and Larry Franks Sr. advance to the B.A.S.S. Nation National next year.

Another route to the B.A.S.S. National is through regional qualifiers next year. Several ABN anglers will get their entry fee reimbursed at the regional on Lake Eufaula Feb. 7-9 as a result of state championship or AOY finishes. They include boaters Glasgow, Beard, Dylan Pugh (Wiregrass Bassmasters), Swaim, Sykes, and Larry Franks Jr. plus co-anglers Glenn, Townsend, Delaney, Pinkard, Choquette, Barnette, and Davis. The top 20 anglers in each division will advance to the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship.

President Eddie Plemons thanks all the sponsors who support the ABN schedule. In addition to Academy, they include Airport Marine, AmFirst BassCash, Fish Life Fish Care Products, Office Partners, Halo Rods, Radicull Culling Devices, Davis Bait Co., George Paint and Body, BassCats Boats, Nitro Boats, Triton Boats, Mercury, Motor Guide, Lowrance, NetBait, Shell, Hammer Rods, Shelby County, Strike Zone Lures, Charlie’s BBQ, the Rod Glove, T-H Marine, Power-Pole, and Alabama Hosting.

The 2024 ABN season resumes in February with a qualifier on Lake Martin. Other 2024 stops include Millers Ferry, Eufaula, and Pickwick. The 2024 state championship will be held on Lay Lake in late October.

Greg McCain is a freelance writer from Russellville, AL, and a member of the Belgreen Bass Club. In addition to producing content for this website, his recent credits include articles in Georgia Outdoor News, the ACC Crappie Stix blog, the Cornfield Fishing Gear website, CrappieNOW online magazine, and Great Days Outdoors.