AUBURN, Ala. (WTVM) - Catching a win! A pair of college anglers from the Auburn Bass Fishing Club takes home the trophy from the 2023 Strike King Bassmaster College Classic.
Logan Parks and Tucker Smith secured the win even after struggling early in the event. Parks says in the last hour of the tournament, they caught more than 20 fish to get their weight up to the winning weight of 16 pounds and three ounces.
“That’s just kind of how fishing goes,” Parks said. “You’ve got to keep your mind in it all day long because it can happen in the last second. And if you’re not ready, you’ll miss it.”
Parks graduated from Auburn University in December 2021 with a degree in supply chain management and another in information systems management. Thanks to Bassmaster’s rules, Parks was eligible to fish last spring with his partner. Parks and Smith placed 2nd in the Bassmaster College Series, which qualified them to be invited to this year’s College Classic.
“We made it a goal to try and win the last one that we get to fish together, and that’s what we did so it worked out pretty well.”
The duo has multiple victories on their track record. In 2021, Parks and Smith won the Bass Pro U.S. Open along with $1 million, two Toyota Tundras, and two Nitro Boats. Park donated $26,000 to create the Logan Parks Bass Fishing Scholarship at Auburn University. He says the scholarship was the best way to give back to the school and help recruit other anglers.
“The scholarship is to help high school anglers pursue their dreams of fishing for Auburn and continuing on with a good education at the same time.”
Parks says his current focus is on the Bassmaster Open, or what he calls the “minor league of fishing”. He’s also released a behind-the-scenes show called “First Man Out”. If you’re interested in seeing more of Logan Parks, visit this link here.
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