Fishing With Hank Parker

When Hank Parker backed his boat in Clarks Hill Lake for the 1976 National Bass Association Tournament, he had no idea the lasting effect the event would have on his career.

After an impressive come-from-behind victory at Clarks Hill, Hank managed to win the next two tournaments in a row and the season championship that year.

When I reached out to Hank for an interview with GON, he said he’d love to, and he’d love to go back to where it all began more than four decades ago.

I met up with Hank at Hickory Knob State Park on the South Carolina side of the lake the evening before we planned to fish. We spent a few hours swapping fish stories, reminiscing on year’s past, and talking about what’s going on with Hank now.

“Clarks Hill will always be special,” said Hank. “In 1976, after winning here, I managed to win again two weeks later at Lake Norman. Then a few weeks after that, I won again at Kentucky Lake. The top prize for each tournament was a boat for first place and a boat for big fish. I won three in a row and had big fish three tournaments in a row. Winning six boats in a few months sure put some money in the bank and some confidence in my brain.”

Hank went on to win the National Bass Association Championship that year, and three years later, he would win the 1979 Bassmaster Classic, making him a household name in the bass fishing world.

In 1985, Hank launched his signature show “Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine” and in 1989 went on to win another Bassmaster Classic title before retiring from professional bass fishing.

Hank Parker’s career really took off after a big tournament win on Clarks Hill in 1976. This summer, Hank returned to Clarks Hill to take GON freelance writer Craig James out on the water. The two took a trip down memory lane and caught up on what the celebrity angler is doing now.

“They say I retired, but that’s when I really went to work,” Hank said with a chuckle.

I asked Hank if he sees a complete retirement in his future.

“I don’t want to, and I don’t know how to,” he said. “I love fishing as much right now as the day I made my first cast. I tell people all the time that fishing is a lot like good banana pudding. You can eat until you’re so full you can’t take another bite, but a few hours later you’re back in the kitchen looking for some more.”

Filming television shows isn’t the only thing keeping Hank busy these days. He is the 50% owner in the companies Swhacker Broadheads and C’Mere Deer.

“Hunting season is about to fire up good, and that will keep me running wide open for the next several months,” said Hank. “One minute I’m trying to figure out how to get a pallet of Swhacker Broadheads across the country and the next I’m filming for one of next season’s TV episodes. It’s work, but man I love what I do.”

Hank also tries to hunt every chance he can and hopes to make time for plenty of it this fall.

“We won’t be doing any filming for our hunting show this fall. With my son’s busy schedule and my own, we decided to go a different direction,” he said. “The filming is fun, but it takes up lots of hours. I’m looking forward to getting out and just going hunting this season.”

One of Hank’s true passions is traveling around the country and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at various wild game suppers and other events.

“I love getting to share my testimony with others about what Jesus has done in my life. We serve a mighty a God,” said Hank. “Hopefully we can get through all this COVID stuff and I can get back to doing more speaking. I love talking about the Lord.”

One of Hank’s passions is traveling around the country and sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at various wild game suppers and other events. “I love getting to share my testimony with others about what Jesus has done in my life,” said Hank.

I asked Hank how he felt about where fishing is today compared to 50 years ago.

“Man the sport has come a long way from the days when me, Bill Dance, Jimmy Houston, Roland Martin and us old-timers used to battle it out. Bass fishing has evolved in ways I never thought possible,” said Hank.

“Back around 2014 or 2015, fishing license sales across the country really began to climb again, and I think that’s largely in part to high school and college bass fishing coming onto the scene.”

Hank tries to visit and speak with several high school teams a year and even has an episode with a high school fishing team set to air in 2021.

“I love working with kids and the challenge of teaching,” he said. “In today’s world, there is a pile of information out there when it comes to fishing. When I was first getting into the sport, you didn’t have YouTube or Google to help. I like teaching kids how to sort through all of the information and to figure out what makes them better as fishermen.”

Hank also mentioned that we have to teach new young anglers to really love the sport and not just focus on having success at it.

“We need to be really careful with how we teach young anglers,” said Hank. “We need less emphasis on the size and numbers of fish caught and more on making sure they’re smiling every time they set the hook. That love for the sport is what will keep kids fishing for the long term, nothing else will.”

The next morning, we loaded up and headed the short drive from the lodge to the lake. After launching Hank’s one-of-a-kind Ranger bass boat, which has a smooth white-and-red-glitter paint job, Hank fired up the Mercury, and we raced across the lake as the sun began to rise.

“I’ve been with Mercury and Ranger forever, and when it comes to their product and service, they are the best combination out there plain and simple,” Hank said as we pulled up to our first spot of the day.

We spent the next hour or so fishing grass points off of the main lake. I managed a fish on a frog, and Hank set the hook into a few fish by working a buzzbait around the edges of the grass.

“This is a good pattern for any lake super early in the morning during the summer months,” said Hank. “Oftentimes you can pick some fish up first thing before the bite picks up out on the humps in deeper water. With the 2 inches of rain the lake has gotten the past couple of days, it may have the fish in a funk.”

We continued with the shallow pattern for the next hour or so fishing the backs of creeks, points and rip-rap and managed a few more fish on the buzzbait.

As the sun began to climb higher in the sky, Hank put the Mercury to work as he began to run from one hump to another, pausing to make a few casts and check his Humminbird depthfinder for fish.

“The fish just aren’t in the deep water like they should be,” said Hank. “For some folks it’s frustrating when you don’t see fish on the graph, but for me, it’s reassuring to know there are no fish there before I move on. A good Humminbird unit will let you know every detail of what’s going on below the surface.”

After a few hours of checking what I believe may have been every point and hump in the lake for fish, we resumed a shallow-water pattern.

“Fishing takes perseverance. You have to fish hard and stay ready. All the little things add up to make a big difference,” he said.

Hank continued working shallow grass with a variety of soft plastic baits in a multitude of colors.

Hank is 50% owner of Swhacker Broadheads and certainly enjoys spending the fall months in the deer stand.

“I’ve partnered with Berkley a long time, and I’m here to tell you they have something for every situation. Some of the new products they are coming out with are phenomenal, and I encourage everyone to give them a try,” Hank said.

I fished with one of Hanks Lew’s inshore combos the majority of the day and was impressed by how the saltwater tackle handled on the lake.

“When my friends at Lews had me try one of these out in Venice redfishing, I was hooked,” said Hank. “Then the next week I was doing some bass fishing and thought why not try it. It worked great. Lews is on the cutting edge these days, and that combo right there is proof of it.”

We continued fishing hard for the next several hours, managing a fish here or there, despite the fish having what seemed to be a bad case of the summer lockjaw.

What impressed me most while fishing with Hank was his love for fishing. The level of intensity he fishes with is like none I’ve ever seen, but he still manages to crack a joke every few minutes.

Hank Parker will forever be known as a TV star, a two-time Bassmaster Classic champion, etc. But I’m here to tell you that Hank Parker loves the sport. Hank Parker loves to fish.

To keep up with Hank and his adventures, look him up on Facebook and Instagram. Hank will have some brand-new television episodes airing in January on the Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel and on Pursuit. He currently hosts two shows, Hank Parker’s Outdoor Magazine and On the Water with Hank Parker.