By David A. Brown
Special to BassFan


Steve Parks is a man filled with Rage.

Two quickies here: First, as a 10th-degree black belt in karate, Parks is certainly a formidable fellow; but martial arts excellence is more about discipline than brawling.

Secondly, that capital “R” in Rage was no typo. And so begins our tale of the tail that made Mr. Parks one of the least known well-known forces in the bass fishing industry.

An avid bass angler, Parks holds the patent on the Rage Tail design that’s currently used in 26 soft plastic baits produced by Strike King – the company with which Parks has an exclusive manufacturing agreement. Most bass anglers, regardless of brand preference, are familiar with the Rage Tail baits, but the man who conceived this unique design is well worth meeting.

A Concept Born of Struggle

Born and raised in the Burleson, Texas area, Parks spends much of his free time taking U.S. military veterans fishing. That’s his way of saying thanks to those who’ve served the country, but back in the 1980s, guiding bass fishermen on Lake Fork, Choke Canyon Lake and Falcon Lake was his main occupation.

Fishing was great, thanks in large part, to the massive hydrilla beds common to these lakes. However, the very feature responsible for the stellar action also presented a frequent impediment – one that Parks overcame with what he’d soon name the Rage Tail.

“When I started guiding (those lakes), the bite was phenomenal with buzzbaits, spinnerbaits and things like that,” Parks said. “The nighttime bite was just tremendous, but my clients were having a hard time finding that grass line with a buzzbait and being able to hit the edge of it and parallel that edge without getting their buzzbait all trashed up.

“That’s when I decided I needed to make a buzzbait that’s made of soft plastic so my clients could be more successful with that style of fishing.”

This situation-specific need first spawned what would become the Rage Shad. The Rage Toad came next, and then the Rage Craw and various big worms.

On the prompting of Strike King pro Randy Dearman, Parks approached the bait company about his new design. Phil Marks, the company's new product manager, visited Parks, reviewed the Rage design and quickly recognized the potential. Details were discussed, papers were signed and Strike King has been punching out Rage Tail plastics since 2006.

Accomplished Instructor

Now, speaking of punching, Parks’ dedication to karate has earned him inductions into the United States Martial Arts Hall of Fame, the Grand Masters Hall of Fame and, most recently, the Universal Martial Arts Hall of Fame. But it’s not all about his impressive résumé; Parks has also has taught martial arts in various venues for over four decades.

Exemplifying his diversity, Parks has authored 16 children’s books, and in 1997 he designed and developed an early literacy program called “Poetry Pals.” Launched in the Niemen Marcus Christmas Catalog, the program is now used in schools, homes, daycares and pre-K facilities nationwide.

In keeping with this theme, Parks also travels the country presenting Fathers for Literacy seminars, which encourage dads to participate in their children’s literacy development. Furthermore, other seminar work promotes parent-teacher relationships, with an emphasis on building a secure learning environment.

“In society we try to give the teachers all of the responsibility for teaching our children, but in fact, the parents are the (primary) teacher of the child,” Parks explains. “Our job is to encourage the parents to understand this wonderful opportunity they have for being a child’s best teacher.”

Parks said that some of his inspiration for stressing the theme of parental involvement comes from his experiences teaching karate.

“In my 40-some-odd -years of teaching children martial arts, I’ve found out that a lot of the problems that children have when they enter the dojo stem from the parents,” he said. “Children are a product of their environment and when the parents bring them to me and say ‘Mr. Parks, can you teach my child respect and discipline?’ I say ‘Of course, I can.’

“And then, I encourage the parents to be there at every class so they can see how this child relates to me and why they relate to me so well. It’s because I believe in them and when I tell them that I believe in them, then those children start believing in themselves.”

By enlightening parents to this cycle of success, Parks feels he can help perpetuate positivity among the children he teaches.

He’s certainly had a positive impact on the bass fishing industry.