Sportsman Spotlight
Hometown: Elkhart, Ind.
Occupation: Vintage Trailers Service Manager
Favorite Michiana Lake: Wawasee
Favorite rod and reel: Shimano reels and G. Loomis rods
Hobbies when not fishing: Golf and hunting
If you only had one lure and why: Jig. It is so versatile and catches fish from ice out to ice on.
Best tip to give a new Michiana angler: Don’t give up on a bait. Learn how to fish it, especially a jig. Make sure the bait is hitting bottom or structure. That’s always a key!
By Louie Stout
Kevin Fletcher, aka “Bubba,” doesn’t fish as many bass tournaments as he once did.
But when he shows up, you can pretty well count on him taking home some of your cash. Arguably one of the nicest human beings in Michiana, the soft-spoken Michiana angler enjoys his success by keeping things simple and fishing a jig.
Not just any jig – but three homemade versions - one of which Michiana pro Bo Thomas used to finish third at a recent Bassmaster event on Kissimmee Lake in Florida.
The 69-year-old veteran created his own molds and pours his own jig heads, skirts and jig trailers. And no, he’s not selling jigs, nor is he overly generous with them, so don’t ask. They take a lot of time to make.
But he’s the kind of dude that will show you his and tell you how you can make your own.
And more importantly, how he fishes them.
Most of Bubba’s tournament efforts these days are devoted to weeknighters on the St. Joseph River where he has decades of experience.
“I’m still competitive, but I tend to enjoy fun fishing more,” says the veteran Elkhart angler. “And I’ve gotten into golf and play a couple times a week.”
So, what are his secrets to his jig successes? We asked and he shared his thoughts:
MON: What are the characteristics of your jig?
FLETCHER: I use three types, a river jig, a lake jig and a swim jig.
MON: What’s different about them?
FLETCHER: The river jig (1/4, 3/8 and ½) is a compact jig, similar to the Strike King Bitsy Bug but a little bigger. It has a head similar to the Arkie jig and comes through wood and gnarly stuff a little better. My lake jig (3/8, ½, ¾) has a bullet-like head and comes through the weeds real well. My swim jig is similar to the lake jig except the head is more streamlined so that I can swim it through the weeds. All are skirted jigs with weed guards. I use either Gamakatsu, TroKar or Victory hooks, depending upon what I can find that fits the need. I also pour my own skirts and jig trailers.
MON: Do you have a favorite style of jig trailer?
FLETCHER: For river fishing, I usually stay small with a plastic chunk similar to the old No. 11 Uncle Josh pork. I designed it to stay on when I skip it under trees or docks. I use the same trailer for lake jigs when the water is cold. Once it warms up, I will go to a trailer with floppy craws. And I pour my own for that, too.
MON: What about the swim jig?
FLETCHER: I stay with Keitech swim baits for those trailers because I fish them a lot, especially in cold water. You don’t have to move it fast and it wags like a dog tail when you move it.
MON: Does color matter?
FLETCHER: My primary colors are something that is crawdaddy, like green pumpkin or brown. Now, if I’m fishing a lake that is stained, I may go to black or black/blue. For swim jigs, I often use a green pumpkin Keitech on my swim jig and add a dash of chartreuse to the tail. I typically use the 3.8 Keitech in either green pumpkin or Ayu.
MON: What about line size?
FLETCHER: Most of the time I’m using 12- to 14-pound Seaguar Fluorocarbon line unless I’m punching through heavy grass, then I’ll go to 16 on baitcast gear.
MON: Has bass fishing improved on the river?
FLETCHER: I think it has. I’m not sure the slot limit has anything to do with it, but I know the water quality has improved over the past 15 years. There are a lot of shad and suckers, which tells me the water quality has improved. And the grass that has come into the lake has helped a lot, too.
MON: What are some of the things anglers fishing the river need to pay attention to?
FLETCHER: Focus on the way fish feed. They are opportunistic and don’t want to fight the current but will sit in eddies. It seems like a lot of anglers I watch are fishing downstream; I’ve been way more productive by pulling my baits with the current. Another thing guys do is they get locked in on catching fish from one spot and don’t pay enough attention to what fish do during different seasons of the year or how they react to bait. I spend about four evenings a week on the river and stay in contact with the fish and know what they are doing at any given time. It can change, and you have to adjust accordingly.