Local father, son continue fishing tradition
Jeff Fletcher, above, holds up a nice catch
June 23
Ezra DeVore
The waters of Barry County seem to be Jeff Fletcher’s second home. His father was a fishing guide for fifty years on Table Rock Lake, and Fletcher started guiding at twelve years old. He was fishing competitively by age sixteen.
“There are pictures of me as a baby wrapped up in blankets with my parents, going upstream to fish,” Fletcher attests.
His father owned a resort that had other guides working for them, and when the guides weren’t touring, they’d take a young Jeff Fletcher through the tours.
“So I got an education from guys who were the best on the lake,” he added.
While attending the University of Arkansas to earn a business degree, in preparation to inherit the family business, Fletcher began guiding a man named Bill Fields. At the time, Fields was the “second in command” under David Glass, then-CEO of Wal-Mart. On one river guide, Fields asked Fletcher what he wanted to do after college. Answering truthfully, Fletcher simply said, “I wanna fish professionally.”
Fields said he wanted to be involved in Fletcher’s fishing career, and with his connections at Wal-Mart, entered Fletcher into an official tournament in 1992 on Lake Ontario. There, Fletcher finished 78 out of 350. The next year, however, Fletcher won second place and became part of the Top 100 Anglers, a title he held for seven years.
Fletcher’s best year was 1996, when he placed 17 out of 50 in the World Championship. By 2000, he was 77 in all-time winnings after only eight years of professional fishing. His wife traveled with him for those tournaments.
In 1999, his oldest son Riley was born, followed later by a second son, Carter. Fletcher had been paying the bills with prize money won at fishing tournaments, but was also travelling across the country for weeks at a time
Ultimately deciding he wanted to be home for his sons, Fletcher said, “the thing that I love most (fishing), I gave up to be the father that I needed to be for my children.”
With his contacts in the professional fishing field, Fletcher then got a job selling sporting products for three years. He now works for Georgia Boots selling outdoor footwear.
However, Fletcher never quit fishing altogether, just professionally on a national level. Occasionally, he still guides, and he finds ways to get on the lake or river weekly.
“It’s my happy place,” he says.
Expressing how heavily fishing has ingrained itself into his legacy, his son Riley went to college on a fishing scholarship and was later asked to join the Drury Fishing Team. The scholarship paid half of his education and half of his room and board. Riley will be starting Pharmacy school in August of 2021.
Ezra DeVore
The waters of Barry County seem to be Jeff Fletcher’s second home. His father was a fishing guide for fifty years on Table Rock Lake, and Fletcher started guiding at twelve years old. He was fishing competitively by age sixteen.
“There are pictures of me as a baby wrapped up in blankets with my parents, going upstream to fish,” Fletcher attests.
His father owned a resort that had other guides working for them, and when the guides weren’t touring, they’d take a young Jeff Fletcher through the tours.
“So I got an education from guys who were the best on the lake,” he added.
While attending the University of Arkansas to earn a business degree, in preparation to inherit the family business, Fletcher began guiding a man named Bill Fields. At the time, Fields was the “second in command” under David Glass, then-CEO of Wal-Mart. On one river guide, Fields asked Fletcher what he wanted to do after college. Answering truthfully, Fletcher simply said, “I wanna fish professionally.”
Fields said he wanted to be involved in Fletcher’s fishing career, and with his connections at Wal-Mart, entered Fletcher into an official tournament in 1992 on Lake Ontario. There, Fletcher finished 78 out of 350. The next year, however, Fletcher won second place and became part of the Top 100 Anglers, a title he held for seven years.
Fletcher’s best year was 1996, when he placed 17 out of 50 in the World Championship. By 2000, he was 77 in all-time winnings after only eight years of professional fishing. His wife traveled with him for those tournaments.
In 1999, his oldest son Riley was born, followed later by a second son, Carter. Fletcher had been paying the bills with prize money won at fishing tournaments, but was also travelling across the country for weeks at a time
Ultimately deciding he wanted to be home for his sons, Fletcher said, “the thing that I love most (fishing), I gave up to be the father that I needed to be for my children.”
With his contacts in the professional fishing field, Fletcher then got a job selling sporting products for three years. He now works for Georgia Boots selling outdoor footwear.
However, Fletcher never quit fishing altogether, just professionally on a national level. Occasionally, he still guides, and he finds ways to get on the lake or river weekly.
“It’s my happy place,” he says.
Expressing how heavily fishing has ingrained itself into his legacy, his son Riley went to college on a fishing scholarship and was later asked to join the Drury Fishing Team. The scholarship paid half of his education and half of his room and board. Riley will be starting Pharmacy school in August of 2021.