Kevin Baxter: The Baitman Speaketh

Despite not being as well known as Kevin VanDam or Boyd Duckett or Johnny Morris, Kevin Baxter is sort of the Forrest Gump of bass fishing.

New magnum spoon technique shows up? He’s right there for the unveiling.

OH Ivie pumping out giants? He’s netting a 14-plus.

Best TV show in bass fishing history? He carried the camera, edited the film, and wrote the preliminary scripts.

In fact, that’s how I met him, when he was just barely out of his teens and working for former tour pro Mike Auten on television shows like “Classic Patterns” and “Lost Lake” and various fishing and hunting commercials. I was introduced to Mike through my work at the PAA and subsequently got drafted to help with the voiceover scripts. That’s how Kevin and I got to know each other circa 2008, and thanks to overlapping paths and the power of social media we’ve stayed in contact. He’s been in and out of the fishing industry, but as noted above, remains in close contact with lots of the major players. I’ve remained interested in his work because we’re both serious tackle junkies. In fact, he may have the sickness worse than I do. His YouTube “Baitman” series of tackle shop visits are must-see-TV for the truly afflicted.

I’ve written a fair amount about tackle shopping, holy grail lures, and some of America’s (and Japan’s) best shops, but I wanted to get some tips from Kevin, to see if I could up my game. Here’s what he had to say: 

HPFC: For people who don’t know you, how did you get into the fishing industry?

BAXTER: I started my first real job at Fisherman’s Headquarters in Kentucky, one of the most popular shops on the Tennessee River, and probably in the entire southeast at one point. There was actually a catalog called Fisherman’s Yellow Pages that another mail-in catalog besides Bass Pro Shops at the time. It started from that store. I worked there, on and off, through high school and then I went to work for Mike Auten. I worked for Mike doing video stuff and I still fished. Mike was hooked up with Lucky Craft so I got to see all kinds of prototype baits, new baits, and I got to go over to Mike’s house quite a bit. The dude had a plethora of tackle from balsa crankbait to JDM stuff to old Bagley’s. Mike was actually kind of a tackle nut. He wasn’t as hard core as guys are now but he knew his stuff. He was a crankbait guy, so I learned a lot about crankbaits. That led into Mike basically being bought out by PRADCO Outdoor Brands. In between that I worked at a store locally, Kentucky Lake Outdoors, for a guy named Dave Henry, went back to work for Mike. By that time PRADCO had purchased him. I learned a little bit more about the real insides of the fishing world. I was doing the same stuff – video and editing – but I also learned a lot about purchase orders and fulfillment. I actually started some of their social media pages. It was a lot different than Lucky Craft because Lucky Craft was in Japan. PRADCO was in the United States and they had several other brands – not just fishing, but also hunting stuff. I got laid off there and for about six years went back into working in tackle shops.

By that time I was kind of full-blown tournament fishing all the time. Social media had just taken off and I worked for a guy named Ronnie Critcheloe at The Cabin Bait and Tackle, a really famous shop here on Lake Barkley. I grew up right behind it. Me and Ronnie were good friends and I’d worked for him on and off while working for Mike on weekends. He asked what I could do with social media, so I started a Facebook page, Instagram. He had a website that did about 30 grand a year and I thought I could triple that. In one full year we grossed over $150,000 and never spent a dollar on Facebook ads. During that time Kentucky Lake was on fire. Bass Fest was coming and this guy came in with a flat-brim hat and a good-looking girlfriend. I knew it was Fletcher Shryock but I’m not a guy who gets real starstruck. He starts asking me questions about the Ben Parker Magnum Spoon. Me and Ben had done a DVD together. We’d fished together. I was one of the first guys to get the Magnum Spoon on Kentucky Lake – my fishing record wasn’t that great by myself, but me and my partner had had a couple of really good runs. I got to talking to Fletcher and he was just super-nice, and he was asking me about this bait and that bait – never asked me for waypoints or nothing, just about baits – and finally he said, “Dude I’ve never been around anybody that knows so much. You know which way this crankbait wiggles and which way this worm twists.” And then he says, “You’re the Baitman.” He kind of laughed and somebody told me that was a good nickname, you should just make a full Facebook page and call it “Baitman Baxter.” At that time I was kind of doing the whole Facebook livestream from my kitchen table. I was talking about baits of the week, and of course that turned into internet sales. I kept doing it, went to work for another shop, things didn’t work out.

I’m a real dude that works a 40-60 hour a week job, but I’m a tackle nut, and a lot of my paychecks have gone to tackle. I work with 6th Sense Fishing. Casey Sobczak’s a great dude, and he leans on me quite a bit. I don’t talk to him every day, but I text him quite a bit. He’ll call me and say, “Hey, we want to build the best spinnerbait known to man, and ask me about the wire diameter, the blade sizes, things we have to do to make this different.” I appreciate that. From when I was little, going to boat shows and tackle shows with my dad, I did the Casting Kids stuff and won several of those, but I didn’t really care about that. I wanted to go dig in some random shop’s pile of worms.

HPFC: Why do you think you’re so obsessed with tackle – as opposed to boats or electronics or any other aspect of the sport?

BAXTER: I think it’s because it changes all the time. You could say electronics change, but we’re at the point now where the technology is so good, it’s hard to really get better unless it’s like a complete camera system. Every year or two it seems there’s a new technique or a new bait that takes off – whether that’s from underground Facebook groups like Swimbait Universe or from the tournament scene. Anglers are always looking for an edge and tackle is the most affordable edge you can get. Let’s look at this – Livescope, the whole system is probably going to cost you about three grand. If a new technique comes out and all I’ve got to do is buy hooks and worms and a different sinker, I might be in it for 20 bucks. If all the other guys around me don’t know about it, I feel that I have an edge. Or if everyone’s buying the same big box brand jerkbaits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits, maybe you can find something that’s been hot on the west coast that hasn’t made its way over here, and you can take advantage of that for just one or two extra bites. As a former tournament angler, that’s kind of how I got into it. I’m always looking to get a bite or two that other guys are not getting. I have a pool and I don’t even swim in it. I just swim crankbaits in it.

HPFC: You’re like Kentucky’s version of Takahiro Omori.

BAXTER: Pretty much. I speak a little bit better English. I’ve been around Takahiro and that dude is insane with the knowledge he has about a square bill. I always said that I’m an average fisherman, but I’m above average when it comes to tackle.

HPFC: In terms of looking for tackle, is there a particular category of tackle that intrigues you? Is it swimbaits or balsa or discontinued lures or a little bit of everything?

BAXTER: If I had to rank things I would actually go with discontinued stuff because I like stuff that’s a blast from the past that caught fish but got overlooked. Flat A’s. I’m not a huge Wiggle Wart fan because it was never real popular over here. I like the old topwater stuff like Reaction Innovations, Paycheck, old Smithwick Rogues. There’s a lot of American companies where some good stuff was discontinued: Strike King baits that are hard to find that they don’t make anymore. I got into the whole swimbait thing. I’m not a great swimbait fisherman. I enjoy the challenge of buying a $300-400 lure that works really good and trying to catch a fish off of it. You’re also fishing for a different type of bite. I also like the JDM stuff. Some of the stuff the Japanese people come out with is very innovative. They have to be because the fishing pressure over in Japan is ten times what it is on a normal lake over here, so that’s why you see those itty-bitty small things, or baits with a lot of appendages, stuff like that. They’re trying to maximize their fishing time and the best way they can do it is with really big stuff or really small stuff or stuff that’s wild and flashy. I’m into that.

HPFC: On your YouTube channel you visit some lesser-known tackle shops. How do you find the ones you’re going to visit and film?

BAXTER: I’m going to be very honest. Some of them I’ve known about from people like you, because we talk quite a bit. A lot of my subscribers they’re the same way. I got a hint about a tackle shop a few years ago in Illinois called Mike’s Tackle World. I took a drive up there, about four hours from my house. I walked in and I was like, “Holy Cow.” I’m looking dead in the face at Nichols Rat-L-Traps, I’ve never seen ‘em in my life, didn’t even know they made ‘em. And then there’s all these Strike King Diamond Shads. They had the ones with the smooth sides and that’s supposedly VanDam’s favorite one. You’ve gotta be kidding me. I talked to this lady Joanne, she was super sweet, and we talked about Matt Pangrac coming in there. I told her I wanted to do a YouTube video and she said that would be amazing. I made the video, I bought some stuff. I was there three hours and I don’t feel like I really did anything. It’s an itty-bitty building, packed all the way to the top of the ceiling with tackle. I was blown away. When I left she said when I’d come back she’d show me what’s all in the storage shed. That’s a destination place. Unfortunately, after I made that video which had about 40,000 views, all of these people were going there and some of the locals were mad at me. I got a few messages form guys through the whole Facebook fishing flea market community that said it was the worst thing I’d ever done. All of their stash was raided. But Joanne and her daughter emailed me and they said they loved the video and I’m more than welcome any time to come up. They’ll roll out the red carpet for me. The amount of stuff they shipped out, and people coming in because they saw the video. That makes me feel good because I’ve never truly owned a tackle shop, but I’ve put the work in and it feels good when someone goes out of their way and people come in and help them acquire customers.

HPFC: Is that the longest distance you’ve ever driven just to go tackle shopping?

BAXTER: On purpose, yes.

HPFC: So if you’re driving down the highway and you see a random tackle shop and you pull over, what makes you think it’s an awesome shop?

BAXTER: Usually when you walk in you can tell if it’s going to be old stuff, new, major brand stuff – or you may walk in and realize it’s live bait. When I first walked into Scottsboro Tackle at Guntersville, I’d already seen that they had good social media. I’d talked with Tim Evans multiple times. I already knew it was kind of an upscale, classier shop, but I walked in and there’s not a package of baits tilted sideways. Everything’s nice and neat, perfect spacing between everything. I was like, “This is the place.” Did they have as much as some shops I’ve ever been in? No, but they had a lot of specialty stuff. Personally, if I go to a random lake, I want to walk into the place that’s got stuff for that lake, not just Zoom and Strike King and Norman and Rapala. I want the place that has those custom Bull Shads and specialized swimbaits like 3:16. I want the newest in 6th Sense and Lucky Craft. That’s what Scottsboro Tackle offers, and Tim also makes his own swimbaits. I got to see that whole process and I was really blown away by the fact that he had an awesome shop and also had a swimbait company. That place is at the top of my list.

HPFC: So what are some of the other ones you’ve been to that merit driving out of your way or a special trip?

BAXTER: There’s a place here locally called Fast Eddie’s. It’s awesome. I don’t drink but they’ve got a bar. They’ve got food. But they have a really amazing selection in tackle, mostly good stuff, not a lot of leftover. The gentleman who runs it, Andy, does a really good job of staying on trends for Kentucky Lake and he’s not scared to buy something off-the-wall that’s maybe the latest on the pro tour. People love that. I’m a Tackle Warehouse affiliate, but sometimes you’re on the fly and you need to go in there and grab something and he’s usually got it. Mark’s Outdoors in Alabama. If you’ve been there, you know that they’ve got everything. They may have the most swim jigs I’ve ever seen in my life and Nichols spinnerbaits. They have a good Megabass selection and lots of balsa.

I’ve always wanted to visit some of the stores on the west coast. There’s some legendary stores out there like East County Bait and Tackle and The Hook Up out in Arizona. Carolina Fishing Tackle on the east coast. Those are kind of bucket list for me. One day I hope to be able to log a bunch of YouTube stuff out there and show people what those stores are about. Susquehanna Fishing Tackle, that thing’s been around forever. But like I said, I work 40 to 60 hours a week. I’m on 52 hours this week, so I don’t get a chance to go out as much as I want to.

HPFC: Of your tackle shop trips, what are some of your most treasured purchases?

BAXTER: I haven’t found anything too off-the-wall crazy. Some of my better finds have been in flea markets and yard sales. I did find a bunch of Jackall Bowsticks in Alabama. That bait has won two bass boats on Kentucky Lake. It’s discontinued. It’s an amazing bait that walks really good and has a loud sound. If you’ve thrown a Vixen or any of those one-knocking type walking baits, the Bowstick walks as good if not better. They discontinued them. They’re hard to find but this place had six on the shelf and there was dust all over the peg. That was a good find. I’ve never run into any original Wiggle Warts. Again, that’s not a bait that I throw. They’re worth money and you can flip them if you can find them. I found a bunch of Pro Autograph Series that PRADCO used to make – some VanDam Rogues, some Mark Davis Flat A’s, and some Bill Dance Flat A’s. To me those are kind of collector deals but the colors they made in those baits fished really, really good. That’s really it. I find some random JDM stuff, but that Bowstick find – I’d been hunting them for a long time.

HPFC: Are there things you regret not buying?

BAXTER: Yeah. I wish I had bought a ton of stuff at Mike’s Tackle World. The Minus Ones, I didn’t realize the cult following those had. I wish I had bought more of them. I fish them, but there’s only a small window of the year on Kentucky Lake when they’re really good, but now that my son is fishing, he likes to fish farm ponds. That has to be one of the best farm pond baits ever made, so I wish I had bought more of them. I wish back in the day I would have loaded up on Paycheck Lures a lot more. I really like there stuff and there was a time you could still find them – now they’re hard to find for even a hundred dollars apiece. I like them for their fish-catching ability. Other than that, I don’t have too many regrets. It is what it is.

HPFC: Is there still a holy grail out there? Do you carry a list in your wallet or in your head of things to look for when you visit a tackle shop?

BAXTER: There’s a topwater bait made by Paycheck Lures called “The One.” That’s kind of my holy grail topwater. I always look for that. Again, I look for those Pro Autograph lures from PRADCO. Lots of older Megabass – certain colors that are hard to find, and then they had the straight eye series. Some guys swear they’re better. I’ve never really found but one or two, but instead of the eye tilting down on the new ones, it just has a dot. I’ll look for those quite a bit.

HPFC: Does Baitman Jr. have the same addiction that you do?

BAXTER: He acts like he doesn’t but when he goes into Academy or a local shop with me he gets into it. What he doesn’t realize yet, he’s only 9, is that everything I buy is really his. He claims he has his tackle box but it’s all his, just like my dad had tackle galore. He had a stroke, and he’s recovered from it, but he can’t really fish anymore so he says “What’s mine is yours now.” That’s how it’s going to be with me and Junior. He may decide to sell it all one day. If he does, he’ll probably be able to pay for a brand new truck or boat.

HPFC: What are your plans for the Baitman YouTube channel?

BAXTER: I don’t really know how to answer that, because I always have all kinds of plans. I’ve talked to you about doing historical stuff. Part of the thing that I like about tackle is the guys that put it all together. I just had Mike Auten on my stream. He was an original Lucky Craft guy and he was one of the guys who really helped Lucky Craft all over the United States. He had a hand in the design of the RC 1.5. I know Rick had a say in it, too. I like telling a story and educating people, but I also like putting fishing videos up. My bread and butter would be just getting guys on talking about baits. When do you throw a Rat-L-Trap? Which Rat-L-Trap has the loudest pitch? Which lipless crankbait has the most vibration? Best worm for around brush piles. Best worm for boat docks. What I’ve noticed with YouTube is that there’s a niche for everybody, but you’ve got to be really careful if you get too far out of your niche. YouTube’s a tricky animal and I don’t post as much as I want to. I kind of fly by the seat of my pants. I love having special guests on, whether it’s professional anglers, people that collect tackle, people that just fish all the time and catch big bass, or people that write for Bassmaster. I like it all.

HPFC: Any final words?

BAXTER:  Yeah. Thanks to my wife for not killing me.

HPFC: Does she know how much all of your tackle is worth?

BAXTER: I’ll put it this way: I’ve not always been blessed to have the highest-paying job. There’s been times when you’ve got to make ends meet and I’ve never been worried because I can just go out there and sell a bunch of crankbaits or sell some swimbaits. My wife kind of knows what’s out there. She knows that if something were to happen to me not to give it away. I would just tell her to call you.

As a bonus, here’s the video of his trip to Mike’s Tackle World: