I grew up in Michigan, which means I grew up near water. Some of my earliest memories are on the bank of a lake with a rod in my hand, trying to figure out what the fish wanted. Nobody handed me a manual. You learned by doing, by watching, by asking questions and getting quiet answers from someone who had been at it longer than you.
That's how it works with fishing. Knowledge moves slowly, person to person, on the water. You don't learn it from a screen.
I have three daughter in their teenage years now, which means they have opinions about everything — including whether they want to spend a Saturday morning on the water with their dad. Some days the answer is yes. Those are good days.
What I've noticed is that fishing has a way of creating space for conversation that doesn't happen anywhere else. There's something about standing next to someone, both of you watching the same water, that makes it easier to talk. Or easier not to. Either way you're together, and that counts for something.
I didn't start 2K Jigs thinking about any of that. I started it because I love building baits and I wanted to build the best ones I could. But over time I've come to understand that a jig is just the beginning. It's the thing that gets somebody out on the water. What happens out there is between them and whoever they brought along.
If you're shopping for your dad this Father's Day, or for the angler who first put a rod in your hand, I hope something in this month's Tackle Box earns a spot on the water. That's what we built it for.