About 2K Jigs

The Story

I never set out to start a company. I set out to build a better jig.

My name is Dan Hatchew. I grew up on the water in Michigan, and for as long as I can remember, I've had a rod in my hand and an opinion about tackle. For years I fished what everyone else fished — production jigs off a rack, painted by machines, assembled fast, and priced to move. And for years I blamed myself when they didn't perform the way I knew they should.

Then I started building my own. Not to sell — just to fish with. And the difference was immediate and undeniable. Better components. Tighter skirts. Paint that held up. Hooks that actually set. The kind of small details that don't show up in product photos but absolutely show up when you're in the water at the moment that matters.

Word got out. Other anglers started asking where I got mine. When I told them I built them myself, they asked if I'd build some for them. That's how 2K Jigs started — not with a business plan, but with a workbench and a standard I wasn't willing to drop.

Today, every jig that goes out the door is still built by me, by hand, in my Michigan shop. I select the components. I tie the skirts. I paint and package each one myself. When you order from 2K Jigs, you're not getting something that rolled off a line — you're getting something I personally put my hands on and signed off on before it reached you.

That's not a marketing line. That's just how we work.

The Craft

What handbuilt actually means

A lot of companies use the word "handcrafted." Most of them mean something like: a person put it in a bag before it shipped. That's not what I mean.

Handbuilt means I choose every component. Not what was cheapest in the catalog this quarter — the best wire, the right hook gauge, the components that I'd want on my own rod at 5am when nothing else matters.

Handbuilt means I tie every skirt. Skirt tension, color layering, length — these aren't things a machine gets right consistently. They require feel. I've been doing this long enough to know what "right" feels like in my hands.

Handbuilt means I reject what isn't right. There's no automated QC pass or fail here. If something doesn't meet my standard, it doesn't ship. Simple.

The fishing industry scaled up and most of the craft went with it. I chose differently.

The Process

From raw wire to ready to fish

Here's what actually happens between when you place your order and when it lands in your hands.

1. Component Selection

I start with the hardware. Hook weight, wire gauge, head design — every order gets the right components for the specific jig being built. Nothing generic, nothing interchangeable out of convenience.

2. Hand-Tying the Skirt

Skirts are tied by hand — tension, color order, and length set by feel, not by spec sheet. This is where most production jigs fall short, and where handbuilding earns its keep.

3. Paint & Finish

Each head is painted and finished in-house. Durable, clean, consistent — built to hold up through rocks, timber, and the kind of cover where bass actually live.

4. Personal Inspection & Pack

Before it ships, I look at it. Every one. If it doesn't meet my standard, it doesn't go. You're getting a jig I'm personally comfortable putting my name on.

Our Guarantee

If it isn't right, we make it right.

Every jig that leaves my shop is something I stand behind completely. If anything you receive doesn't meet your expectations — in quality, in finish, in performance — send it back. I'll replace it, exchange it, or make it right. No runaround, no fine print. That's a commitment I make as the person who built it.

My reputation is built one jig at a time. I don't take that lightly.