A Brush Prairie man who tackled the shortage of coastal fishing lures during the pandemic with his own Salty’s Spinners has now opened a fishing supply store in Battle Ground.
Thomas Hatcher opened Battle Ground Rod n Reel recently with the intention to fill another gap needed in the north Clark County fishing community.
Hatcher supplies fishing goods to local anglers who frequently cast a line in area lakes and the Pacific Ocean. Hatcher offers his own spinnerbait lures, bait, attire, rod-building gear and more.
Hatcher said products will cater to catching salmon and trout popular in the area. Nearby Battle Ground Lake is full of trout, while other area fishing hot spots have an abundance of Kokanee to catch.
Hatcher started his business enterprises building rods and lures out of his Brush Prairie home and plans to expand those operations to his new store. He would also like to feature products made by local fishing rod artisans.
“We’ll have a lot of rod building supplies, and we’re looking for local rod builders who want the opportunity to maybe get their stuff in front of the public,” Hatcher said. “That is something that’s a little bit of a challenge if you ever want to get one of your products into the biggest stores. It’s quite a bit of work. So, you know, with the Salty’s Spinners, I started that way, and now that they’re in stores, I just want to give everybody else a chance to maybe have an avenue of sales.”
Hatcher thought of creating Salty’s Spinners when he and other fishermen on the coast of Washington couldn’t find any spinnerbait lures on retail shelves during the pandemic.
“I got a buddy who built some of the bumpers, and I built some spinners, and we went fishing right during the buoy 10 fishing season, and that sparked my interest in doing this,” Hatcher said in a previous story. “I’ve been making them ever since, and they just keep getting better, and we just keep catching more fish on them.”
Hatcher builds the spinner baits to catch salmon in both salt and freshwater. He builds them from locally made products to ensure everything is “made in the USA.”
The spinnerbaits lure salmon with the spinner blades, a revolving blade that flashes and creates vibrations while in motion underwater.
Since November 2023, Hatcher has sold Salty’s Spinners on Amazon, along with his website, saltysusa.com, and stores in the region.
“They all have great five-star reviews. The best thing is to see them in a fish’s mouth,” Hatcher said of his spinnerbaits and hoochies bait. “And so those pictures are getting shared around with the hashtag Salty’s Spinners, and that’s been just a huge blessing whenever you can see one of your products in a fish’s mouth. I’ve always believed in them, but then now that people start to have confidence and fish with them and they go out there and catch with a Salty’s Spinners … it’s just been really great.”
Battle Ground Rod n Reel won't just be a spot to grab Hatcher’s homemade lures, fishermen can buy other gear made in the Pacific Northwest. As for bait, Hatcher said he will stock nightcrawlers for lake fishing, herring, anchovies and Looney Coonies shrimp bait.
Hatcher has many plans for the store ahead of his anticipated grand opening in July. Outside of just items for sale, Hatcher plans on building a sense of fishing community at the shop with a TV showing submitted fishing photos along with a cork board to post printed photos. Hatcher said he also plans on allowing anglers to bring their catch into the store to be weighed and a photo taken to share.
Hatcher will host a rod-building class for children at the store, 713 W. Main St., on July 22-23, and intends to have an official grand opening after that. He also hopes to have his business fully stocked for the buoy 10 fishing season. Hatcher has not yet established set store hours.
