WFS 306 – Fly Fur, 5D Brushes and Fair Flies with Jeff Coffey – Zag Fish
Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/306
Presented By: Reyr Gear, Dette Flies, Anglers Coffee, Togens Fly Shop
Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors
Jeff Coffey, founder of Fair Flies is here to share the story of how he created a company around fly fur or fly brush and at the same time making positive impact on the world. Jeff tells us how the Zoe Angling Group gives employment opportunities for the survivors of human trafficking and for young men who just got out of prison. Find out how these fly brushes get 90% of your tying done within 2 minutes and how they are also made out of 90% recycled materials. Jeff gives us a peek at their new fly tying vise that is 5 years in the making, plus a new tackle box.
Jeff’s goal is to employ at least 10,000 victims of human trafficking before he retires and he tells us how we can help them achieve that.
Fly Fur Show Notes with Jeff Coffey
03:52 – Jeff started fly angling at 14 years old and at 26 he was already guiding in Bend Oregon
04:42 – Jeff became passionate about what’s going on in human trafficking around the world – he wanted to help those victims/survivors by giving them jobs, teaching them how to tie flies, and paying them double wage
05:19 – They started in the 2nd largest slum in the world – Kibera, Kenya. Since that time, they also have projects in Nepal, India, and Tunisia
05:40 – Jeff tells us which products are assigned for each country
10:10 – Nick Pionessa was on the podcast at WFS 288 where we also talked about commercial fly tying
10:40 – Jeff talks about how the complex flies that usually take 15 mins to tie now takes just 2 mins to get 90% done
13:05 – They took their first 5 patterns of brushes to ICAST in 2017 and they won Best to Show
14:02 – The Mind Bender brush has caught all the sport species in the world
Sparse Mind Bender Red/Black 5D Brush
14:41 – About 90% of the mylars they use are recycled plastic
17:07 – If you’re going for some big browns, the Spey Cream/Copper and Bleeding Leech works great
17:39 – Fair Flies developed fly fur
18:30 – Faux means fake fur or synthetic fur
20:47 – Jeff talks about how you actually use these fur for better results
24:19 – Scott Wilday was on the podcast at WFS 250 where we talked about Lid Rig products
27:15 – 3 years ago, they took over Wasatch Tools – Wasatch had 54 different fly tying tools before Jeff bought the company
28:49 – Wasatch is the only lifetime guaranteed tool – just give them a call and they’ll send you another one
29:10 – Wasatch is coming up with a new vise – Jeff describes what it would look like and says we have not seen anything like this before – price is going to range from $225 to $750
33:08 – Jeff’s goal is to create 10,000 jobs for exploited individuals
33:40 – Zoe in Greek means “a full life”
34:00 – Wasatch is going to start selling tube flies soon
37:56 – ZAG is partnering up with a group from Birmingham – they create employment opportunities for young men coming out of prison
39:57 – About 200 women have been brought out of human trafficking situation and were given decent jobs by ZAG
40:22 – Bucky Buchstaber was on the podcast at WFS 226 where we talked about human trafficking. Bucky is Jeff’s good friend
48:29 – The average angler gets to fish 2 days a year – avid angler, it’s a different game
51:10 – Their new vise has been in development for five years
58:33 – Jeff tells the story of when Steve Abel gave him an Abel vise for being good at selling it
59:24 – Jay Nicholas was on the podcast way back at WFS 003 – he’s friends with Jeff
1:00:25 – We re-released Frank Moore’s episode as a tribute for his very special life – WFS 300
1:01:51 – Each of their factories has a zero-waste policy
1:03:11 – Go to AnglerTradingPost.Com to check out their products – Orvis sell their stuff but check your local fly shop if they have those brushes
1:03:46 – Jeff gives us a peek at the tackle box that they’re working on
1:05:21 – If Jeff was dropped on an island and can only take 1 beverage with him, it would be the Redbreast Cask Strength whiskey
Fly Fur Conclusion with Jeff Coffey
Jeff Coffey shared the story of how he created a company around fly brushes. We learned how the Zoe Angling Group gives employment opportunities for the survivors of human trafficking and young men who just got out of prison. We found out how these fly brushes get 90% of your tying done within 2 minutes and how they are also made out of 90% recycled materials. Jeff gave us a peek at their new fly tying vise that is 5 years in the making. Jeff’s goal is to employ at least 10,000 victims of human trafficking before he retires and he tells us how we can help them achieve that.
Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/306
