Jeff Coffey, founder of Fair Flies is here to share the story of how he created a company around fly fur and fly brush while making a 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.

Click below and listen to the Podcast about Fly Fur with Jeff Coffey:

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(Read the Full Transcript at the bottom of this Blog Post)

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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

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

You can find Fair Flies on Instagram @fairflies

Visit Zoe Angling Group website at Zag.Fish

Check out their products at AnglersTradingPost.com

Related Podcast Episodes

WFS 226 – The Fly Fishing Collaborative and Sex Trafficking with Bucky Buchstaber

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.