About Idylwilde Flies

Idylwilde was founded in 1996 by Zach Mertens as an excuse to fish more and get paid for it, which of course, backfired. Now he just works 6,000 hours a week, unless he's product testing. Being a quick study, it took Zach exactly three days to figure out a company is really about its customer, so this is the last time you'll hear any of that we're-so-awesome, company-centric, rah-rah dreck from us and where we turn this whole thing back on the folks who really matter: You, the fly fisher.

Fair Trade Only

Fact: If a fly's worth only $.99 it not only sucks, but it was likely tied in a third-world sweatshop and we'd rather not have that bad mojo hanging on our conscience. Idylwilde flies are tied in Manila, Philippines under a markedly forward-thinking arrangement with Sister Christine Tan, a Catholic nun who believed her people needed more than charity. They needed good-paying, honest jobs they could rely on as they built a life outside the confines of poverty. Our promise to Sister Christine continues some 12 years later, now enabling over 150 tiers to better provide for their families. The flies you see here are the work of their hands and their hopes.