Fly Fishing Insider Podcast
Freestone Fly Company sells monthly fly memberships: a curated assortment of patterns mailed to members each month. In the year between podcast appearances it grew from a trout option and a fly tying option to four fisheries, added a higher-tier boxed membership, released a tying starter kit, and became its founder's full-time job.
Peter Long is the founder and CEO of Freestone Fly Company, which sells monthly fly memberships and tying kits from British Columbia.
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What is a Freestone Fly Company membership?
Freestone Fly Company sells what it calls fly memberships, known elsewhere in the industry as subscriptions. Each month members receive a selected assortment of patterns and a few extras, chosen for the fishery they signed up for. The pitch is aimed squarely at the point where a new angler is overwhelmed by fly selection, though Peter Long notes a substantial share of members are experienced anglers who simply like the assortment showing up.
How did Freestone Fly Company expand its membership options?
At the first podcast appearance in mid-2019, Freestone Fly Company offered a trout option and a then-new fly tying option that shipped materials for a pattern of the month. By the follow-up it had added salmon and steelhead, a warm water option covering bass and panfish, and saltwater. That build-out was the deliberate plan for closing 2019: four fisheries rather than one, so the company could serve more of the anglers already coming to the site.
What is the higher-tier Freestone membership box?
Above the original membership, Freestone Fly Company added a boxed premium tier that was in its fourth month of shipping at the time of recording. It carries more flies plus higher-value items from established brands the company already had relationships with, including floatants and fly treatments and fly line products. The tier grew out of a one-off experimental box the previous year, which was used to test whether members wanted a bigger, more expensive package before it became a standing product.
Why does Freestone Fly Company talk subscribers out of the wrong option?
When a member signs up for the saltwater option but shows a West Coast address, Freestone Fly Company contacts them directly to suggest the salmon and steelhead option instead. Peter Long gave the example of a member near Campbell River on Vancouver Island who was beach fishing, where the salmon and steelhead assortment matched what he was actually doing. The company's stated rule is that every customer is treated like the first customer, and steering someone to a cheaper or different product is part of that.
Why does Freestone Fly Company publish free tying tutorials?
The fly tying membership ships materials and a recipe sheet, and Freestone Fly Company began producing video tutorials to pair with them. Those videos sit publicly on the company website and YouTube channel, so a non-member can tie the pattern without buying anything. Peter Long's reasoning is that content which is obviously not a sales pitch is received better than one that is, and the free tutorials and blog posts function as a reason for anglers to keep coming back to the site.
What did the fly tying starter kit prove?
Freestone Fly Company released a basic tying starter kit early in 2020 containing a vise, scissors, bobbin and the other essentials, paired with its fly tying kits as an all-in-one entry point. It sold far better than expected as people stayed home through the first months of the pandemic. That result pushed the company toward a broader trout starter kit covering everything except rod and reel, which Peter Long deliberately excluded because anglers are loyal to rod brands and the company did not want to stretch itself into a fight it could not win.
How did Freestone Fly Company become a full-time business?
Peter Long started Freestone Fly Company alongside a career, and in the year between the two interviews it reached the point where it could support him and he left the day job. Instagram following passed 5,000 in that period with a goal of 10,000 by year end, and the company beat its financial and sales targets in 2019. Its ambassador roster also grew, which Peter Long credits for much of the social growth.
Key takeaways
- Freestone Fly Company runs four membership fisheries — trout, salmon and steelhead, warm water, and saltwater — plus a fly tying materials option.
- The premium boxed tier grew out of a one-off experimental box used to test demand before it became a standing product.
- If a subscriber's location does not match the option they chose, the company contacts them and recommends a better fit rather than taking the order.
- Fly tying tutorial videos and recipe sheets are published free on the site and YouTube, whether or not you are a member.
- A tying starter kit with vise, scissors and bobbin sold unexpectedly well in early 2020 and led to a planned all-in-one trout kit excluding rod and reel.
- The company crossed 5,000 Instagram followers and went from a side business to its founder's full-time job within roughly a year.
