Behind the Brand: Emerger Fly Fishing

I was tipped off to Emerger Fly Fishing by a mutual friend. It was one of those moments when you see something and you just know you have to share it with our audience. Based in Ft. Collins, Colorado, Emerger is run by Chris Freeman. The company started by accident when Chris decided to design and create his own fishing pack.

As not to ruin the story, I’ll let him tell it:

What inspired you to start Emerger Fly Fishing? Emerger started completely by accident. I had no intention of starting a business. But to echo the old English proverb, necessity is the mother of invention, and so here I am.

The short version of the story is that after fly fishing for a handful of years, I found myself dissatisfied with the offerings available for fly fishing packs. I had tried most of the form factors that companies offered – lumbar packs, chest packs, backpacks, sling packs, etc., and I just couldn’t find anything I was totally happy with.

So I decided to make something myself. I had an idea of what I wanted, so I asked my Mom, who is a seamstress, to help me sew a basic bag. (Her father was a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, and their family didn’t have a lot of money, so their mother made her four children all learn to sew their own clothes because it was cheaper). If anything, I knew I could get a decent sewing lesson from her, which I did. Somewhere there is a picture of me sewing for the first time. My wife thought the sight of me towering over her tiny Singer sewing machine was fantastic.

That one day of sewing lit a fire in me though. After sewing up that first bag, I knew immediately what I wanted to change. So I drew up another design, and the next week I bought more canvas and sewed another bag. This was a rinse-and-repeat process for a while as I continued to refine what I wanted for a bag. I have always been drawn to canvas bags and packs. I love the rugged, classic look. As a kid, I lived in Alaska for six years and had friends whose dads were pilots, and I loved the look of olive green flight suits. And coming from a military family, I loved vintage Vietnam-era fatigues and packs. So a lot of my aesthetic inspiration came from that. I also became aware of waxed cotton and its benefits, along with leather and brass.

Eventually, I had friends I fished with who began taking notice of my bags, and so I started making a few for them. And then a friend suggested I try and sell one. I didn’t even know where to begin, and he pointed me to Etsy, which I’d never heard of at the time. So around Christmas of 2014, I listed and sold my first bag. I took the money from that, bought more materials, and made another. And it sold, as well. The rest is kind of history, I suppose. Not long after, we began selling through our online storefront. And then I woke up one day and realized I had inadvertently started a business. Now it’s crazy to think that we have customers all over the world.

Emerger is now a full-time business, and our goal is to make the finest, and most durable fly fishing gear available.

Your bags are ‘anti-tech’: how do you describe them to your customers? I don’t know that I wouldn’t call my gear anti-tech, although I get how folks would arrive at that. Our aesthetic is very much a more traditional vibe with old-school materials. But I am not against modern fishing products, tech fabrics, or any of the new advancements. Everything has its pros and cons, and everything has its place. And I’m not so diluted as to think that every angler is going to find our product to be the best for them. Lots of folks want the new stuff. The latest fabric, the latest design. There are lots of great companies in the industry, and there is something for everyone.

As a business, what is important to us is designing, crafting, and delivering a product that will last them their whole life, and then be passed down to the next generation. Our choice was to go with materials that have history on their side – waxed cotton, bridle leather, and brass have been used for centuries. The ultimate test is time, and I think they have proven themselves. So if our goal is to make a heritage product, it makes sense to go with materials that we KNOW can last for generations. Are they perfect? No. Are there things that tech fabrics do better? Yes. Conversely, there are things that our products do better than modern tech fabrics. Also, it is worth mentioning that even in the world of waxed cotton, advancements are always being made. Fabrics are now more durable and water-repellent than they’ve ever been. So there is still a “tech” side to what we do. I want to offer the very best.

We sell traditionally inspired products that are built to outlast you and hopefully your kids. I believe that they function as well as they look. They are utilitarian and minimalist in their design. We don’t add anything to our products that we feel isn’t necessary. We use heavy 18-ounce waxed canvas from Scotland and English Bridle leather because it stands the test of time. Our products break in and don’t break down. They look better with age and use. We believe in doing things well and so we take our craftsmanship seriously.

What are your favorite features of the bags? I’m a detail guy, almost to a fault. I can obsess over the little things, and so for me, I think it’s the little details that we throw into our bags. The white topstitching that borders our zippers and the edges of our pockets. It’s a style detail that in no way contributes to how well the product performs, but I love the way it looks. I’ve been a musician my whole life, and it is my subtle nod to my past life of wearing Vans shoes all the time. Vans have such an iconic and recognizable white stitch on their shoe, and I wanted to put a little bit of my former rock and roll self into our bags. That is such a little thing that probably no one else cares about, but I love it.

Along with that, I love our net slot. I love that it’s on the front of the bag and not the back. It’s more comfortable, and it makes it so much easier for me to get in and out of my bag when I don’t have to reach around a net or pull it out and risk losing it.

Lastly, I love how our bags look better with age. They look so good at the beginning, each one already having its unique character just from the nature of working with waxed canvas. But then the more they’re used, and develop a patina…man there is nothing better than a bag that looks like it has stories in it.

What type of person is an Emerger Fly Fishing customer? Do we have a type? Man, this is a tough one. Our demographic is quite a range, and I find myself pleasantly surprised that people from all walks of life from around the world carry our gear. I think some of the commonalities of our customers are:

Folks who appreciate high craftsmanship/quality
Folks who are looking for durability. We have customers who are so unbelievably hard on their gear. Folks who are putting in 150+ days a year on the water. They are looking for a product that they aren’t going to have to worry about having to replace after a season or two of use. When we develop products, these are the folks we use to test our gear. If there is an opportunity to improve our designs, they will find it.
Folks who believe their gear should look as good as it performs. Our aesthetic is a classic look and feel, and when that is married to quality, that is the sweet spot.
Folks who are a little rock and roll, a little counterculture. Sometimes we feel like we are some sort of new indie undiscovered band of fly fishing gear. (Or maybe we’re the grunge band pounding out tunes in their mother’s basement.) We love it when our customers find us and the connections we make with them.

Describe your perfect day of fly fishing. This question feels like I’m on one of those dating shows being asked to describe my perfect first date.

A perfect day of fly fishing is any day on the river with my fly rod. It doesn’t matter when or where or if I even bring a fish to the net (my friends who have watched me whine and moan after a few slow days on the river would call me out on this statement).

Though, and I know I’m flirting dangerously close to being cliche here, the river is a sacred place to me, and fishing is this act of faith by which I bring all of my rudimentary and mostly awkward skills, along with any ego I may have inadvertently acquired by accidental successful days on the water, and lay them down as some sort of offering, fully submitting to whatever the day and the river give back. Regardless of how it goes, it is a perfect day. Every time.

What do you like to do outside of Emerger? I’m a musician. I’ve been playing music since I was a kid. I started as a drummer and primarily played drums until I was in college. Then I majored in music and got really into guitar and every other instrument I could get my hands on. I’ve done a lot of recording and producing for myself and my friends, as well. I’m kind of a jack of all trades when it comes to music stuff. So throughout the day, I am constantly playing, either picking up a guitar for five minutes here or playing the piano for five minutes there…I can’t help it. In all, I probably put in an hour and a half of playing every day.

What’s on your Spotify playlist? My playlist is always changing. What gets the most play right now is my “Going to School” playlist that I made for driving my daughters’ carpool to school. I have a third grader and a high school freshman, who are both really into music, and my goal always is to expose them and their friends to great music. Most of it is tongue-in-cheek themed for going to school, so songs like:

Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Ramones, “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” and “I Want to Be Sedated”
AC/DC “Highway to Hell”
Foo Fighters “Learn to Fly”
Guns N Roses, “Welcome to the Jungle”

Other artists on the playlist: White Stripes, Beck, Cake, The Clash, Green Day, Rage Against the Machine, The Beatles, Tom Petty…

As much as I was a rock guy, I also really love American and folk, singer-songwriters, female artists, and indie bands… recent plays would be:

Tallest Man on Earth
Dawes
Death Cab for Cutie
Sheryl Crow
Wilco
Olivia Rodrigo (thanks to my high schooler)
Led Zeppelin
Nickel Creek
Weezer
Sean Carey (S. Carey)

Best record ever: Beach Boys Pet Sounds. Beatles fans, prove me wrong. And while I am also a HUGE Beatles fan, Brian Wilson is a genius.

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To round us out, Chris sent me a Cameron Side Bag to feel and test out (this is the larger of the two – Emerger also offers a smaller pack called the ‘Cache’). The whole experience is something – from opening the box, feeling the waxed canvas, the leather details, etc. This pack is made to be the last pack you’ll ever own. The design is very thoughtful. The inside is layered with sections and pockets to hold all of your stuff, and the strap system is remarkably easy to use, and convenient in that it utilizes your shoulders – no belt.

Here are some detailed images of the pack: