Wylye LeatherWorks
Our products are inspired by over 35 years of fly fishing on England’s finest chalkstreams, with the Wylye being our obvious favorite.
Designed by fly anglers for fly anglers, our products are painstakingly designed and made by hand, often with many iterations before the final product is released for sale. We don’t use machines, just traditional hand tools.
We hope you enjoy our products, we guarantee they will last a lifetime.
London, United Kingdom
Ian
Our Story
”I had some of the straps left over so I created a fly reel case and a few days later I sold my first one and that was it really, I haven't looked back.
IanWylye LeatherWorks
A few years ago I had a go at fixing some straps on an antique fishing bag, inherited from my grandfather. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it actually turned out quite well! I had some of the straps left over so I created a fly reel case and a few days later I sold my first one and that was it really, I haven’t looked back. I left the frustrations of fly tying (more flies unraveled in the vice than made it into my fly box) and shifted my off-the-water time onto leather working, creating nice looking and highly functional fly fishing leather goods.
As well as more traditional products in light and dark browns, we really enjoy offering modern twists, injecting colour into the range. We think there is a gap in the market for this, which people seem to agree with! Greys, blues, reds and greens have been really popular, after all, a lot of fly fishing kit these days isn’t brown so people like the option to have wallets, lanyards and other things that match their waders, vests and jackets.
Whilst we have a wide range of products, we also do quite a number of bespoke orders each year. These are great as they really allow us to get creative. Anglers are full of great ideas and collaborating with customers to get things working exactly as they want them is very rewarding. We don’t charge a premium for these bespoke projects as more often than not an idea from one angler can benefit others. So if it’s appropriate to do so, we add these items to our range.
Most of my fishing is enjoyed on the chalk streams of the south west of England including the Wylye (obviously), Avon, Itchen, Test and Bourne as well as the Wandle in South West London which is my “home” water. I also travel up to the North West once or twice a year to fish the Eden, near Penrith which offers some wonderful wild brown trout fishing.
I was introduced to fly fishing by my grandfather at the age of 7 using a bespoke 7ft fibreglass rod made by Geoffrey Rivas in Hungerford. I still use the same rod today. It’s perfect for the Wylye and Wandle. I still fish many of the very same waters I did all those years ago; I belong to the same fishing club. I have also been fortunate enough to fly fish across the world including countries such as Canada, New Zealand, Australia, US, Colombia, Mexico and Fiji.