Welcome to Hook and Vice

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My brothers and I grew up in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. As a small child, I learned the value and beauty of fishing. When times were tough, fishing was an avenue of provision for my family. We always considered being a good fisherman an honorable attribute. I spent countless hours hiking rivers, canoeing lakes, and fishing in the Pacific Ocean. We lived off the grid on Vancouver Island and then on the Slocan River in the Kootenays. In this southeastern region of British Columbia, I developed a deep love for adventure, the outdoors, and fly fishing.

Since college, my day job has been making the world a better place by building powerful brands for clients I believe in. My company, FreeBird Agency, embodies my love for nature and freedom. With a name like FreeBird, my clients can’t be too upset if I’m not able to reply to emails or calls because I’m out of cellphone range.

Hit fast forward. I still love fly fishing! I seize every chance to go on adventures and spend time outdoors.

Rather than watch TV, I tie flies at night. This escape from the noise of everyday life is my form of meditation. In the day, I’m either fly fishing or dreaming of it. You don’t have to look hard to find me fishing, surfing, exploring the tropics, or making the most of a powder day.

The Idea

I thought about starting a fly fishing company for a long time. I loved the idea because it would enable me to go outdoors even more and start documenting our adventures. A few years back my favorite hat from Jobbies Long Boards in Costa Rica disintegrated after years of wear. I searched high and low for a new lucky hat; I wanted it to say adventure, good times, outdoors, and fly fishing. It had to connect me to remarkable places, and most of all, it had to be lucky.

I didn’t want to wear a big-box-corporate brand, even if it was a brand I liked. To me, a hat needs to be more personal. Unable to find a lucky hat that I liked, I decided to make my own. The name? You guessed it: Hook and Vice.

Where to next?

We don’t know the end game for Hook and Vice. It might remain only hats and T’s for friends. It may spin into a coffee shop concept or become the next big fly fishing brand. At this point, all I know is that when I’m having my morning coffee from my Hook and Vice coffee mug, I remember great days spent fly fishing, wearing my own lucky hat, and exploring a little further.

Hook and Vice products represent those who love to fly fish, tie flies, explore the great outdoors, and most of all, have a good time. As long as people are stoked about what we are creating, we will continue to make it.

We hope you enjoy Hook and Vice as much as we have enjoyed creating it.

Tight Lines, Noel Fox
Hook And Vice

Stand out for what you stand for

Adventure: We are always up for an adventure. Whether it’s deep in the wild or out on the town, as long as it’s an adventure, we’re in!

Fly Fishing: We are a fly fishing brand. Anything fly fishing we love it.

Friends & Good Times: We are a fly fishing brand. We love anything fly fishing.
Friends & Good Times: We are positive and love having good times with friends.

Fly Tying: If you tie your own flies, you rock.

Travel: Hook and Vice gear is always up for a holiday.

Authentic: We keep our word. We do what we say we’ll do when we say we’ll do it.

Respectful: We respect the environment, treat the fish with care, and don’t bad mouth others.

Nice: We are not violent, depressing, or mean spirited.

Positive: My grandmother always said that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, I shouldn’t say anything at all. Words to live by.

Story Tellers: We are eager to document our adventures and share our experiences with others, whether it be in person or on social media.

Private: We keep our fishing locations a secret, even if a location is well-known. We are happy to post photos and tell stories, but we don’t give up our exact location. If we want to tell a friend, we send direct messages. We never reveal locations with public messages on social media.

We Keep’Em Wet: Posting the occasional photo of a catch and release or tonight’s dinner is great, but we don’t want to see a bunch of dead, bloody fish hanging on a stick.

Special Thanks: Shout out to Rob Howsam, featured above while on a break from taking photos, for taking so many awesome photos for our new 2022 line of lucky caps. Rob is an avid outdoorsman, fly fisher, professional filmmaker and pro photographer. Check out Rob’s amazing work at https://thestokercollective.com