Berkley: Catch More Fish

The Berkley story is deeply rooted in the idea of the American Dream. It is about humble beginnings and unexpected success. It's about hard work, struggle, and tough times.

It all began in Spirit Lake, Iowa, in June of 1937, when 16-year old Berkley Bedell took $50.00 from his paper route earnings to start a business selling his hand-tied flies to fishing tackle shops and vacationing anglers. His business quickly grew and by mid '50s he expanded into fishing line, being one of the first manufacturers to use DuPont chemical manufacturing's state-of-the-art nylon and related extrusions processes to make some of the first nylon monofilament, called Dew Flex, which later evolved into the Trilene brand we know today.

The next four decades were a time of great growth for the company and they expanded into nearly every other segment of the fishing market, including dough baits, soft baits, hard baits, terminal tackle, and accessories. From the beginning, Berkley has committed significant resources to research and development - a continuing strategy that has resulted in countless product innovations, including Berkley Trilene, PowerBait, FireLine, and more recently Gulp! and Gulp! Alive.