Berkley has held with it a simple goal ever since its conception in 1937: Berkley strives to make fishing fun and help anglers over the globe catch more fish. It’s this drive which has helped Berkley to grow from humble roots to be one of the leading fishing tackle companies in the world. A brand built on passion and innovation, Berkley is the story of the American Dream coming true.
The Berkley story began with Berkley Bedell, a 16 year old boy from Iowa who started selling hand-tied flies to local fishing tackle retailers and visiting anglers. These flies couldn’t be considered state of the art by today’s standards and were made from hair clipped from the family dog and feathers from the chickens that roamed the yard, but they were extremely popular in their time. The Berkley Fly Co. thrived for two years, until the business was forced to take a small break whilst Bedell studied at university and served in the Air Army Corps. The second Bedell returned to Iowa he invested all his efforts to make Berkley and Company the best business it could be.
Initially the focus of the new Berkley business was cable wire leaders, but after learning about the use of nylon covered cable for sailboats, Bedell redirected the business towards the production of nylon coated wire for fishing leaders. The success of this line spurred Bedell on, and he began to investigate monofilament line production. Years of experimentation finally led to the company’s first nylon monofilament line – Triline. This line was launched in 1959 – two decades after the entrepreneurial Berkley Bedell first began selling fishing flies.
The following decades were kind to Berkley, and the company continued to experience great success with its range of innovative products. Not only that, but the business expanded exponentially, and over the years the company introduced both rods and soft plastic baits to its product catalogue, with it's main focus still on producing top quality Fishing Lines.
Over the years Berkley has continued with its commitment to product research, development, and innovation – and the company has kept ahead of the game in terms of technological advance. Long gone are the days of flies constructed from dog hair and chicken feathers, and Berkley is proud that it now leads the way in technological innovation. The time and resources that Berkley dedicated to its products has more than paid off, and many of the products we take for granted today are actually Berkley innovations.
Berkley is a company that is proud of its heritage, and its success story is one that many businesses would find enviable. Berkley sees the key to this success as being its passion. Berkley has a passion for innovation, and isn’t afraid to put in the hard work to produce unique products: you are passionate about angling, and aren’t afraid to put in the hard work to achieve your dreams. All Berkley products today are produced by anglers and for anglers, and the staff at Berkley are committed to producing innovative products that really do make all the difference on the bank. In short, Berkley wants to make good anglers great.