Berkley Electric Fillet Fishing Knife (All Models)

From the Manufacturer: The Berkley Story

The Berkley story is deeply rooted in the idea of the American Dream, encompassing hard work, struggle, and tough times, as well as the building of partnerships to accomplish goals. It is a tale that extends far beyond the story of Berkley Bedell, and includes the dedicated efforts of co-workers and loyal customers who were equally willing to take risks.

The origins of Berkley can be traced back to June 1937, when 16-year-old Berkley Bedell used $50 from his paper route earnings to start a business selling his hand-tied flies to fishing tackle shops and vacationing anglers. Working in his upstairs bedroom, Bedell crafted these flies using hair clipped from the family dog, Stubby, and feathers from the backyard chickens, creating lures to entice local bluegill and bass from their underwater hiding places. Thus, the Berkley Fly Co. was founded.

By the time Bedell graduated from high school in 1939, he had expanded his operation, employing several local girls to make flies, silkworm gut, and cable wire leaders in their homes. The business soon outgrew the family basement and living room, leading Bedell to move to the second floor of the local grocery store, where he utilized a tub filled with ice and a fan for air conditioning.

After attending the state university and serving in the Army Air Corps, Bedell returned to Spirit Lake in 1945 to start Berkley and Company, with a focus on cable wire leaders. One evening, while reading Popular Science, Bedell learned about a Connecticut company producing nylon-covered cable for sailboat rigging, and he began to work on nylon-coated wire for use in fishing leaders. Production of this innovative product began in Spirit Lake, and shortly after, the distinctive Berkley heart logo was designed with the slogan "nylon leader with a heart of stainless steel."

Bedell's next area of interest was extruding nylon monofilament fishing line. At the time, all nylon came from DuPont, and after receiving a license from the company, Bedell returned to Spirit Lake to begin developing the necessary equipment, utilizing reclaimed washing machine wringers, bicycle wheels, and other homespun materials. Soon, Berkley was marketing private brand mono as well as Dew Flex monofilament, with ongoing experimentation leading to the company's breakthrough innovation: Trilene.

In 1959, Berkley introduced Trilene at about the same time DuPont introduced Stren. To help launch the new line, Bedell sent out thousands of sample spools of line and asked store owners to have their best fishermen try it on a spinning reel. Fishermen loved the line, and it marked the successful launch of Berkley Trilene.

The following four decades saw tremendous growth for the company, with the 1960s bringing the rod business and international expansion in the 1970s. Soft plastic baits made an appearance in the 1980s, and the 1990s through today have witnessed significant technology improvements across all Berkley products. From the beginning, Berkley has committed substantial resources to research and development, a strategy that has resulted in countless product innovations, including Berkley Trilene, the Lightning Rod, PowerBait, FireLine, and more recently Gulp!? and Gulp! Alive.

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