BY MIKE STEVENS
COSTA MESA— One of the coolest promotions that went on at the PCS Show was Berkley offering to fill any new reel purchased at the show with line. When it was all said and done, Berkley filled 1,005 reels with a grand total of 299.7 miles of line, and it took half-a-dozen constantly running line winders to get the job done. Everything from ultra-light reels on up to big Penn International 50s came through the line as PCS attendees took advantage of this unique on-the-spot promotion.
While Berkley Pro-Spec Chrome, Berkley X5 or X9 Braid or Trilene XL (depending on the reel) was being loaded up, Berkley reps chatted it up with customers lined up for the offer and talked about their line needs, their histories using Berkley line and of course, fishing stories were not in short supply.
Per Justin Poe of Berkley:
Our goal for this event was to give the Anglers the experience of using Berkley line this season. A whole lot has changed in fishing since we started making Trilene in 1959. Berkley has pioneered a lot of things in the fishing tackle industry and at times anglers lose focus on one of the things that attaches them to the fish. The Line! It’s not often that part of your gear that gets the glory. It’s rarely what you tell your friends about when you catch a trophy fish of a lifetime. Seldom is it shiny and flashy, but when there is an issue it’s often the first thing to get the blame. Line Matters!
We had four great days at the PCS show. We had a chance to speak with so many customers about what they love about fishing and how they were going to fish the Line. It was an incredible mix of people. Avid anglers that fish dozens of days a year on long range and travel trips to first timers and everything in between. We heard stories of amazing fish caught and amazing fish lost but overall a love for fishing was tangible! We wound 4# Berkley Trilene on trout spinning reels and #150 Pro-Spec Chrome on Penn International 50’s, and everything in between It was amazing!
We certainly could not have pulled any of this off without our expert winding crew! We recruited 6 line winding experts from local tackle shops to make sure the line went onto the reels as straight, tight and precise as possible. The expertise and care that these folks (pictured below) put into each customers line going on their reel was second to none. I am still blown away that we had no injuries or issues. Not even a band aid was needed in winding over 1,000 reels which is a testament to their expertise! They were a well oiled machine.
When the Dust settled 6 people winding line on 6 line winders wound line on 1,005 reels for a total of 299.7 miles of line in 4 days. We had a line of people every day from open until just a few minutes before closing. Winding line on over a thousand reels wasn’t without its challenges. We appreciate the patience of the folks waiting for their line! We had lots of people ask what kind of line we were winding. For braided line we wound 3 kinds. Berkley Pro-Spec Chrome in 80-100-130 Berkley X5-20,30,40,50.65 and Berkley X9-20,30,40,50,65,80. For light mono we wound Berkley Trilene. Many customers didn’t realize we made these braided lines and they were happy with how the lines felt in hand. We are confident that they will love the performance of the line and honored to be part of their fishing adventures this season!
For more info on all the line Berkley has available, visit Berkley-Fishing.com.
