In today’s Throwback Thursday historical image we have Bill Dance standing in his fishing room looking to respool his reel with a bulk spool of Stren line. According to the 1971 Stren ad, which today’s image came from, Bill Dance had hauled in $22,000 on the tournament trail, and had won more bass tournaments than any other fisherman. His line of choice back then was Stren, in particular, Mod II Stren, a version I had never heard of.
Depending on the source referenced, Stren monofilament line was introduced by DuPont back in either 1958 or 1959. Its thinner and softer formulation paired well with the growing popularity in closed faced (spin cast) as well as open faced (spinning) reels of the day.
Over the years, the Stren name has had several different owners, but it’s still being manufactured and is widely available to anglers to this day. Even Bill Dance is still associated with the brand some 50 years later. A look at Bill’s website lists Stren as a sponsor and partner.
