From Western Fishing Lines to Probraid

1938 - The Beginning
Originally located in Los Angeles, CA, Western specialized in corset string and shoelace manufacturing. Soon after, Western Fishing Lines was born and became a leader in the design and manufacturing of recreational products.

The First Monofilament
At the conclusion of the WWII, Western Fishing Lines looked back to their roots in the recreational market for continued growth. With the rapid development of synthetic materials, Western focused on R&D and was one of the first companies in America to market a new Nylon monofilament line, W-40, which became wildly popular.

A New Name and Direction
Around 1965, Western Fishing Lines became Western Filament, Inc. Armed with a new name and vision for growth, WFI turned its focus to more industrial applications. By 1973, 75% of Western’s existing catalog was discontinued and replaced with products tailored for the aerospace, automotive and motor manufacturing industries.

Colorado
In 1990, the decision was made to move the Western Filament to Grand Junction, CO where it is located today. In 1991 a recreational product division was re-created to recapture the market share Western Fishing Lines once held. At that time WFI introduced the world’s first Spectra (UHMWPE) fishing line which started a revolution in the industry. The vast majority of fishing line today is produced with a type of UHMWPE because of its superior performance to polyester in almost all aspects.

Today - Braided Fishing Line
Today Western Filament is at the forefront of the fishing industry. We manufacture and develop new technologies to push the industry forward, just as our founders did when they started in 1938. Probraid is no exception to that. Our braided fishing line is built to catch and has the ultimate strength to last a lifetime. Join us so we can continue our legacy of braided fishing line.