Who Says Fishing Tackle Doesn't Pay?

Ran across a very interesting article in The Des Moines Register on Tom Bedell, the owner of Pure Fishing, which used to be called Berkley & Co. -- makers of Trilene fishing line, among other items. Perry Beeman's article entitled Giving & Living Large on the Lakes profiles Bedell, one of Iowa's most prosperous businessmen. How rich is Bedell? His new 17,310 sq. ft. house on West Okoboji was assessed at $9.5 million and has a living room large enough to accomodate 500 guests.


Tom Bedell's West Okoboji Mansion

The article has some interesting history of Pure Fishing (Berkley), a quarter-billion dollar firm started when Berkley Bedell began tying flies in the basement of his Spirit Lake house. No fishing tackle company has spent more on research and development than Pure Fishing, and it has paid off in huge dividends for them and for Tom Bedell.

--Dr. Todd