"Best If Used by 1956"

John Pittaresi discovers the hard way — during a particularly challenging white fly hatch on New York’s West Canada Creek — that using old tippet material is penny wise and pound cheap. “I started popping the stuff. It all broke like al dente spaghetti. Then I went into my vest and tested every spool of material I had – 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X, 7X, Orvis, Scientific Anglers, Umpqua – it all was worthless. The only thing that held up was an ancient spool of 3X Nylorfi that has been hiding in the back of the vest for 20 years or so.”