Scientific Anglers: 1700 Fly Lines and Counting

When Bruce Richards told me last year that Scientific Anglers builds thousands of different types of fly lines, my jaw just about hit the floor. But as he explained it, there is a clear market need for specialty lines of all different tapers, lengths and weights, and SA was in a position to build them, so why not? Eric English writes on MLive.com about the company, which enjoys a culture of innovation at 3M, but whose revenues are small enough that it doesn’t even appear by name in the corporate annual report. “The company was founded in 1945 by Midland fly-fishing enthusiasts Leon Martuch, Clare Harris and Paul Rottiers

. They are credited with developing the first modern fly lines in the 1950s. In 1973, the company was purchased by corporate giant 3M Co.”