There are STROFT monofilament yarns and the rest
There are certainly other monofilament yarns that rise to the level of those from STROFT, I do not dispute. But for me one, and not only, from the first contact with these monofilament threads made in Germany and to this day, there is STROFT and the rest. Well, let me tell you why, shall I?
It all started in 2006, the first Stroft monofilament yarns
In 2006 we were flirting with clean and trout fishing where good quality thin monofilament lines were a must have. Both in spinning and fly fishing. At that time, the exact time in terms of products for raptor fishing was given in the Drill store in Bucharest, on Str. Cuza Voda 89. At least for me. That's where I heard for the first time about the quality of STROFT threads, but not from Cristi Anghelina, Eugen German, Mişu Sofonea or Dear Good, associates of the Drill shop at the time. But from a pole angler who had come to buy fixed STROFT monofilament lines in the Drill shop, dedicated to predator fishing. He had heard from other anglers that STROFT lines respect the diameter written on the reel, have low elongation, are silky and resist knots and drills "something to be afraid of".
Fishing adventures with Stroft monofilament lines
After the angler left I bought my first two reels of STROFT monofilament, GTM and ABR of 0.12 and 0.14mm, threads that I used in the following clean fishing games and kept, both in spinning and in fly fishing. I had to forget, even at stationary. Shortly, Sorin Dragoi, editor-in-chief of the late and late magazine "Aventuri la piscuit" and a pioneer in modern fly fishing in Romania, did a test with all the monofilament lines available on the market of fishing tackle from us. I guess you can tell, STROFT was one of the winning monofilament yarns in terms of diameter/strength/elongation/price ratio. And it still is, no more tests have been done, no more magazines...
Fluo monofilament and Stroft multifilament lines between spinning, fly fishing and stationary fishing
Since then, I have tested and used the Fluo variant (dye) in perch and bream fishing, then multifilament lines GTP. Over time, until today, I only gave up the STROFT multifilament, discovering other threads that are better in terms of quality-price ratio. But I have not changed my opinion or my habits about and regarding STROFT monofilament lines, just as they have not changed their quality in the 15 years since I have been using them exclusively for spinning, fly fishing and the increasingly rare games of stationary fishing.
But…
Enough about me. Where does the name STROFT monofilament threads come from? STROFT is composed of the words "STRONG" and "SOFT", two characteristics that distinguish it from the rest of the monofilament lines for more than 38 years. We continue the story with Malin Musatescu, a little history of STROFT, how STROFT threads arrived in Romania with Cristi Anghelina and we close with Eugen German, multiple national champion in raptor fishing and FIPS World Champion in Russia 2017. Let's go, I say.
About monofilament yarn and made in Germany, from Mălin Mușatescu reading
"As we all know, the great revolution in modern fishing came with the invention of nylon 6.6 by the American company DuPont in 1936. As we all know, the great revolution in modern fishing came with the invention of nylon 6.6 by the American company DuPont in 1936 .It's an interesting story related to the war, because the Great Conflagration also brought Nazi Germany to the fore, whose researchers were discovering perlon, another type of synthetic monofilament, around the same time. All of this has to do with military applications, specifically parachutes. Immediately after the war, DuPont expanded the scope of applications in the civilian field, and this is how we inevitably ended up in fishing. The nylon 6.6 monofilament thread had a fairly low strength relative to its diameter and also had the disadvantage of being very stiff." – Mălin Mușatescu (article appeared in the magazine Pescuitul Pentru Totti).
Brief history of Stroft monofilament yarns
Walter Kummerow was the founder of STROFT, an enthusiastic sport fisherman and 24 times world champion at casting. Walter has always believed that successful fishing and success in the sport of fishing casting requires the best monofilament lines. At the end of 1960 Walter discussed with the development director of the company Plate GmbH in Bonn about the improvement of the best fishing line in the world (PLATIL STRONG). A little later, he became head of research and development at Europe's largest fishing tackle manufacturer, DAM in Berlin.
In 1983, Walter Kummerow then founded WAKU GmbH in Berlin. Since then, all WAKU GmbH monofilament fishing lines bear the name STROFT. First it was STROFT Super, a little later STROFT GTM took the lead among monofilaments – considered the best monofilament line for fishing by TÜV Munich. In the following years, many fishing lines were added, including the monofilament STROFT ABR (polyamide), STROFT FC1 and STROFT FC2 (fluorocarbon 100%). Then came the STROFT GTP multifilament yarns in types R and S (each from Peak UHMWPE 100% fibers), yarns that won Blinker magazine's first test over other popular multifilament yarns at the time.
2011 – After many years of development, the STROFT GTM fly leader system is introduced and launched, consisting of 44 knotless, progressively tapered fly fishing leaders.
2012 – "The world's best monofilament fishing line", STROFT GTM, is expanded from 19 to a total of 40 diameters.
2015 – The STROFT LS thread with the lowest elongation among monofilaments is launched on the market.
2016 – The first innovative winding system for STROFT leaders appears.
2017 – STROFT GTP Type E expands its portfolio of multifilament braided yarns.
2019 – The first STROFT NiTi predator fishing leaders based on mono and polywire are produced.
2021 – STROFT Predator soft lures 6, 8, 10, 14, 18, 24cm are launched.
Who does not have Stroft s monofilament threadshe buys by Cristi Anghelina
"In 2006 when Stroft monofilament lines first appeared in Romania, the market for raptor fishing products was quite thin. Good lines came via Cabelas, Basspro, Plat, but at the time there was also the Drill fishing store. None of us (Drill store, me, Eugen, Petre, Mișu, Dragoș) knew/had not touched SROFT monofilament threads. They were recommended to us by Tavi, a Romanian who has been in Germany for many years, a very good predator fisherman and with some engineering knowledge. I don't remember the circumstances under which things happened, Tavi's story was that he had the opportunity to meet Walter Kummerow, the patron and inventor of STROFT monofilament yarns, at a profile fair in Germany.
Tavi's recommendation was something like: "Well, bring them to the Drill store, they're good, I talked to the German, he's a smart guy, he invented a technology, he knows what he's doing, you can't find better ones." All I knew about Stroft monofilament lines until we got them was that their GTM is (still) the best line to use for fly fishing in the world. Good knot resistance, silky, durable over time. So it wasn't complicated at all to bring them. The business relationship with WAKU GmbH, as long as it lasted, was absolutely flawless. It followed that the world slowly began to appreciate them, good-good and many-many points were won in the LRS championship thanks to these monofilament lines, both from the boat and from the shore. After I closed the Drill shop, Arrow International took over the distribution of STROFT yarns in Romania. Personally, I have been using them exclusively for more than 15 years, both monofilament and multifilament.”
Cristi Anghelina
National and world champions by Eugen German
"I am a fan of monofilament fishing. I don't know if this fact is due to the advantages that such a thread sometimes has over multifilament. Or simply because that's how I started raptor fishing, over 30 years ago, multifilament being almost non-existent in Romania. Since 2006, since I discovered the Stroft thread, I have practically not used another brand. I use monofilament lines in ultralight techniques, for trout or in fishing with reactive lures, sometimes when I think the situation calls for it, even when fishing with soft baits. STROFT GTM, ABR and COLOR monofilament threads are never missing from my thread drawer. Why? For their quality, because for over 15 years, for me, they have been unchanged and because the diameter/strength ratio is better than any other thread of this type."
Eugen German
