[ramonesfreak]

from wikipedia

History

DuPont made public in 1938 that their company had invented nylon.[5] This new invention was the first synthetic fiber, fabrics that are commonly used in textiles today.[6] In 1939, DuPont began marketing nylon monofilament fishing lines; however, braided Dacron lines remained the most used and popular fishing line for the next two decades, as early monofilament line was very stiff or "wiry", and difficult to handle and cast. Its two saving graces - good knot strength and very low visibility to the fish - gave it a small but loyal following, and then in 1959 DuPont introduced Stren, a thinner and much softer monofilament line that could be used in a large range of reels, including newly introduced spinning and spin casting tackle. Stren's monofilament lines soon became a favorite with many fishermen because of its overall ease of use and it spawned a whole host of imitators.
New materials, e.g. Spectra or Dyneema, are finding growing usage as fishing lines. Polyvinylidene fluoride sold as fluorocarbon is very much like nylon monofilament, but has several advantages. Optical density is lower which makes the line less easily discernable. The surface is harder so it is more resistant to sharp fish teeth and wear. Furthermore PVDF doesn't take up water and it is resistant to UV-light. It is denser than nylon too which makes it sink faster and it will not float on the water surface.
Dyneema is also becoming very popular and it is much stronger but it is mostly used as a braided line. Because the elastic stretching is only a fraction of that of nylon monofilament the contact with fish or bait is more direct. It is often used for deep water fishing from boats because lower diameters are used which give less resistance to currents and the low stretch makes bites easily detectable