silk fly line

buzzonthefly

buzzonthefly

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May 26, 2010
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How many of you fly rodders are useing silk fly lines?
 
I've given it thought once or twice simply to give me another excuse as to why I'm Doing It Right, but still not catching fish.

Zhus on eBay sells a very affordably priced silk line. I believe their cost in around $50, as opposed to $200 for the French ones.
 
How many of you use silk fly line is like asking how many of you take a covered wagon to the stream?

I guess there's the purist or classic person that may still use it but I'm pretty sure that modern lines are a great deal better.
 
Covered wagons carry alot of stuff, and float across rivers. My point? There's an advantage, sometimes, in the old ways.

Silk lines supposedly cast and layout better than a modern PVC line, leaving you with gentle presentations and great drifts. The silk line turn over is one of the things people supposedly are emulating with the emphasis on furled leaders, now. I'm speaking only from reading, no first hand knowledge, but I can see an advantage.

If I ever stumble on a silk line for cheap, I'd buy it and try it out. I believe can offer an advantage if you're willing to work with its shortfalls. Like all methods, there's pros and cons. The relentless march of progression has left some important victims in its wake.

I can put this far easier in the context of photography, where I do have first hand knowledge as well as a preference for working with the conestoga wagon of cameras, and can name you a dozen different reasons its superior to a modern DSLR.
 
Looks like some anglers still want it.

http://www.cortlandline.com/products/default.asp?id=96
 
Little different, that's a modern PVC line that's just best-effort modelled after a real silk line. The biggest benefit is its smaller diameter for easier use in bamboo rods, which feature smaller guides.

FWIW, I use it on my own bamboo rod. I actually really like it both there and my graphite 3wt.
 
The "Sylk" replicates the fine diameter, long taper, supple feel and subtle color of natural silk, but in a modern, easy to care for fly line.
 
Get yourself some worms and make your own! I'm sure there are traditionalists out there that insist on bamboo and silk. They can have it for all I care. A good caster can lay a fatter line on the water without creating anymore of a disturbance. The smaller guides point.... not sure. I'll go to the garden and pull up one of my tomato stakes and check them.... THAT'S RIGHT! I buy bamboo rods, break them and use them as stakes to hold plants in my garden.

If anyone on here has ever fished the Methodist Camp on the WB of the D in the month of May..... same guy for 20 yrs using a bamboo rod and silk line. He let my buddy Josh take a few hacks with the rod. When we got back to the car, Josh says "WTF? That thing sucked and weighed a ton. How can anyone fish with something like that?"


FWIW... I don't have a garden. LMAO
 
yeah sight-nymph....and I bet that old fella would probably have the same thing to say about that lifeless high modulus super graphite rod your bud was using. ;-)

I got turned on to silk lines this year and love 'em, wouldn't fish with anything else given the choice...and yeah I also fish bamboo pretty much exclusively. If you're really interested, visit Jim & Jonas at the Feathered Hook in Coburn, they'll probably loan you a silk to try out on the water. I was hooked after just a short session of lawn casting outside the shop...

more info? here's a blurb about the 're-discovery' of silk fly lines: http://www.overmywaders.com/index.php?silk

oh, and watch out for those Zhus lines, general opinion is that they're pretty much junk from the research I did...you get what you pay for.
 
Well, I don’t dress in a civil war uniform, use a sickle to cut my lawn, drive a 74 AMC Town & Country wagon to the stream or use a vintage bamboo with a centerpin reel. I certainly won’t use silk line but thanks for the info. Too much of a hassle. I think the advances in fishing technology are wonderful. I don’t get to fish much anymore so I want to maximize / enjoy what little time I do get on the water. To each their own I guess. I’m not much of a vintage kind of guy. Not sure that my fly box has seen a mickey finn, adams, hares ear or any ‘traditional’ patterns in 15+ yrs. If you want to use bamboo and silk, knock yourself out.
 
sight_nymph_17109 I guess it takes a man to fish bamboo.HaHa,I like the slowness of cane and silk,plus the beauty and crafts menship of a fine cane rod.everything nowadays is so darn fast pace even life.some times you just have to slow down and smell the wild roses.
 
"takes a man to fish bamboo and silk" ??? If you say so. My personal pref is for a rod that is med-fast to fast depending on what I'm doing so you'll probably never see me browsing the rack of bamboo rods at the local shop. It is definately an art to build them but I never understood why you'd want to fish with one. I'd put one in a shadow box on the wall but probably never fish it. I'll take modern equip and sit on the bank for hours. I don't even have to fish. Just decompress and enjoy the beauty of nature. I do smell the roses.
 
i use silk line when i'm in the mood for it.
 
tomitrout Jim Kelly is fishing a 45+ year old line I would like to see a pvc line do that.
 
despite the maintenance with a silk line, nothing feels like one on a good bamboo rod. I have only cast one, never owned one. as for the modern lines I do fish, I try to get the most supple ones I can, they match the slower action rods I prefer.
 
OK, you win. Bamboo and silk can't be beat. Don't forget to get some fresh cat gut leaders.
 
sight_nymph....'knock yourself out' ??wtf??

yeah, I guess all of us antiquated bamboo & silk luddites are just out there flailing about with our outdated technology...just wishing, oh how we wish we could only catch just one trout....but jeez, these gosh dang Adams just don't work anymore, nor do these hare's ears nor Micky Finns....if only I had a box full of green weenies, glo eggs and foam beetles to catch a fish with. If only I could cast that extra 5 feet with my old buggy whip of a bamboo fishin' pole....damn, what modulus is this cane?

puh-leezzzzze...just cuz you 'don't understand' is no reason to poo-poo somebody else's preference. Trout haven't evolved that much in the last 100yrs....



To the O.P., if you're hesitant due to the up front 'entry fee', really do try to find a silk line to try out. they are spendy, but they will last for years, with minimal upkeep. What's a new XPS run? $70ish, and new Sharkskin, $99?!.....they'll both wear out in two-three seasons of regular use. Buy a Terenzio silk for $180 and use it for the next 10-20-30+ years....

Or maybe you're already 'in the know', and just curious who else is out there?
 
sight_nymph_17109 You get me the cat.
 
tomitrout I have two cane rods one I built with George Mauer and a Dream catcher I use silk on both. I have a four year plan to get two more rods.
 
nice, I also have a little DreamCatcher, 6'8" for a 3wt, pretty much ideal for little mtn streams. The Dietrich bro's sure do make a beautiful rod! Also picked up two 4wts by Dennis Stone from out of Portland this spring, both are 3pc, one @ 8' and the other is 7' 3"....so the quiver is pretty much complete, at least until I get the itch for maybe a 7'9"ish 5wt....guess I better start saving my pennies. :)
 
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