Anyone fish silk lines on their glass rods. If so, what's a good line for a fair price? I noticed some are going for $50 range on ebay that are Chinese
made. It's hard to justify $250 for a fly line like the Phoenix but I'm sure you get what you pay for. I know people say you can fish a silk line for
decades. Just wondered if there were any experiences or opinions out there.
Tengas, Fenwick, and Marryat photo by Alpago |
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Silk Lines
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 jrb78 |
Silk Lines |
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Guide
Posts: 41 (11/22/08 14:45:15) |
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ericzamora |
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Guide
Posts: 93 (11/27/08 23:48:52) |
i just ran across this thread from clark's earlier today:
http://clarksclassicflyrodforum.yuku.com/topic/19202 eric fresno, ca. |
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TroutBum4wt.clarksclassicfl... |
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Sport
Posts: 8 (12/02/08 08:28:11) |
I'm really tempted to go this route with Mr. Zhu's silk lines. The Clark's posts seem to be all postive. Anyone try his reels?
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 Cameron |
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Posts: 2793 (12/03/08 14:19:52)
Administrator &
Chat Room Host |
jrb78...I can't remember a lot of talk of silk lines around here...but I wouldn't be against giving it a try. $250 for a Phoenix line might hinder
that decision a little bit though.
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Lotech Joe |
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Guide
Posts: 102 (12/05/08 19:15:22) |
I've heard really good things about the old original silk lines. The up side is that they last a long time. The down side is that they take a massive
amount of maintenance. My understanding is that when treated with a floatant (Mucilin Non-Silicone is best) that they will float well for a short mornings
fishing. Then I've been told that the best thing to do with them is to string them out in a couple of bushes to dry and treat them again. If you do this a
couple of times a day, you would certainly get a more relaxing day, and you wouldn't be pounding the fish too hard. However, in these days of more
aggressive fishing, this seems like a long time to relax. Another idea that I've tried is to use Cortland's imitation Sylk line. It is designed to look
like the old silk lines (mustard colored with dark flecks) and it is thinner so it casts through the old smaller guides that come on the old bamboo rods. One
of the benefits of this line is that it has less coil memory than the new modern lines. I've used this line before and it does cast very well. The cost is
about the same as the Cortland 444, and I'm sorry to say that I don't have one now.
_______________
Fish With A Friend Lotech Joe http://lotechslodge.blogspot.com/ |
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wb4tjh |
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Master Guide
Posts: 272 (12/06/08 15:59:18) |
Torenzio of Italy, who makes real woven silk flylines, also offers a woven synthetic silk flyline. It looks, feels and casts like real silk. It also requires
mucilin dressing and breaking in just like a real silkflyline. The advantage of it is that it won't rot if left on the reel wet. A.B. Herndon bamboo
rodmaker carrries them, or or you can order them directly from Mr. Torenzio. The synthetic version is also cheaper than real silk. They have received some good
praise from the bamboo rod crowd. Speaking of Cortland, I own a couple of their plastic SYLK flylines and find them to cast and fish very well. They are
thinner diameter than normal plastic flylines, and zing thru the rod guides and shoot very well. Somewhere down the road, I will probably invest in one of the
synthetic silk lines myself. I love the way real silk casts, but the extra maintenance does not appeal to me. But for the money, one of Zhu's silk lines
looks mighty tempting. I have read some good things about them on bamboo rod forum.
Fine flyrods can be made from different materials, but bamboo is the Benchmark against which all the rest are compared......
Last Edited By: wb4tjh
12/06/08 16:02:08.
Edited 1 times.
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ericzamora |
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Guide
Posts: 95 (12/08/08 02:17:29) |
here's another source from the bamboo board. j. busse sil gets good reviews, and color options... http://www.heirloomflyfishing.com/ eric fresno, ca.
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 4246 (12/08/08 10:18:52) Administrator |
I fished silk lines out of my blood.
With all the vintage reels I handle, I get my hands on many used silk lines. The first thing I do is tie a perfection loop before I remove them from the reel - if they break tying the loop, I throw them away. If they're strong enough and don't smell like mildew, I spool them up. I try to keep them indexed and occasionally sell them. The very best that have passed through my hand, I stripped them and gave them the very esoteric treatment using mastic varnish ($38/0z.). But even those, I ended up selling them. (well, OK, I have one very nice DT5 spooled up on a 2-3/4" prewar Young reel, but I never fish it) I have silk gut leaders and pre-tied gut casts with triple wet fly droppers and I've caught trout doubles on silk lines and gut leaders. I have line winders and a copper cast tin. My synopsis: It was a fun, nostalgic experience. They cast beautifully, but they don't shoot. They make a neat sound as they're slowing creeping through the guides. To me, they're more trouble than they're worth, and I would much rather fish a modern fly line.
the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
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cross creek one |
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Guide
Posts: 96 (12/08/08 10:47:55) |
Bulldog, your experiences mirror most of those I've heard over the years. I started fishing in the mid-60's, and I recall no tears from the fishing
greats in the hook and bullet press over the replacement of silk by AirCell and 333/444, the way they often bemoaned the scarcity of new bamboo rods.
Certainly, silk offers some characteristics to be emulated by modern line designers, and there are those who will put up with the maintenance and water-logging
for their art, but most fishermen are better served by the incredible profusion of modern lines, especially the ones who can't be bothered to clean grit
and slime off their lines, and leave their rods rigged with last year's wooly bugger and three split shot in the back of the pickup year-round! Of course,
if you've got a nice DT4 looking for a good home, I wouldn't object . . . .
-CC |
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 4247 (12/08/08 11:16:25) Administrator |
I keep a chamois in my fishing bag, and use it to strip the water out of my braided butt leader - it's a whole lot quicker than stripping the water out of
the entire wet portion of my line.
I will admit, starting one morning catching an 18" trout on BWO spinners, silk line and brass DAM Efzett 495 reel was one of those never-forget mornings. However, I have since sold both the line and the reel. In fact, I sold the Tonka Prince, too.
the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
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rvreclus |
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Master Guide
Posts: 202 (12/08/08 11:59:42) |
I'm with Bulldog on this one, his experiences mirror much of my own with regards to silk lines and fishing with them. Back in the old days (late
60's and 70's) when I started, some trout fisherman were using the traditional silk line when trout fishing and all the functional restrictions and
maintenance that went with them. As I reflect back it led to a different pace and fishing experience for the day. Respectfully rvreclus
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JeffK |
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Guide
Posts: 28 (12/09/08 07:33:28) |
In my local TU chapter the people with the least nostalgia for bamboo rods, silk lines, and gut leaders are guys over 75. They all seem glad to have made the
switch to glass and then graphite rods and modern plastic lines and have rarely looked back. It seems like guys in their 50's seem to get hit by the
nostaglia bug worst. Some even have to go further back and try a horse hair line.
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rvreclus |
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Master Guide
Posts: 203 (12/09/08 08:59:09) |
In the early/mid 70's there was a synthetic,(plastic), line of fly lines that were marketed as "silk line like", The Mastery Lines, which were
made in England. I have and still use these lines today, I currently use the "Chancellor" model of these lines in 4wt and 5wt double tapers. They are
thinner in diameter than the lines currently available, with a silk like texture to the line, and like silk they are stiffer than current lines are. They
require some break in period and must be cleaned/dressed periodically to keep the tips floating. I believe these types of line are still available.
Respectfully rvreclus
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bulldog1935 |
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Posts: 4251 (12/09/08 10:22:21) Administrator |
MacKenzie fly lines usually get the nod for the thinnest, softest and most silk-like modern lines for cane rods.
the rods are never obsolete - the marketing is.
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Cameron |
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Posts: 2834 (12/09/08 13:17:16)
Administrator &
Chat Room Host |
Bulldog...MacKenzie Fly Lines? You have any web information on them?
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dry side.clarksclassicfl... |
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Registered Member
Posts: 2 (12/10/08 14:11:16) |
The McKenzie lines are part of history. The company failed. I have two or three of their lines bought years ago but never used. At least one of them (their
Bamboo model) was made in England.
Richard |
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Arctic Grayling |
McKenzie Fly Lines | ||
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Master Guide
Posts: 194 (12/10/08 16:18:48) |
The McKenzie fly lines are mentioned in the Fly Lines for Bamboo Rods chapter ot Ed Engle's book Splitting Cane. They didn't receive a very
favorable review from him in his line comparison.
In his April 2001 note: "In the world of fly-fishing merger, Streamworks acquired McKenzie Fly Tackle Company and then 3M Scientific Anglers acquired Streamworks. That didn't leave much hope for the English-made McKenzie Bamboo Fly Line. Last word was that there were a few of the lines floating around in Oregon, but that once that supply was gone, the Bamboo Fly Line would be history." |
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- Welcome, Messages, Claves, News, and FAQs
- Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods
- Glass Tech
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- What's New on the Market
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- Classic Fly Reels
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- Fiberglass Fly Rods For Sale
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