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The result of my research was a return to a material carried from the same land as the cane itself – Silk. Since I tried my first silk line some years ago, I've learned the relaxing rhythm of a 100 year old wet fly rod that had been merely a sullen stick with a modern plastic line draped on it; I've come to delight in the new sight and sounds of casting, the translucent honey-colored line cutting the wind, the gentle laydown of the silk line's delicate tip onto the surface film; and I've shared the pleasure as a friend's new cane creation suddenly came alive in his hand, casting more line, with less effort, than ever before. Does this all sound just a little incredible? After all, it's only a fly line. . .

Lines Shaped Fly Rods

Silk was the premium line during the early years of dry fly fishing and the "Golden Age" of rodmaking; and it met all the requirements of the day. But with the end of the Second World War the new miracle, "Nylon," was marketed as a possible substitute for silk. It had proved satisfactory in parachutes and stockings, why not flylines? Initially, the Nylon line was oiled and honed like its silk counterpart, and required much the same care. Enter the 1950's, the age of Science for Convenience, Inventions liberating the Common Man (and Woman) from the drudgery of maintenance and care; Automatic Washers, Self-Cleaning Ovens - and plastic, no-maintenance flylines. The man just returned from war and building a family had little time to spend at streamside, so the appeal of anything that optimized his fishing hours was great. However, it was a mixed blessing, for the advent of synthetic flylines, comprised of a uniform hollow nylon core covered with a tapered Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) finish, triggered a rapid and serious degradation in fly rod taper and action. The reason for this may be found, principally, in the word "Diameter."

Size Does Matter

The increase in diameter of flylines began innocuously enough. The early oiled-Nylon line was as much as 40% lighter than the silk, not an advantage for casting, and quite confusing to the anglers who bought their lines by the diameter, not the weight. [For those unfamiliar with the Letter Codes an "I" line was .020" in diameter, "H" was .025", and so on. HDH signified a Double Taper with a belly of .045" tapering to .025" at the ends.] An HDH rod, as rated for Silk, took an HCH or GBG diameter Nylon line, and this bulkier line, with its greater air resistance, required more effort to cast. Since these lines gave no great advantage to the fishermen in terms of usability, they did not achieve wide popularity. The oiled Nylon quickly gave way to the "transitional lines" that had a tapered Nylon core sheathed in plastic. However, these lines floated poorly and the plastic coating tended to strip off, due to the difference in elasticity between the coating and the braid. The next step to modern lines came with the use of a level Nylon core and a tapered coating of Polyvinyl Chloride. This and the subsequent invention by Scientific Angler of the "microbubble" to achieve floatability bring us to our modern plastic lines.

The new line floated admirably (except the tip), but this buoyancy was produced by reducing the specific gravity, and increasing the volume of the line. The old method of using diameters to determine the line for your rod became impractical; the difference in specific gravity between the old silk and the new PVC, and even between one plastic line and another, was too great. In order to provide a meaningful method for determining the line load for a given rod, a new system was developed which referred to the weight of the line rather than the diameter. Diameters were thus free to expand… and they did. In order to float the tips, which had the same size core as the belly, the delicate .020" ("I") tips of the oiled Silk line gave way to .035" or greater for the PVC line. To drive these lines through the air required a stiffer rod, larger guides, and a much different method of casting. The reason for this is obvious, the larger diameter lines had tremendous air resistance that could only be overcome by more energy from the caster. The days of relaxed casting with subtle wrist action yielded to the "high linespeed" arm waving school, as anglers struggled to make the ever more bloated PVC lines load the rod.

Line Types

The Wind

One of the more curious developments of recent years has been the braided leader. This was created, I assume, because the thick, stiff tip of the plastic line has a tendency to slap down into the water; especially because of the need to generate a high line speed in order to get full extension of the light PVC line. The braided leader emulates the tapered end of a silk fly line. With the terminal end of an "IEI" miking at .020" it is thinner than some monofilament leader butts, and it has the smooth laydown that the braided leaders were designed to deliver.

You'll probably quickly notice that your silk line is suppler than plastic and has less tendency to memory (no more of those annoying coils that grab at your reel handle). This is because the PVC line is essentially a semi-rigid pipe (in larger sizes it's the plumbing for your bathroom sink). The silk, on the other hand, is a thin rope. Think about it.

The next discovery you'll make will occur when the silk line lands gently on the water. . .it floats higher than your plastic line.

Approaches to Floatation

The specific gravity of a PVC line is less than 1.0; silk lines run 1.2 – 1.4. Yet, the silk floats higher. This is possible because the lines use different approaches to floatation. Modern PVC floating fly lines achieve buoyancy through displacement. Archimede's Principle at work, the line must displace a sufficient volume of water to compensate for its weight; and to do this it must settle deeply into the water. The silk line relies upon the same principle as the floating artificial fly … surface tension. The dressing applied to the line repels the water, floating the line high on the meniscus. Thus, the silk line is easier to lift from the water, and creates less surface disturbance in drawing it back. This is especially evident in the ease of rollcasting.

The tips of most plastic lines float rather poorly. The specific gravity of the PVC line increases as the volume of the "microbubbles" decreases. Obviously, with less volume to keep it afloat, the tip of the plastic line sinks when the invisible coating of dirt and algae accumulated during a normal day's fishing overcomes the designed buoyancy of the tip. Not so the silk line, the delicate 0.025 tip floats in the film.

. . .And Now, the Downside

There are great lines with good tapers are out there, and they cost as little as a few dollars. They might look a bit rough, initially, gummy and black on an old skeleton reel at the local flea market; but given the right TLC, you'll have a line good for years of use. Weight forward lines in weights as light as IGH (approximately a WF2), or as heavy as GAAF (WF10) are out there; I've found both, and more. You might chance upon one of the sophisticated tapers of specialists like Marvin Hedge, or an old Halford. Remember, silk was the only line material for the fly fisherman for almost half a century, there are quite a few of those lines still out there. Techniques for recognizing and restoring silk lines will be the subject of another article. A little preventive care, such as we give our cane rods, will ensure a supple, pleasurable line for years to come.

Care and Feeding of Your Silk Line

A silk line must be dressed with a floatant before starting the day streamside. The subject of line dressings used to be good for an hour's argument at fishing lodges anywhere in North America; deer fat vs. bear fat, turps vs. mineral oil, etc. I eschew all the home recipes, especially the animal fats which cause oxidation of varnish and tackiness. I stick tenaciously with Red Tin Mucilin; never the Green Tin, though I have no reason to avoid it. Perhaps, its just part of the tradition; or childhood memories of struggling to open that red tin with wet hands and watching the cover go spinning off into deep water. Someday, I'll try some experimentation with non-traditional floatants; for example, I've used Albolene, but found it too greasy, and I may try Sno-Seal, since it's wax-based.

How you apply the Mucilin is a matter of preference. Some use their fingers; I prefer to use the felt pad that comes with the Mucilin. Always remove any excess, you only need a very thin coating. You can buy gadgets to perform even this task; and fishermen love their gadgets. But the best, most versatile implements you might carry are a bandana to remove excess mucilin, and an 8" square of chamois to dry your line (and flies). You would want to pull the line through the chamois during fishing if the line starts to sink – this will give you another half hour of casting before you retire that end of the line for the day.

You'll find that it is handy to have loops, for line to leader connection, on both ends of a DT, and a large enough loop in the backing line to permit you to pass the reel through. Over the course of a days fishing, perhaps within four hours, an oiled silk line, like an oiled dry fly, will have absorbed sufficient water to cause it to sink. At this point you ave a number of options. If you have a concept of flyfishing as the "Contemplative Sport" you might unspool your line onto the bushes at streamside, boil a pot of tea, and have a pleasant lunch while waiting for the afternoon hatch. Of course, (if you're using a double taper) you might just switch the line end for end; dropping the reel through that large backing loop and rush furiously back to the water. Whichever approach you take, before you drive home, strip the line in loose coils onto the back seat of the car. In most climates it will dry overnight. If you fish more than one line in the course of a day or keep a dog in the backseat of your car, you may want to get a Line Drier. Ultraviolet light does not have a deleterious effect upon silk lines, as it does with PVC. The enemy of silk is mold. Keep your lines dry when not in use. An invisible fungal attack (read "rot"), from leaving the line stored wet, may reduce the breaking strength of any silk line to just a few pounds.

Strength is a factor to consider in using a silk line, though this is not generally of much concern. Our grandfathers were able to land 40 pound Atlantic salmon on their silk lines. . .but they were using gut leaders. Unlike gut, the modern tippet material is of both fine diameter and high tensile strength. This could easily permit you to use a tippet that was stronger than your line. The breaking strength of an HEH silk, dry, is from 14-18 pounds; when wet, the same line would actually test a few ounds higher for sudden stress. This, of course, is adequate for most situations. If, however, you insist on fishing with a tippet testing more than 12 pounds, don't use silk. Salmon lines would usually be GAF or larger, and these test out at greater than 20 pounds; but, again, the tippet used should be 12# or less.

© 1998 Reed F. Curry                (Back To Top)