Silk leaders

[paflyfisherman]

I am considering a silk fly line. Would appreciate opinions from those with experience using them. Would use for medium size streams with dries and emergers /soft hackles. I fish mostly with glass rods and frequently use furled leaders. I know they require additional care but is it worth the extra effort?

 

[DGC]

You might run some searches on the Classic Fly Rod Forum. Or join and ask. Maybe search the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum as well.

 

[lestrout]

Yo paf

Silk cuts through the wind better, whether you are using graphite, cane, glass or boron. They also wear many times longer than any plastic lines, including the polyurethane ones. I tend to use my silks in the warmer weather - to dry them out afterwards, I just strip out the forty or fifty feet I was using on the car seat and by the time I get home, I just reel up the dried line. Otter Butter works super as the dressing, better and faster than Mucilin.

After a nice session with silk, my plastic lines, even the old Masterlines, feel so fat and fluffy in the air.

 

[Bamboozle]

I also use silk lines and the performance is stellar. I also find the maintenance to be easier then plastic lines since I also take good care of those.

I have a line winder so when I'm done fishing, I do something similar to what Les does and only wind off the amount of line I used through a small patch of chamois on to the winder.

My particular line winder has a detachable clamp so when I get home or back to camp, I clamp the winder (which is also holding my reel) on to a table and I allow it to sit out overnight at minimum.

The next day or later if I'm not planning on using that reel, I'll dress it with Otter Butter (and ONLY Otter Butter) and it's ready to go for the next outing.

Like Les, I fish silk when it's warmer, never in the winter and when it a nice sunny day I can fish for hours on end with a high floating line. Of course it won't float as long as a plastic line, however my sessions with silk are never 12 hour affairs and if they were, I would just reverse the lines which happen to be double tapers.

I buy my silk lines from Terenzio Zandri in Italy because he's a great guy who makes a great line with WOVEN loops on the end which I prefer. He'll also make you whatever kind of line you want in any weight you want and almost any color you want and he makes an artificial silk line that folks rave about.

Since you mentioned "leaders" in your thread title, Terenzio also makes woven silk blend leaders which he will make in any length and color if you ask. Once I tried one of his silk blend leaders, I was hooked. I like them 100 times better than furled leaders and they are all I use for most of my fishing.

Good luck!!

 

[paflyfisherman]

Thanks for the excellent comments. What do you recommend for a line dryer?

 

[JeffK]

Since silk lines aren't standard I don't know any line dryers that are made today. IMHO options are search Ebay etc for an antique one, make one yourself (info online) or do a work around like wrap the wet line around a empty soda bottle. I had a woodworking friend make one for me.

 

[silverfox]

I went on a silk line binge a while back for some vintage hardy bamboo rods/reels. Most of what I have is vintage line, some of which was from a giant spool of brand new-never used line I happened to score along with a vintage line winder.

I like it as it causes you to slow down and focus more. It's a totally different experience in my opinion. I agree w/ others that they get dirty/saturated faster than modern lines obviously. So I do more of a "sit and watch and target risers" as opposed to "fishing the water" to conserve the line for the day.

Line winders are awesome if you can find one on the bay. Otherwise, just drape it through your shrubbery or clothesline or deck railing to dry.

I haven't attempted it yet, but there are some interesting tutorials on the vintage fly rodders site on how to restore vintage lines.

It's a fun niche thing to get into along w/ vintage rods/reels.

 

[Bamboozle]

Thanks for the excellent comments. What do you recommend for a line dryer?

I use a line winder/dryer because I think they are cool, I like to have my reel secured to something when I strip off line (I'm a klutz) and in the universe I live in whenever I am involved, loose coils of line lying on a back seat or anywhere else positively means a tangle I will have to sort out later.

Just about every line winder currently in production today is for at home line management (new line or backing on & off), not drying a silk line after a day's fishing. That's because they are not really portable, but designed to be clamped to something or used on a workbench and they typically DON'T secure the reel.

99% of the purpose made line winders for winding, drying and re-spooling a dry & dressed silk line hold the reel as well. These winder/dryers are either vintage table top "cricket bat" style line dryers made by Hardy or Farlow, the Hardy "Hotspur" that is a take-apart winder that doesn't secure the reel and clamps to a table or collapsible winders or "compacts" as Hardy referred to them.

The "compact" style are the most practical for hassle free winding of your wet line at the car after a days fishing although there is nothing wrong with the "cricket bat" styles except they don't fold up as small for compact storage.

There were two more recent (and discontinued) knock-offs of the "Hardy Compact," the "Struble Line Winder" and the "Tibor LineMaster." Both of these knock-offs did the Hardy Compact one or two better by incorporating a clamp (additional $$$ with the Struble) that allows you to clamp your winder with the wet line AND your reel to a table when you get home so it is secure when the line is completely dry and you want to redress it.

The Struble also has an attachment to allow you to use it to spool backing or a new line on a reel, if you wish while the Tibor went the Struble several times better with a much more robust table clamp, a better reel seat, a leg saddle (yes, you heard me right, you can clamp the winder to your leg) and a superior attachment for putting on a new line or backing. All of this and a neoprene pouch to carry everything was included with the LineMaster, albeit at a much higher cost than the Struble.

I own or have owned all of the above. When I get home after winding a line at the car, I like to have the winder safely secured for drying & redressing so I prefer something with a clamp. I tried the Struble, but didn't like it so I sold it and went with a Hardy Compact for a few years before buying a Tibor LineMaster which I use now.

You can find Hardy Compacts on eBay, especially eBay UK. Expect to pay $100+ for one. While the wooden handled versions are the prettiest, the plastic handled versions are cheaper and have four adjustable arms (versus one) which is a benefit if you want to use it for line management. Thomas Turner, a highly reputable and well known antique tackle dealer in the UK is another source. You can buy direct from Thomas Tuner or through eBay UK.

Cricket bat-style winders can be pricey ($150 - $250) because some of them are desirable, however I've snagged a few at compact prices by being patient. They do work great in the field despite not folding up as small, they have a handle to hold on to while you wind and you can just as easily sit it safely on a table when you get home and clamp it down with your own clamp if you desire. They just can't be used for line management like the compacts.

Struble Line Winders are hard to come by, but they do pop up on eBay with and without the clamp. Expect to pay the same amount for a Struble as a Hardy Compact while Tibor LineMasters are as scarce as hen's teeth and when they do appear they can go for double or triple the price of either.

Make you want to stick with plastic lines, doesn't it.

Good luck!!