I used to fish silk lines regularly. The older rods I was using had the smaller line guides. Silk is 3 times denser and only 1/3 the diameter of modern lines. It's great to use but....it does have a care and feeding component. There are now modern equivalents that mimic silk's characteristics. Sylk was one.
I realize it has been a common perception that silk lines are much thinner than modern day plastic lines. In a small survey done on the Classic Flyrod Forum, it was found that on average that DT4 silk fly lines are actually only about 11% thinner than DT4F plastic fly lines. Having found this, I have a Phoenix DT1 silk line that runs about the same diameter as an Orvis DT1F plastic line that I have.
http://classicflyrodforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=148326Just like shooting a SxS adds to the experience, silk fly lines adds to the experience as well — it’s all part of the experience and tradition.
