I’m looking for a line for my small stream rod. A Winston WT 8’3wt. I read some reviews on the Cortland Sylk line and they were good. It appeals to my traditional love of the old way too. I’m not sure of DT or WF though. Anybody have experience with this line?
Dear Gramps,
I have never actually fished with Cortland Sylk line but I have cast it on a number of bamboo rods and found that it worked nicely on the rods I was casting.
I think you’ll find that some people swear by Sylk and some people swear at it. My one buddy uses it a lot and really likes it on his bamboo rods. He uses mostly DT4 and DT5 weight rods and lines. He really likes it for winter fishing because the line has no memory and stays limp. I have heard other people complain that the line gets soft and sticky in warmer weather but he has never mentioned anything about that.
Best Wishes,
Avalon 
I have a DT5 Sylk I use on cane rods.
It has a smaller diameter than conventional line of the same line weight.
It casts well for me however it does not cast like real silk. At least the silk line I have cast.
Real silk loads a rod differently than Sylk…for me real silk has a comletely different feel than any line I had ever cast.
I think the silk line we cast at the DRC a few years ago was a 1 wt (it belonged to Les Young)…we cast it on a 2 wt and I believe a 4 wt rod. It loaded both rods nearly perfectly. I had the feeling it would load any rod weight that was close. The density and stiffness of it lent a whole different feel.
In the reviews I read it did say it wasn’t like real silk, but closer than any other synthetic line. One tester tried in on bamboo and glas and liked it. They he tried it on a Sage graphite and liked it even more. I would think it would feel good on any soft-med action rod which the Winston qualifies for. It would probably be great on an Orvis Superfine which they claim is close to bamboo action.
I’ve noticed coiling on the CFO reel i’m using now. I believe the sylk line will help that.
I like theSylk line mostly for cold weather fishing. I thought it got sticky during the high heat and hunidity, but Cortland suggests washing it with mild soap and water, and drying well, and that will help with the stickiness. Haven’t tried it yet (just found out) but will give that a whirl come springtime. You’ll not find anything that looks like it either!! I’d give it a thumbs up, and recommend it.
I agree with Jerry. I have 2 “Sylk” lines, a 5wt. and a
6 wt. both DT. I also have real silk lines.
If you are looking for something closer to “real silk” then our regular modern lines, “Sylk” can be a good choice.
But, if you buy it thinking it resembles “real silk”, IMHO you may be disapointed.
I have a 6 wt. “Sylk” line and it’s ok. I much prefer real silk or I would probably have a higher opinion of Cortlands imitation. Actually, it’s a good line.
Vic
I didn’t want to give the impression that I want a silk line. I don’t. I just want to know how it compares to the other plastic lines on the market.
It appears to have no memory, and that’s important to me with my small arbor reel. If it floats and cast good it’s a bonus. It’s supposed to have silk line taper, so i’m assuming it’s sort of like a silk line more than other lines. It’s smaller in diameter, so should shoot through the guides better and maybe be better in the wind.
Am I on track with these thoughts?
Gramps:
I’m one of those who like Avalon says, “swear at it”. It’s limp and it’s thinner than regular lines, I’ll give it that but it doesn’t float worth a lick and it stuck in my guides and didn’t shoot well after I used it awhile. BTW I clean my lines after every use so it wasn’t like I wasn’t taking care of it.
I sold mine I hated so much.
If you want a nice limp line that will work well on your WT try a Rio Selective Trout. I use a DT3F on my Winston Retro with a CFO III and I really don’t have any coil issues to speak of. The Selective Trout casts like a dream and unlike the SYLK, it floats high all day.
I cannot tell the difference between Sylk and conventional lines and I have used it on my 3 wt. bamboo, graphite, and fiberglass. Ilike the baby poo color tho, yes I do. YEs, it has a smaller diameter and needs to be cleaned after usages, especially in hot weatheror else it gets really sticky.
From another forum. I’m guessing this is a Cortland rep.
“We had two problems with sylk lines. One was Bamboo rod users were using Muclin to treat their lines, USER ERROR! Clean these lines like a normal fly line, the pads provided with the line work great. We had one batch (most of which went overseas) that was having some stickiness issues in extremely high humidity with air temperatures over 85 farenheight. This has been corrected. I can not guarantee that their isn’t some still laying around a store somewhere. But all product in the warehouse was checked back in July and found to be OK. If you get a bad one we WILL replace. The issues on that forum were with overseas users and Cortland is handled purely by distributors overseas. I can’t speak for their service policies. If you want a DT line (you said your looking for a 3 weight) I would recommend the 555 Dyna-tip, it is ever bit as supple as sylk, it loves my WT rods and it floats higher then ANYTHING. It is not available in a WF3 though, only double taper.”
I have a Sylk DT4F that I’ve used from early season (pretty chilly in N. Mich.) to late season (HOT in August to cool in late Sept.) and have had NO problems with Sylk, have enjoyed using it very much, and can only firmly endorse the line. I think it’s great! Get one! or more! I’ve enjoyed using Cortland’s ‘Perfet Peach’ line for many years. The Sylk my be its successor.
Bill
I think a lot of the stickiness of Sylk might be location (a lot of humidity) I use mine year round and never experienced sticky, but we have very low humidity (DESERT!)
I have both DT and WF for my 4wt boo. I prefer the WF.
The selling feature of SYLK is it’s thinner diameter and soft, but I more often than not use Orvis SUPERFINE which has the same selling features as SYLK. I really like that line but it is more expensive than SYLK.
Hi Fly Goddess,
I’m having a bit of trouble with your humidity
theory. Humidity being nothing but the amount of
water in the air. If the fly line is alergic to
water you’ve got a problem for sure.G Warm regards, Jim
I bought a Sylk line, put in on a nice old Young Pridex reel, and attached it to my refurbished South Bend 323 bamboo rod. I fished a stretch of a Texas warmwater river in June. The line clung to the rod and wouldn’t shoot through the guides worth a darn. I finally gave up and switched to the graphite rod and SA Mastery line I’d brought along as a backup.
I haven’t used it since.
I have fished all Summer, with a 7 wt Weight Forward, Cortland Sylk Fly line, and never had any sticky problems.
The Sylk line is stiffer than the normal PVC fly line I use. It also is smaller in diameter than my normal 7 wt WF PVC Fly Line, from Cortland. The closest PVC fly line of the same diameter as my Cortland 7 wt WF Sylk, is my Cortland 3wt WF 444 fly line.
It is a dream to cast, and the smaller diameter means less air friction when casting. Lays on the water beautifully, I will be replacing all my PVC fly lines with Sylk, when the time comes. Then I can have more backing on my reels.
[quote=““Jim Hatch””]
Hi Fly Goddess,
I’m having a bit of trouble with your humidity
theory. Humidity being nothing but the amount of
water in the air. If the fly line is alergic to
water you’ve got a problem for sure.G Warm regards, Jim
[/quote]
We have talked about this on other forums and here. I hear that comment of it getting sticky, something I have YET to encounter after 4 years of using Sylk. I don’t see it, so we went with where people were from that had this problem. Most were from very hummid places. I agree that the water shouldn’t make a difference. I guess I should just count my blessings and enjoy what works for me and that would be SYLK. I do clean and dress mine after every use, maybe that is the ticket. A pain in the rear, sometimes, but I am sure that is the same procedure of the real thing.
Have not tried SA yet, but again I am 99% sure that SA makes Orvis line to their specs and I do love that Superfine.
when it stick it comes off the reel (staggers off the reel) awkwardly and it cannot cast well with it. I would like to think thereis something wrong with the line. I shall contact Cortland. My experience says not to recommend it, but I hold that until I hear back from Cortland
Paul
This really is a love/hate line. I have to wonder if a bad batch is responsible for this like the rep talked about?
I’m still on the fence on this line.
[quote=““Jim Hatch””]
Hi Fly Goddess,
I’m having a bit of trouble with your humidity
theory. Humidity being nothing but the amount of
water in the air. If the fly line is alergic to
water you’ve got a problem for sure.G Warm regards, Jim
[/quote]
Jim, check with Betty on that one, I think she’s had sticky Sylk problems when the humidity and temp is high in her neck of the woods. I fish sometimes in 95?+ weather. Had Sylk since it came out. I use it on bamboo and 'glass. No stickiness but I’m in the arid west. If it was Cortland that was quoted “We had one batch (most of which went overseas) that was having some stickiness issues in extremely high humidity with air temperatures over 85 farenheight.”
you might want to ask them how the humidity creates the problem.
One other line that is quite supple and floats well ot the Dyna Tip by Cortland.
RTJ