SHOP NOTES | C.J. BOVA RODS

The nail knot has been around for centuries and many knots we use today were derivatives of this very proven method of connecting two lines together. Since 1938, with the invention of nylon fly fishing has changed dramatically in certain ways. Nylon caused a jump start of other later mediums such as Dracon, Spectra, and PVDF. The ironic thing about technology is that it does not always change the simple things that it supposedly enhances or try's to make better. Many times technology is humbled by its own simple archaic functionality. Plastic fly lines have changed over the years and even silk has evolved and blossomed. Many fly casters say that the quality of the tapers have changed for the better. Others say lines have only suffered with technology and all of its gimmicky growing pains. Knots really have not changed through all the technological breakthroughs. The knot is still the single most important part of fly fishing . Without knots you cannot fish, period. Without knots a...

The benefits of silk lines are vast when considering the overall performance of bamboo fly rods. They by far excel in accuracy, loading, and shooting of line . I have pretty much left the world of plastic lines altogether not because of traditional esoterics but because of silks overall performance. It just feels right. The marriage and cadence between fly rod and line is so noticeable that using anything else just does not make a lot of sense to me. The narrow diameter of the line, its overall density, and true to form tapers are much more specific to the very nature of the bamboo fly rod. That said silk lines are no more or less of a hassle to maintain than plastic lines. After about four or five hours of fishing all that is needed is two or three minutes to run a chamois swatch over the casting section of your line. Re-apply the mucilin with your fingers and buff the line lightly with some felt. I get felt at the craft store for about 20 cents a sheet and cut it up into small squar...