Rivers of a Lost Coast

One of our most frequently asked questions regarding early steelheading and salmon fly fishing is how anglers managed to be so successful with silk lines. Silk, as many of you know, hardly sinks and creates tremendous drag through the guides. Winter steelheading in California is 99 percent of the time a sinking line game. In the early days, innovative anglers did whatever they could to increase the weight and density of their lines. In this audio clip, long-time coastal angler and former Fenwick casting instructor Walt Bennett explains his process for coating silk lines with graphite. This popular technique was also a hit on the casting platform, where members of the GGACC used the added weight and reduced friction of the “black lines” to reach incredible distances.