Hardy Silex versatility as a fly reel

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60InchDV8
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Hardy Silex versatility as a fly reel

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Post by 60InchDV8 »

Scroll down to the bottom of this post and look at the photo of an Atlantic Salmon I caught a couple of years ago. Enlarge it and study the details in the picture that indicate how it was caught. Consider the water conditions of the Restigouche River out by the high bank of Jim’s Crack in the background of the photo of this 31 lb. “Springer”. Now notice the reel on the the 15ft Sharpes spliced bamboo rod. No, unfortunately it’s not an ultra rare Salmon St George but now that I’ve made you curious, I’ll tell you how I used this 1914 Hardy 4 1/2 in Silex, with a wide spool with a shallow arbor and a quick retrieve, to hook, fight, and land this platinum hen in under 15 min in very challenging conditions. Modern anglers would agree that the Silex is not considered to be a fly reel although it was designed to be so and advertised as such, namely a dual purpose fly and casting reel. I hope to change your minds by passing on some 1900 era angling methods that have been long forgotten. When they are incorporated with some modern techniques, they are very effective. I will fill the story’s blanks and be your guide for salmon on the Restigouche on 01 June, 2018.

I’ll have to provide a few details for those anglers unfamiliar with the Silex prior to wetting a line. The early 1900 era Silex design resembles the classic trout and salmon St George reels and have ivorine handles, and a 3 screw quick release centre plate on the ventilated spool. This reel is a eunuch with no bearings, and has an adjustable n/silver tension dial on the front frame. Here the resemblance to a conventional reel ends as this dial is not for adjusting the click and pawl check or drag which is actually preset at a fixed light medium tension. The dial is an anti backlash control similar to that on a knuckle buster casting reel. Another cast control is the ivorine lever positioned high on the rear frame to avoid snagging the line. Pushing up the lever 1/4in activates the free spool. These are the casting features that make the Silex a truly “Unique” fly reel.

As you noticed in the photo, the Restigouche Salmon Club water at Matapedia was running high and merky on Opening Day. The Spring Runoff water was 46’ at 8am the first of June. I checked again at 11 am and noted the water level was dropping and the bright warm sunny morning had warmed the water to 49’. I was exploring a new channel that an ice dam had opened up during the spring breakup in April. The water appeared to be fast and shallow but as I waded closer to where it had cut through an island, I saw a deeper 15 to 20 ft wide run that was 6ft deep alongside an undercut bank with overhanging Alders bushes.

I started wading up to my waist in the fast water to within 60ft of the tip of the island and started roll casting in the merky water that had 3ft of visibility. I was armed with a Guideline 3D shooting head, H-S1-S3, with a size 1 black and chartreuse Stonefly, on the end of a short 6ft level leader of 16# green Maxima. I continued to cast further towards the head of the island, and made aerial upstream line mends to allow the fly to sink deeper prior to the line coming under tension and starting to swing. I worked out 3 feet of line for each new cast, and noticed the water was deeper and appeared faster towards the bank. I increased the angle of my casts gradually from 50’ to 75’ and continued to make mends to get the fly to sink deeper on slack line before it stated to swing. I worked out all of the 37 ft sinking shooting head and now began to have to make a single spey cast and shoot my 30# chartreuse coloured OP Laser running line.

This is a soft flat mono line that shoots well and resists tangles but as with all r/lines, is hard to make an effective aerial mend. Now I began to use the Silex’s freespool lever along with the backlash dial set on minimal tension. As the roll cast straightened, I used my left hand thumb to push up the lever engaging the free spool and using a hard fast flick of the rod tip to throw a loop of mono upstream. I was now dropping the fly within a foot of the bank and began to notice little over hanging branches that made accurate casts with a straight leader essential to avoid a snag. I began to step a couple of feet down stream with the rod tip held high kept the Silex in free spool, allowing the fly to sink more as the run deepened.

I continued to step down after two or three casts to work the fly into the dark shaded patches under those over hanging Alders, submerged ledges, and the undercut bank at different speeds and depths. This was an obvious migration route to upstream resting pools so I slowed and worked every inch of water. On my 2nd cast, I tried a deeper slower swing, and on #3, I used the f/s to make a Restigouche Patent drift. This is non swinging horizontal slack line deep presentation that allows the fly to wiggle downstream with the actual current speed for 10 or 15 ft. This drift has been used on this river since the 1880s. I advise sceptics to remember the embarrassment of the centre pinner hooking a couple of steelies as he follows you through a run. After all, the modern centre pin reel and float fishing technique evolved from the Silex and what the Brits called spinning. I’ve heard poachers and Ghillies who had to produce a salmon for the estate’s table used to use this presentation with worms or a leftover cooked prawn from lunch. I wonder if this inspired the Gen. Practioner fly which sporting pinners will use instead of roe bags.

The water depth got deeper as I continued to draw out 2ft of line and stepped downstream and the softer bottom persuaded me to wade back upstream into shallower water. I was now forced to decrease my casting angle and cast further to reach those shade patches further downstream. I still had to make an accurate straight cast with line and leader to avoid snags. I now had to strip in 30ft of r/ line at the end of the swing, or 10 to 15ft more with the Patent which I reeled back on the Silex, and make a down stream roll cast to bring the full sinking shooting head and fly to the surface. I paused to let the current hold the s/h and fly straight before pivoting and making a single spey cast toward the aiming point while releasing the shooting line to reach the bank 70ft away. This involved lifting the rod higher to be able to cast in the chest deep water.

An accurate straight line presentation on a long cast is challenging and frequently spoiled by excessive power on the forward stroke which causes the fly to over shoot the aim point or bounce back as the line straightens resulting in a spaghetti cast. The Silex f/spool feature cushions this bounce back and gave me an advantage although a couple of casts overshot and the fly hit the bank before dropping in the water. I was now making 35’ angle casts to decrease the speed of the swing, 70ft downstream. I now had to use the free spool to avoid handling more than 3 loops of s/line This avoided the r/line twisting, tangling, or dragging in the fast water. I reeled in 15ft of r/line and now purposefully overpowered the spey cast, and as it began to straighten, it pulled out 15ft of r/line directly off the reel. The weight and force of the entire shooting head allowed me to shoot the mono r/line up to 20 feet off the reel. I kept lengthening my cast sets to cover new water. I made the second 80ft cast of my last set, leaving the Silex in free spool to let the fly drift downstream another 10ft, to sink as deep as possible and avoid skimming on the surface. As the line tightened and the fly swung out from the undercut bank, 4ft under the surface in the 6ft deep run, the Springer hit hard as she rose from her lie in the shade of an Alder and chased and turned on the fly.

The preset check screamed on the old Silex but I was able to use three fingers to apply drag on the coiled r/line on the 2in wide spool.I made her work for the first 50 yards she peeled out before “greyhounding” across the surface and continuing downstream in the fast water. I instantly backed off my fingers when I saw her break surface but instantly reapplied more drag when I saw her continuing down stream. I couldn’t wade any deeper to follow her and my guide was 400 yards down stream in the canoe with another angler. I risked breaking her off, switched hands and applied maximum drag with the fingers and palm of my right hand. My Simms gloves helped but I still got line burns and my knuckles rapped. I managed to stop her and she broke water and made another jump 200 yards down stream.

My only option was to try and reel her in upstream in fast water. I held my rod pointed at her and tried to maintain a 45’ elevation holding it with my left hand. I angled the reel so the free spool lever was pushed up and activated by the Neroda box in my left shirt pocket, and slowly but firmly started to reel her upstream. The salmon calmed down and under a firm steady retrieve in silent free spool, I began to direct her upstream with my rod. Without a vibrating loud annoying pawl check, I managed not to spook her with a silent retrieve with no friction in very fast water. The hen relaxed and forgot about being hooked and slowly swam past me in the current heading upstream. I had continued to reel in and keep pace with her on a light, taunt line. This is an old trick of anglers known as “walking the dog” and can even be used to calm and lead a salmon into the guides net.

I had waded into the shallow water of a sand bar opposite the island while walking my salmon back and thought I could beach her there. As I slowly reapplied drag checking her upstream stroll, she snapped out her trance and became violent. She made several wild dashes across stream towards the island. I was able to snub these runs by palming hard and kept her away from the snags. The quick retrieve feature of the wide shallow arbor spool with twin balanced handles, allowed me to reel in slack line fast when she darted back downstream or back toward midstream. I was able to maintain a semblance of control.

My guide Raymond had seen me wade ashore and was motoring upstream in the canoe for our lunch break. Rather than beaching the salmon on the sand bar which was quite muddy, I let her dog and roll in clearer water until Raymond arrived and was ready to position the net A time check indicated 14 min from the hit at 12pm to being slid into the bag. She was sized, and weighed while resting in the net, and then photoed while being released. I poured us each a dram of Balvenie Caribbean Cask and contemplated my good fortune, realizing I would never have caught and landed that salmon without using a my Silex.

We motored upstream to the Restigouche River Lodge for lunch and I learned that I was being considered for a rare salmon fishing honor. Since the river had cut a new channel and I was the first angler to discover and fish it and then catch a salmon there, the run was going to be named for me. When we explored it’s potential further and checked the seasonal water flows, it was apparent that it was only going to hold enough water to be a migration channel until the middle of June. The deeper section of this migration channel was long and narrow and resembled a dark crack along the bank of the island. Sarcastic friends remarked the run wasn’t much bigger than a prominent feature of my anatomy. I became the “butt” of their humour, and the run was politely referred to in mixed company, as Jim’s Crack.


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