SEMPERFI NANOSILK A Review by Terry Babich

Terry Babich

You are a fly tier who’s really spent time on a fly. It’s looking so good that you’re ready to eat it yourself and you just want to race down to the water to cast it at a fish.

There’s nothing more frustrating than when all that’s left to do is to whip finish it and a huge bundle of cotton downs itself onto the hook or all of your delicately placed materials begin to teeter on the shank and SMASH - your thread breaks as you try to trap down your materials or finish the fly.

There is absolutely nothing worse than thread breaking or a huge clump of cotton appearing miraculously on the end of your hook when finishing your fly.

Generally I use the thinnest thread I can on a fly to get a good finish but still maintain its structural integrity. For example, I would normally use 8/0 thread on a nymph. It often breaks but the fly looks good.

Now I am using a Nano Silk 18/0 and it’s virtually unbreakable. I bet you held your breath when I said that.

I started off with the thicker Nano Silk and just went thinner and thinner and thinner. I have just received notification that they now have a 24/0. Holy cow! If this has half the strength of the 18/0 can you guess what I will be using next? Imagine tying that horrible mind-blowing minute size 20 dry? 24/0 thread? It’s a no-brainer.

When it comes to colour range I will admit that the Nano Silk colours are a little dull compared to other threads. I overcome this by buying white and using a permanent marker to add whatever colours I need. As a result of this my eight-hundred capacity spool holder is looking a little redundant right now.

Unless I need to build a head or cover up something like lead I find myself pulling out my bobbin permanently loaded with Nano Silk all day long. It is fairly slippery though and you might find it slips a little when you start it on the hook shank.

If you just wrap it over itself, like you should when starting a tie, you will soon find that this isn’t actually a problem at all. In fact, you can wrap to your heart's content without building up an unnecessarily bulky or unsightly underbody.

Because this thread does not build up bulk it’s great for those guys who tie nymphs and want to minimise the surface area of the fly as much as possible. This product allows for a small head and the thinnest body finish on your fly that you could possibly dream of.

Your flies are going to be strong, thin, fishcatching machines. Why would you not try it? The little extra you might pay is returned double-fold in benefits. If you haven’t tried it already I suggest you get down to your local tackle shop or jump on the net and order some .. quickly!

Semperfl Nano Silk is available in the following variants:

3/0 (approximately a 180 denier) Breaking Strain 7,600g strongest in test Recommended hook: #10-#2/0 and above

6/0 (100 denier) Breaking Strains 3,800gm strongest in test Recommended hook: #10-#2/0 and above

12/0 (50 denier) Breaking Strains 1,900gm strongest in test Recommended hook: #8-#18

18/0 (30 denier) Breaking Strains 1,140gm strongest in test Recommended hook: #16-#32

24/0 (20 denier) Breaking Strains 0,750g mstrongest in test Recommended hook: #18 and smaller

Want to have your product reviewed?

I have been asking suppliers to the flyfishing market for tackle or fishing related items for review. No-one seems to have anything they want me to check out! Oh and no I am not angling for free goods, just an opportunity to test or get the real lowdown on products and present it to the public from an anglers point of view. I might be critical but I sure won’t say it is good if I don’t believe it myself. If you have something that you think needs to be shown and are brave enough for an honest review about it t h e n c o n t a c t m e a t ofishallybabich@gmail.com and let’s do it!

Let's see what you have to offer and how it stands up to the BABICH destruction test . The SA market is a tough one and needs good quality products tested under local conditions. This is a good platform to use to present your goods to the market or make them aware of an already existing product.