FLY CASTING BASICS #6 - Stripping Line

Stripping Line

Being able to successfully cast a fly into the ‘fishing area’ is only the first step in an effective fly-fishing routine. Next comes the ‘house-keeping’ part of the process when it is necessary to keep that fly-line under control.

The most common method of fishing New Zealand’s relatively fast flowing streams is to ‘dead-drift’ the flies by casting upstream and then letting them float back down with the current. As a result, here is a build-up of slack line between the angler and the flies as they drift back downstream. If left unattended this slack makes it difficult to either efficiently re-cast the line or set the hook when a trout takes the fly. However, by ‘stripping’ (gathering) the line as it floats back downstream it is possible to eliminate the slack.

Having cast the line, the first step for efficient ‘stripping’ is to then place the line using the left hand, over the extended forefinger of the right hand. With the line in the left hand it is a simple matter of drawing it over the right hand and catching it under the right forefinger.

Now, with the line trapped under the right-hand forefinger, quickly reposition the left (stripping) hand facing upwards and catch the line again between the index and third fingers. (In fact, it won’t take much practice to perfect this left-hand grip as part of the process of trapping the line in step one above).

‘Stripping’ is then achieved by gripping the line between the thumb and first two fingers of the stripping hand and rotating the hand back towards the angler. ‘Grip, rotate, let go’, all the time keeping the line between the index and third fingers. This means that the stripping hand is effectively never off the line and this will ultimately ensure more positive setting of the hook. It is important to strip fast enough to eliminate any slack, but not so fast that the fly is dragged through the water. The faster the water, the faster the stripping action will need to be.

Some anglers use a long (40 – 50 cm) slow pulling action to strip the line. However, with this technique there is always a brief period when the left hand is completely off the line, (as it moves forward again to re-gather the line before commencing another strip). If a trout takes at this moment many strikes will be missed because it is instinctive to grab for the line with the left hand first. This is particularly an issue when nymph fishing, where quick strikes are needed to get a hook-up.