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Jan 21 2019

Slack is the Enemy, 3 Examples Why

No Slack Here! Photo: AK West Archives, 2010

Fly fishing words to live by, “Slack is the Enemy”

The cast, the feed, and the fight. 3 crucial steps to success in fly fishing and guess what, slack can ruin them all!

  1. The Cast – when slack finds its way into your cast, it ruins your line speed. 
  2. The Feed – if slack occurs when you are retrieving your fly, it can result in missed strikes because you lose connection with the fly.
  3. The Fight – the fish tries to generate slack when flighting so that the hook falls out.

When in doubt, always try and stay connected. Tension while casting is needed to load the rod and generate line speed.  When presenting the fly, you always need to be connected to the fly so that you can feel the eat and quickly set the hook.  Quite possibly the worst time to lose connection and get slack is when fighting the fish.  Its almost like they know what they are doing. When a fish jumps out of the water or runs straight at you, slack can occur and the fight will shortly end. I don’t think I can beat this horse any further into the ground but one last time, avoid the slack!

More Timeless Tips:

  • Casting: Creep vs Drift
  • Casting Heavy Flies
  • Mousing for Rainbow Trout

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