How fast do you retrieve your line?

[Wetswinger]

I'm still struggling on how fast to strip my line. I two hand strip steadily but wonder if I should quicken the pace, especially with baitfish patterns. I try to put a little action on my squid/shrimp patterns but wonder if I should just race everything back in. Is slow stripping limiting my success.. How do you all do it?

 

[DimeBrite]

I'm still struggling on how fast to strip my line. I two hand strip steadily but wonder if I should quicken the pace, especially with baitfish patterns. I try to put a little action on my squid/shrimp patterns but wonder if I should just race everything back in. Is slow stripping limiting my success.. How do you all do it?

There is no universal strip. Let the fish tell you what to do based on their responses. Knowing the prey item also helps. Amphipod hop is a wrist snap relieve. Clousers need a brisk up/down jigging retieve. Sandlance swim slowly, so a slower seductive relieve helps. Allowing the fly to sink to the bottom like a fleeing baitfish can work, as does a fast jerky retrieve off the bottom. Swinging the fly past submerged rocks or depressions can work at times too. Watch the prey and imitate their motions.

 

[Nick Clayton]

Depends what I'm targeting.

With coho it is always fast and erratic.

With pinks I tend to strip a bit slower and try to emphasize the drop between strips.

For src I strip pretty fast and erratic on average, with a few exceptions. In heavy current I always move it quick. I don't like to give them time to think about it, and in heavy current they are generally in hunting mode and unafraid to eat something that goes zipping by them.

When there isn't a lot of current, or in cases where I know fish are around but they aren't responding to my typical retrieve, I'll start to experiment work slowing things down. Sometimes crawling it across the bottom pays dividends, especially at times when there isn't a lot of current and the fish are hunkered down.

Also, if I know the fish are feeding on something specific I'll match my strip to the natural I am trying to imitate.

A couple years ago a good buddy and I were out on the south sound in November. It was super bright and warm, and we were getting a lot of follows but not a lot of grabs. Early afternoon my buddy was stripping at his standard, fairly fast and erratic pace, and saw another follower. On a whim he started stripping his fly as fast as he possibly could and that following fish suddenly woke up and absolutely slammed his fly. For the rest of the day we repeated that and caught many fish. It was so much fun. The fish would absolutely destroy the fly once we sped it up to ludacris speed.

Never be afraid to mix it up and try new things, especially when you are confident there are fish around.

 

[clarkman]

as stated above, well, it depends. Even within the same fishery it will vary. Even within the same cast, it may vary. Some of my best musky eats happened where I switched to the opposite of what I was doing halfway through the retrieve (e.g. fast cadence to an immediate stop and stall or slow strips to a couple of long and hard strips). Actually come to think of it, often that gets non-commital fish to commit regardless of species, regardless of fresh or salt.

 

[Wetswinger]

Great advise guys. Thanks. I definitely need to mix it up more..

 

[Leland Miyawaki]

I fish my surface fly with long slow retrieves with a little hop at the end. It imitates a wounded baitfish so I only need to leave a V wake. When large coho come up behind I pick up the pace which usually provokes the eat.
Leland

 

[mtskibum16]

As stated above, it really depends. Mainly on what you are fishing for.

That said, a wise man once told me "you can't out-strip a coho" and I have generally found fast retrieves best for actively feeding coho.

 

[jasmillo]

As most have already said, for me it totally depends. Coho go to is a very fast retrieve generally, single or two handed. SRC go to for me is a steady, fairly fast single hand strip. If I’m not getting the response I want, I start adjusting speed, type of retrieve, etc. In winter, if SRC are not being aggressive, I often fish so slow I’m ticking the bottom nearly every cast. I also often switch to more natural flies - color and style wise. Don’t get frustrated when conventional wisdom is not working. Catching SRC and coho is very easy….when it’s easy. Both species can be crazy aggressive and many days it’s more about finding them than technique. As much as I love it when things are easy though, I get waaaaaay more satisfaction when on a tough day adjustments and experimentation with retrieve, flies, color, etc. lead to hooked fish.

 

[mems]

I think every fish has a preferred speed and action. It also depends on the prey they are focusing on. Trevally like it fast then faster and will hit on the pause. Queen fish like a fast erratic strip. Rosters like it very fast and the two hand retrieve is the best way to trigger a strike. Mahi, ahi and Ono all like it fast, but a popper will trigger a strike. My experience with salmon is a slower strip but it is good to add erratic action if they are holding deep. Jigging a fly and making it look crippled also will get strikes. It just takes a lot of time on the water to crack the code. If you see fish and no reaction then you are doing something wrong.