You know summing, but not feathering?

When casting, the line (fishing line) is released from the reel and flies away, and when it hits the water, the tension of the line suddenly decreases and becomes loose. If you handle this incorrectly, it can cause line trouble, and especially when using a bait reel, you will often experience a phenomenon called backlash.

 

So, when bait casting, you use a thumb motion to gently press down on the spool as it rotates at high speed to prevent the line from getting tangled due to excessive line release.

 

This action of reducing line trouble is the same for spinning reels, and when casting with a spinning reel, the action similar to summing a bait reel is called feathering.

 

Feathering, as the name suggests, is a light, feather-like action. The fingers used are mainly the index and middle fingers. The reason for feathering is that when the lure touches the surface, the line tension is lost and the line on the spool relaxes. If you reel in this relaxed state, a phenomenon like the one in the photo below will occur.

 

If you reel in the line without knowing this, the line will be reeled in again due to the weight of the lure and the resistance of the water, and if this reeling is repeated, line trouble will occur.