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"shooting a line"- - a fishing term?

Posted by Bruce Kahl on September 03, 2000

In Reply to: Meaning and origin of: posted by Dave Edwards on September 03, 2000

: Can somebody out there tell me the meaning and or origin of the saying "shooting a line"

The only time I ever heard this term was at my feeble attempt a few times at fly casting on a lake in upstate NY.
In a standard cast the fly line and rod are lifted with a smooth motion in an up and back direction. This backcast motion is stopped when the rod reaches slightly past vertical. As the fly line begins to fall or straighten out, the forward cast begins with increasing acceleration as the wrist snaps the rod from the eleven to the one o'clock positions, shooting the line and fly forward toward the presentation area.
Then there is the drug culture saying of "doing lines"--the setting up of 2" x .125" "lines" of a substance to be inhaled.

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