Our Florida Keys Jacks don’t get enough credit. They are amazingly fast and powerful with plenty of stamina. They aren’t too picky with the presentation or fly selection but they make up for it in unpredictability.
The presentation needs to be within 2-4 feet. The key to the hook up is in the speed which not only you deliver the fly but how quickly you gain line control after the delivery. Many people miss the take because after the cast the fish will turn, eat the fly, and spit it before the angler has gained control of the line. One way of preventing this is to get in the habit of keeping the line in the circle created by your index finger and thumb in your line control hand as the line shoots on your final delivery stroke of the rod. At no point in false casting and delivery does the line leave the line control hand. This will allow the angler to clench the line as soon as the fly hits the water, tuck the line under your favorite rod hand finger and start stripping. Unless you “trout set” the fly out of the zone, there will be no way you can strip fast enough to prevent the jack from eating it. Once hooked up hang on. You will be shocked.