Bigdog, when I am free spooling line downstream with a spinning reel I keep the slack out by having my right index finger lightly rubbing the coils as they come off the reel. It still often requires an occassional mend if I'm drifting the float downstream on the opposite side of the river. By keeping the amount of slack reasonable I am able to instantly stop line coming off the spool with the index finger as I simultaneously set the hook on a bobber down, while quickly cranking the the handle lefthanded to trip the bail closed. I usually do a longer downstream, and upstream, drift than others to cover more water w/o having to hike as much. It's a little more common to get a marginal hookup when the float is a long ways away, especially downstream, so it's better to work over a section with shorter drifts and move yourself around to cover water, when you can.

RT