re: Freespooling

I've also heard it used to describe a technique to turn a fish that is tearing downstream and stripping the line off your reel and the skin off your thumb. The theory is that the fish will struggle against the pressure exerted by the hook and line...when ripping downstream, the fish has all the force of the current working in its favor. I've lost many fish this way--trying to hold 'em tight while they're Japan-bound.
So, in order to turn such a fish, you freespool--let out line as fast as possible, trying to form a u-turn of line below the fish. In order to fight the pressure of the line, the fish must now swim upstream, toward you.
This technique is particularly effective with bigger fish that are drifting slowly downstream away from you...unless you're using choker cable for line.
The problem I often have with this technique is that it's counter-intuitive. When I get a hookup I usually try to keep all the slack out of the line--to keep the hook set. But with time I've learned that risking slack is worth it (and in the case of the the more acrobatic species, inevitable anyways).
Tight (no pun intended) lines!