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Grab Bag/Stalefish Grab

The recent style wave sweeping through the ranks of professional wakeboarding is reviving grabs like the stalefish and spinning them into current variations of time-honored favorites. Incorporating stylish grabs into your daily cycle is a highly effective manner of preventing you from becoming stale. Unfortunately, the term “stalefish” might lead you to believe that this grab has a tendency to look a bit stinky. The truth is actually the opposite: A correctly executed stalefish is not the least bit stink-bug and can be quite sweet and fresh. The question, then, is where did this seemingly unrepresentative name come from? We don’t know. But we do know that we like them.
Make sure you have a smooth and progressive approach to the wake. As you hit the wake, extend your legs, making the most of your pop and taking your lift up, not out. Once you reach the peak of your jump, bend your knees up and reach down and grab your board with your rear hand. Make sure your arm goes behind your leg and you grab on the heelside edge between your feet. It is incorrect to grab between your rear foot and the tail; tail fish is a no-no. Once you have a firm grasp on your board, straighten your rear leg, pointing the tail back in the direction you just came from. Try to keep the board as level as possible. Dragging your tail will cause you to lose valuable points with the judges.

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