Hi hearme

First off once youve cast and the lines hit the water, the course of action depends on what fly or flies you are using.Let say you where using a weighted PTN, you would let the fly sink a few feet then start your retrieve, then next cast allow the fly a few more seconds to sink and so forth,with a dry you will probley leave it static or give a couple of twitches , some flies like motannas need to have a couple of good pulls to get them to start sinking as they hold air around them.
Stripping line is normally done with "if right handed" with your right hand around the handle and your index finger looped around the fly line, you will strip back the line with your left hand , using the right index finger to hold the line while your left goes back up to grasp another pull.
I think most of us use the line stripped through the rod and not on the reel, to be honest its alot easier, when youve got a load of line at your feet.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck mate Gaz "dont be afraid to ask question"