Home made stripping basket

Do most of you who flyfish from the yak use stripping baskets? So far I haven't really seen the need for it but then again my experience is very little.

I found this http://www.lyndenhuggins.com/Fly%20Fishing/Stripping%20Basket/How%20To%20Make%20a%20Stripping%20Basket.htm
on the web and was wondering if you guys think it would do the job? And if it was even worth it in the first place.

Z

Zeelander its only my openion but it looks like that basket would just get in the way. maybe if you where standing in a boat it would do the trick. like I said just my openion.

Pat R

After chuckin' bugz on the yak for the first time tonight I think I agree with you. The hardest thing was to keep line where it should be and the bucket would just be too big. Thanks for the opinion.

Z

Z,

The main purpose of a stripping basket is to hold your running line behind a shooting head.  Whether this is part of the fly line (one piece) or a flat/oval/braided mono attached to a shooting head, that's it.  I have never needed a stripping basket out of a kayak because I can't muscle a cast much beyond 50' while sitting.  If you can, more power to you.  I use standard fly lines out of the yak and a shooting head system for distance whether it be salmon/steelhead or surf.

Also, the best stripping basket I ever used and still have (and I used the rubbermaid with mono fingers and one with the cones in the bottom, and the Orvis foldable) is a grocery basket you get from Safeway or other grocery chain.  They drain well, don't catch waves (tends to take your stripping basket down to your knees), takes a bungee well for around your waist, and has handles to carry your stuff and store it in your car. 

Hope it helps!

rob
jrsyboy

Thanks for the info jrsyboy. I don't think I could manage a cast further than that yet either. So far , I've been able to sit side saddle and strip a good amount of line into the footwell of the yak. It's worked semi tangle free but I think that's just my inexperience causing the problems... I'll be trying out a sinking line setup in BC (Moutcha Bay) so we'll see how I can handle larger fish using this technique.

Z

Z - Here's a sketch of the "Loop Pad" I use. It's a piece of foam sleeping pad with weed eater line loops  glued in. It fits between your legs ( which form the "basket" ), and does a good job of keeping the line from tangling. Tom

Z,

In my SOT (or on it technically), I use big coils laid out in front of me.  If you ever watched a two-hander cast European Style (shooting head overhand, not Spey) or an old timer up on the Eel for steelhead w/ a shooting head, they make big coils (like 5' long) and hang them separately, one on each finger of the stripping hand/lower hand of a two-hander.  When they cast, they open their fingers and the line shoots off the hand.  Pretty slick and very hard to do.

In the yak, I make big loops of line in front of me or I make long loops to my left (I'm right-handed) into the yak.  A 5' long loop has 10' of line, so 3 of these has 30'feet, there's 10'+/- in the rod and 30' in the air.  That's 70' and as I said, I can muscle 50' most of the time, 60-65' on a good Wheaties morning.  Try making your pile of stripped line into longer loops and the tangles will come way down.

rob
jrsyboy

Be sure to stretch and lube your running line before you use it.  I like Russ Peak's Line Dressing distributed by Umpqua (keep the dressing off the shooting head).  I don't have a lot of experience casting from the deck of my kayak, but I found it a welcome platform compared to the one loop in my mouth and three in my hand.  Keep a clear deck and large loops.  For extra distance release your line at a higher trajectory.  If you're still having problems, I would suggest fabricating some kind of stripping apron as opposed to a basket.

Z - Here's a sketch of the "Loop Pad" I use. It's a piece of foam sleeping pad with weed eater line loops  glued in. It fits between your legs ( which form the "basket" ), and does a good job of keeping the line from tangling. Tom

Cool idea Pelican! That looks like a great solution. Thanks for everyone's input. It seems that practice at  line management is the way to making this less of a headache. Then again it's been not much a problem  so a whole lot more fun to come. Loving it!!

Z