I have always had issues with stripping baskets. I want to make a long strip and with a basket in front of me or high on my side it never felt natural. Hard stripping baskets get pushed around by the water and are clumsy. Mesh ones are usually too shallow and the surf pushes the line out of my basket. To get a basket to hang low enough I had to wear my belt like some homeboy wears his. That isn’t my style.
I’ve been looking for some time for a different solution. Tried to make my own (not much different from purchased solutions) and then Capt. Doug Jowett turned me on to this other model. It is a deep mesh basket in a 14" cube shape. It hangs off of your wading belt and also ties around your leg. This positions it low so your hand never hits it and allows you to get a full strip and then drop your line. 14" is deep so the line will not tend to come out. The basket will also stand upright on a deck or can be tied around your waist or even neck for those deep water situations. The 1/4 mesh will not retain water (the older model on sale has a finer mesh and was modified for this reason.) They even claim it can be used as a landing net. The mesh is similar to a trout net. Granted I have not yet had a chance to use mine (I’m in snow country) but I thought it looked good enough to purchase and now that I’ve looked at it I’m impressed enough to post this.
Below is the link. They even have a video. I’ll let you know if I still like it after I give it a try.
I have the older version of the basket. One nice thing about it is that it compresses small enough to fit into your tackle bag so you always have it with you. No matter what kind of basket you use, it doesn’t help if it is at home
I have noticed however that the line tends to slip around inside and allow loops of flyline to overlap and tangle on the forward cast. This is not a problem with my hard basket that has mono “fingers” sticking up. I have yet to come up with a portable set of “fingers” that can be used with the collapsable basket. In actuality, this problem has limited the usefulness of the collapsable basket for me and if space is not a problem I still use a hard basket. In the boat I prefer to use a line tamer.
I tried this basket and I went back to a hard basket.Yes,it hangs low for a full strip but I wade the surf and the waves will collapse this model.I also found that the line comes out in tangles more that with a hard basket.This is what I have found but you may have better luck.
I have the “total control” stripping basket and like it so far, I think in the collapsable stripping basket it’s the best because it’s big and the bottom is relatively flat.
I agree about adding some kind of fingers would be nice.
I may have found a solution, I have to try it yet…
Finding the perfect stripping basket is like trying to find the perfect wife.i.e. After years of searching you’ll find that everybody likes something different and that none of them are really “perfect” :shock:
FWIW, after trying at least a dozen, I’ve settled with a homebuilt lightweight perforated plastic storge container that has a series of cones glued into the bottom. Belt is a bungee cord. Perfect? NO? Ugly ? Yea, I know. But she’s cheap, works good, gets out of the way when I don’t need her and is low maintenance. This one is a keeper
how deep does the water get before a stripping basket starts to become useless? i don’t live too close to the water, so i go when i get time off. that sometimes means wind and choppy water and wading through surf that can get up to my armpits (i’m 6’0"). will a hard or mesh basket suite me better, in your opinions? i like the hard basket with cones/fingers idea as my biggest problem with having so much line out is tangles which result in short casts. thanks for the info.
A mesh basket is worse than useless when wading deep. The line sloshing around in a confined space is a recipe for tangles.
I’m a hard core surf guy and I still haven’t figured what kind of basket I like there. Waves just pass through mesh, but I can tip my hard basket up to deflect breakers.
I’ve gone from hard to mesh, to both, and back to hard.
This year I’ll build myself another mesh I think.
The shopping baskets from a grocery store are tough, and will last a couple of years.
The largest size wire nuts with stainless or brass screws/washers make good cones
I use the Charlie’s basket as well and love it. Like a pervious poster said, it doesn’t do you any good back at the vehicle or at home. Mine is always in my pack. While I don’t fish out of a boat often, I much prefer to use my basket while fishing out of a boat. When walking on sharp rocks I use it or when fishing from land and not wading.
Sometimes I think that too many people think that baskets are just for the surf. We don’t have saltwater in Wisconsin, but I still wouldn’t be without mine.
I tried the Total Control basket and found the same issues mentioned here. I simply got too many tangles using it, especially after walking with line coiled in in. I still have it though because it packs up small and I find it useful along streams or ponds were I do not need to cast long lines but still need to keep the slack line out of plants, sticks, mud, etc.
For the last year and a half, I have been using the Mangrove Hip Shooter, which is sold through many dealers that sell TFO products. I have found it to be the best all around stripping basket that I have used and a great product at $50.
This high density foam oval shaped basket was put into production after many years of development with contributions from fly anglers across the country. It has two sizes of rigid spikes in the base that can be customized how the angler sees fit. It comes with a hard base with drain holes, a solid base can be ordered as an accessory. The back is higher than the front and provides a nice cue to prevent you from dropping the line outside the bucket. It clips onto a belt ( you provide your own belt - I use a wading belt.) and can be work low on the hip or high on the waist. The foam sides are rigid enough that it does not collapse under the pressure of waves. It has a nice built in rod holder. The bottom comes out and the thing can be folded flat for packing. The foam is much more durable than that used in another foam basket sold for a couple of years by a major fly fishing gear company for a few years. The Hipshooter was designed by the same people that designed that now defunct basket, but the the company that sold the defunct one did not use same quality of materials and construction as the prototypes. Mangrove/TFO is producing the Hip Shooter to the same standard as the prototypes.
I have used it in the surf, walking shorelines, wading, and from boats in protected waters and on the open ocean. Is it perfect. No. It isn’t the best option for deep wading. But overall it is the best I have used.
While I have the Charlie’s basket and am happy with it, I have considered buying the one that Orvis sells for $50. The best thing is that I get those $25 off gift certificates with purchases of $50 or more so I can buy that basket with cones for $25 which is a good deal for anyone wanting a NON collapsable basket.
I’ve posted these pictures here before
This is the home made basket I use
Out of half a dozen or so different styles, both solid and mesh that I’ve made, I like this one the best
I’m just as likely to leave it in the truck nowadaze though, preferring to practice my line management without it
I’m getting better :rolleyes:
