Saltwater 101 - Making Your Own Stripping Basket for $10

Time/Date: 1140, 13-Apr-11
Location: F'ton (aka, 1.5 hour drive from the coast)

Let me be clear: I'm not teaching Saltwater 101; I'm taking the course. For me, it's been very much a self-directed study course. I'm sharing whatever useful resources I come across for those in the same newbie-boat as I am.

(For a partial list of my winter Saltwater 101 reading list, click here)

In the books, magazines, blog & forum posts I've come across, one necessary piece of equipment always mentioned for saltwater fly fishing is a stripping basket.

The stripping basket keeps the fly line contained when you strip it in to keep it from tangling around your feet due to wave & current action (it can also be worn on a boat to keep it from snagging, etc.)

As I desire to at least look like I know what I'm doing once I start chasing stripers this spring, I did a quick google search to see where a newbie like myself would purchase a stripping basket.

• Orvis; it costs $59.
• William Joseph; it costs $32 (but mesh is not suitable for surf, as waves tend to tangle the line).
• A company called Mangrove (?); it costs $50 at Cabelas.

After a person drops hundreds of dollars on rods, reels, lines, backing, waders, flies & fly boxes, various vests & packs....$50-$60 is kind of excessive for a plastic tub.

Here's the $10 solution.

Material & tool list:

• Plastic dish pan ($3.89 at Sprawl-mart).
• Small, 1 sq ft chunk of outdoor carpet (free from nice dude at a flooring shop).
• Tube of Krazy Glue ($3.99 at hardware store) or hot glue gun (read Step 4 before buying Krazy Glue, please)
• 1 18" bungee-cord or perhaps longer if you're a little...ummm..."huskier" (laying in bed of truck for 9 months).
• A drill or screw or nail + candle or some other method of putting two holes in the dish pan.
• A carpet / utility knife, for cutting the carpet.
• A pen or marker or bloody finger tip or some other method to mark where the two holes in the dishpan will go.

That's it.

A note about the dishpan:

1. Choose a light colour. If you are fishing in low-light conditions (like you should be if you want any success in this whole striper-madness thing), it will reflect the light, making it easier to tie knots, etc.
2. They make various depths of dishpan. The deeper one will help keep the line in place in windy conditions & in heavier waves.
3. DO NOT put drain holes in. Waves will hit the bottom of the basket & water entering will lift the line up, increasing risk of tangles. I will explain how to easily empty the basket of water below.

Making the basket

Step 1: Measure & cut 4 strips of the outdoor carpet. Make the strips 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide, and long enough to fit the width of the bottom of the dishpan. Use the outdoor carpet, the knife & perhaps the marker for this step, in case you're wondering...

Step 2: Take the bungee cord and mark where the hole for the hook will go near the corner of the dishpan. The dishpan will go against your waist length-wise, so along the same (long) side, repeat this near the other corner. This is where that marker comes in handy again.

Step 3: Using some manner of hole-making device, make a hole in the side of the dishpan where you made your marks. SEE BELOW FOR IMPORTANT NOTES!

I used a combination of a screw, screwdriver and a candle to heat the screw to make it easy to start the hole. This was a more quiet method, as I didn't wish to wake my beautiful gf with an 18V DeWalt drill.

• Important note #1 about step 3: if you're using the candle method, use something to hold the screw. Don't whine to me about burning your fingers, dumb-ass.
• Important note #2 about step 3: if you're doing this method indoors, do it in the kitchen & run the range hood fan, so the smoke of burning plastic doesn't set off the smoke detector (and thus waking up your beautiful gf).
• Important note #3 about step 3: Make sure the hooks of the bungee cord A) fit easily into the holes and B) point down so they do not snag your line.

Thought those were important to pass along...

Step 4: Wipe the inside & bottom of the dishpan clean, and glue the four strips of outdoor carpet to the bottom of the dishpan.

(DISCLOSURE: The tube of Krazy-Glue I bought for this sucks ass. Seriously sucks ass & is useless. I will be re-doing this with a glue gun as soon as I publish this post. Honesty & transparency & all that crap...)

Like so:

And BEHOLD! There's your completed stripping basket.

Under $10. And hopefully without any burnt fingertips or smoke detectors going off or loud outbursts of swearing because the type of Krazy Glue isn't useful for this particular project.

Wearing the basket

Here's a quick & easy rundown of how to put on & wear your new stripping basket:

1. Hook one end of the bungee cord to the basket.
2. Hold the basket in place against your waist with one hand.
3. Reach around with the other hand, grab the loose end of the bungee cord, wrap it around behind you, and hook it in the other hole of the basket.

C'est tout.

If you are wearing waders & a longer-style rain jacket, put your waders & jacket on first and put the basket on over top. You can use the bungee cord of the basket to tie down your jacket, which helps prevents water from splashing up underneath.

If your basket fills with water, grab the outside edge of the basket & pull it up towards you. When you tip it, the water will pour out on the front of your jacket & waders, which is N.B.D., right?

****

There ya go. Enjoy your new stripping basket & think of me when you have an extra $40 in your pocket.

I must go find a f**king glue gun...

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