Piscivorous Pike Posted February 1, 2013 Report Share Posted February 1, 2013 I needed a stripping basket to handle the bushels of line laying on the bottom of my meager 15 footer. Not my idea but I made two that work great for me. I saw a YouTube video whereas the poor fellow opened up a collapsible hamper to use as basket. It popped open and "skirred 'im bad! He done fell overboard" Great laugh! With pity for him, I took his idea to a sweet end this time. For those that may not know, when fly fishing often you have a pile of line that you use in casting at your feet. In wading waters or cluttered boats it aint a good situation as it will tangle, Murphy's law. Some type of line creel or basket is often worn around the waist to catch that working line. The manufacturers charge big money for them. For the DIY'er a basket can be made form a plastic dish pan, however in Wal-Mart's baby section is a stepping stool for toddlers that when turned upside down is then a basket with contoured sides that fit ageing fattening bodies well. Often adding pins or pylons to the baskets keep the line from shifting around when using it. In this one I first took 1/4 inch water tubing and made a U, from under the basket I fed a cable tie through the U and locked it off with a buckle from a second tie. That was too "busy" of a project so I settled on just using 4 inches of the cable tie sticking up and locked off with a buckle put on it. Some folks drill two holes in the container for each cable tie and bend it around through its own buckle. That will work for one season because they are made of nylon and age and fatigue and will break at that sharp turn, It is far better just to take a buckle from another tie. The best and cheapest basket is a round collapsible hamper, they come is sizes. Strap it on a belt or just put it on the floor of the boat, You can leave it on your belt folded up. But the neat trick from it is that is has two ties that lock it close and when only one tie is used it opens on an angle and lies comfortably on your leg and out of the way. This basket keeps the line out of the way. After a 30+ year hiatus fly fishing, my home remedy for nerve damage rehabilitation is to take up fly fishing (again,,,) . Like roller skating or swimming, it's all coming back to me and now that I am forced into retirement, I have a new avenue in fishing to look into and spend all my money on! LOOK OUT MR. NORTHERN PIKE click on the thumbnails to see bigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
