Stripping basket for kayak fishing

[denver1911]

Hi all. I am not new to kayak fishing. Been doing it in fresh water for 15 or so years. Among others, I have a Wilderness Systems Ride X that I can stand in. This is my primary kayak for fishing fairly stable water.

I AM new to salt water fly fishing. I've fished for redfish once and am going on a three day school in Georgetown, SC in two weeks.

I plan a DIY trip back to the Georgetown area in April. I will be taking my yak and want to be prepared. When fly fishing from it in warm water, I never worried about a stripping basket. Casts are generally pick-up/lay-down and little line actually winds up in the boat or water around me. I am also not subject to having to clear the line quickly as a strong fish in shallow water runs for the horizon.

So, do I need a stripping basked for using from my kayak whilst fly fishing for redfish? If so, how does it work? Get one that straps to me and use it while standing? Of does something stay on the boat?

Many thanks!

 

[Rip Tide]

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[dakotakid]

I'm curious what happened to this tread. I posted a reply with photos, that disappeared later in the day. I now see that Rip Tide's reply is blank. Can anyone explain why this happened?

 

[Rip Tide]

I'm curious what happened to this tread. I posted a reply with photos, that disappeared later in the day. I now see that Rip Tide's reply is blank. Can anyone explain why this happened?

Good question
I posted twice in this thread and that wasn't my edit.

 

[dakotakid]

I'll try this again and hope that my previous post wasn't deleted because I mentioned something inappropriate.

I use a stripping basket made from a child's step stool that cost me less than $10. Don't know where I bought it and can't find an identical one anymore on the internet. The closest one is the Dreambaby anti-slip step stool, but Graco and a couple other companies offer something similar.

The dimensions on mine are roughly 14.5 x 10 x 5.25 inches and the curvature makes it very comfortable against the waist. I drilled side-by-side holes in various places on the bottom and used zip ties to replicate benefit of lugs used by commercial ($50) stripping baskets. The zip ties are fairly stiff and can be cut to most any length. This stripping basket is small enough to be functional while sitting on a kayak, yet big enough for wading or surf casting. I also drilled some additional holes for faster water drainage, which is advantageous if you use the stripping basket for surf casting in sizeable waves. Though it wasn't planned or anticipated, the holes on the side work well to hold the butt of the fly rod.







It's also durable enough to sit on, if you flip it over.

 

[denver1911]

Not sure if that'll work in my yak, but it looks fantastic!

 

[Rip Tide]

Okay, I'll go again as well

You can see my stripping basket in the picture below. But I never use it in my kayak.
When sitting, it would only be in the way. In fact when using the kayak as transport, the basket gets strapped to the back deck.

When kayak fishing, I'll often put a towel in my lap to serve as a stripping apron, just like the apron on a float tube.
It doesn't get in the way and also protects my lily white legs from the sun
The challenge in the kayak is line control. When you're stripping like mad, the line often goes right over the side into the water.
Concentrating on coiling your line in your lap and developing that muscle memory is the solution

 

[mcnerney]

I'm curious what happened to this tread. I posted a reply with photos, that disappeared later in the day. I now see that Rip Tide's reply is blank. Can anyone explain why this happened?

Dakota: I'm not positive, but I think it might have something to do with the server work that Colin is doing moving data from the old server to the new one. Tom (aka tpo) sent me a pm this morning, his thread on his recent trip report to the Lochsa river is now missing. I did an advanced search and it comes up empty. I remember the thread as it had some awesome photos and I had replied to it.

 

[robinfick]

An idea I pinched off YOUTUBE for a stripping mat for my SUP. Take a pimply rubber mat and use cable ties as the stand up pieces to catch the line. Trim the cable ties to three to four inches. Lies flat and rolls up when not in use.

 

[karstopo]

The towel solution that Rip Tide mentioned works well for many for sitting and fishing. Standing up, I just strip the line at my feet. I try to fish barefoot and that way there are no laces or straps to snag the loose line. The more you do this, the better you get at stripping the loose line into the right spot without even thinking about it or looking. I leave one or two fly rods in the forward space of my Commander and they serve as an aid in not letting the line clump in one spot. Not all kayaks are configured the same, so this may not work in yours.

I've fished in boats with smooth decks, trolling motor mounts, and other issues and just tried to strip in a way that the line doesn't tangle. You just learn not to pick up your feet and step on the line. Some line is better than others for resisting tangles and it helps to stretch your line as you begin your day to get rid of any reel set. I've found the Airflo tropical punch and my SA bonefish are better at resisting tangles than my Rio bonefish line. The only time the Airflo tangles is when I land a smaller fish and place the net and fish on the pile of loose line. Another reason to put a fish on the reel, but it's hard to do this if the fish is small.

 

[wf0]

Ditto what RipTide and Karstopo said. A T-shirt works in a pinch.

 

[ejsell]

Great info and advice I'd follow for the kayak. If you do get a stripping basket for other purposes I stumbled across this one at bass pro shop last month while in Florida. I had been eye balling different ones for a while and contemplating a DIY project because I couldn't find one I really liked. This one worked great in the surf and on the rocks. I'll probably use it at my local reservoir fishing on the rip rap. It hung nicely from my sling when not in use. I figured I could use it for a net if I'd actually needed to land a fish.... that didn't happen, can't get rid of my salt water skunk

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Rip Tide]

The issue with those mesh baskets is that your line tends to pool in the middle creating a potential bird's nest
Anyone that I know that uses such a thing has purchased or invented a solid "floor" with with some sort of cones or fingers to keep the line loops separated
This is the only example that I found on-line and the originator says it's plywood with corn skewer handles

My buddy built his with mono "fingers" but I'm afraid that I don't remember what he used for a base

 

[ejsell]

The issue with those mesh baskets is that your line tends to pool in the middle creating a potential bird's nest
Anyone that I know that uses such a thing has purchased or invented a solid "floor" with with some sort of cones or fingers to keep the line loops separated
This is the only example that I found on-line and the originator says it's plywood with corn skewer handles

My buddy built his with mono "fingers" but I'm afraid that I don't remember what he used for a base

That's a great idea. I'll look into doing something similar.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[racine]

I initially opted for simplicity so when I got to my target area, I removed all foot pegs, clutter and paddle off the deck and just cast. Simple right? I found my toes and other misc. items still tangled my line so on a full day on the marshes I did bring the Kreh basket and though it was another implement for the canoe, casting was a dream especially on windier days. When it's dead calm and your casting under 50 ft. it's not as necessary.