A Comparison of Strippers

[T. Wiles]

Line stripping baskets that is.

Someone recently asked me about stripping baskets in a boat, so I figured I would share my improvised attempts.

Good:

 A tall Walmart Laundry basket:
I stack two together, and put a weight in between, so it keeps the baskets down, and gives me a backup, in case I have another fly caster in the boat.

Drawbacks:  it gets in the way, and the  taller basket is easier to knock over.  Also, the line tends to tangle a bit in such a confined small footprint basket. I do NOT believe Walmart carries this size basket anymore.  About $10 each at Walmart.

Better:

A shorter basket, with a slightly wider footprint.   It does not get in the way as badly, and does not get knocked over by wind as easily.  Also, the wider floor is better for getting less tangling of line.  $4 from a Super Ingles grocery store.

Best:

Line Lair from Carbon Marine.  I love this mat so far. Keeps my line under control, It floats, and does not get in the way.  
Only problem is the cost ($130), the maintenance–you have to protect it with UV protectant spray, and it will slide like ice on a smooth wet boat floor if you step on it.

Here’s the link:

http://shop.carbonmarine.com/product.sc?productId=14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tt_h9b6LUAE

So far I am very pleased with this mat for streamer fishing out of my SeaArk.  I’m sure you could get creative and build one yourself for alot cheaper.

[Neal Osborn]

Great stuff TW.  Thanks for sharing.

… and … remember … stri(pp)ers have two breasts, but stri(p)ers [the fish] have only one tail … thus two p’s and one p respectively.   ::)  I thought this would be a good place to tell others my way of remembering spelling.

[Scott K.]

I’m pretty sure you could make a functional replica of the last one with a piece of plywood (you can probably fiberglass it if you want) or maybe even a thick doormat or bathmat, drilling sets of holes in it (each hole would be a quarter inch from its neighboring paired hole).  The pairs themselves three or four inches from the neighboring pair.  The nubs would be replaced by running weedwacker line up through the pairs to create a small hoop shape that sticks up.  You may need to countersink the knots on the underside.  Saw one of these one time, looked pretty slick.

[andrew stoehr]

Great stuff TW.  Thanks for sharing.

… and … remember … stri(pp)ers have two breasts

[Douglas Barnes]

A buddy of mine uses on of these on his skiff with a few lead weights on the bottom to keep it in place. I thought it was pretty genius:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/catalog/servlet/Search?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&keyword=Collapsable%20trash&Ns=None&Ntpr=1&Ntpc=1&selectedCatgry=SEARCH+ALL

[Mark Sides]

On my last trip out they had these on all the boats.
These are the latest version offered with more spacing between the “nubs”.
We had constant wind in excess of 20mph and these mats made all the difference between having your stripped line laying in the bottom or getting blown off the deck.

We didn’t encounter any problems with them being too slick and sliding around on the deck…they held in place nicely.

The cost is prohibitive unless you spend a lot of time on the water but they function really well, I had zero line snags at times when it was getting peeled off in a hurry.

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