Very popular in the saltwater flyfishing community, the stripping baskets are a lot more than just accessories. They are truely indispensable if you don’t wanna drive crazy when the flyline hangs upon the ground, sinks while wading, or can’t stop gathering small vegetation debris that will cause huge knots… all of them are very common problems when pike fly fishing, and when we often have more than 20m of line out of the reel.                                text & pics : Jérome Servonnat

Rigid stripping baskets are the best by far. And why ? because the bottom of the basket has a regular shape, and can not be deformed. In the stripping baskets made of nets, the shape of the basket is often irregular and can be easily deformed. This makes the fly lines loops moving and mixing within the stripping basket, for example when you seat in a boat to change your fly. They can be deformed under a strong wind too.

Frankly speaking, it is always better to have a stripping baskets made of nets that no having a stripping basket at all. They are also more compact than rigid baskets. But in terms of efficiency, there is no comparison. With a rigid basket, one can fish without being scared of possible knots in the line that will screw the next cast. And this is true when fishing in the wind, in the surfs, from the shore or from a boat.

One model has particularly retaind our attention : the Linekurv stripping basket. This basket is a reference. Very simple and efficient, very well-prized, it’s got everything you can wait from a stripping basket. The flyline doesn’t tangle thanks to the cones (they maintain the loops in place so they do not mix), we can stock more than 25m of flyline that will go out without a knot, and it is possible to put down the rod on it.

We have tested it during a very windy day, and it is infinitely more efficient than a supple stripping basket. We could not stop wondering : why didn’t we buy one sooner… For saltwater fishermens, it’s a must have. A super product, efficient, robust, that has all the essential. A true safe investement, you won’t be able to fish without it.