LL Bean Stripping Basket

I'm learning that finding the old style LL Bean "hard" stripping basket is alot like catching the end of the proverbial rainbow. I found a version on E-Bay called "NEW Stripping Basket" for only $69.99! That's right folks, only $69.99!....

Are there any laying around out there that need a new home, or can you suggest a better source? I would be happy with the Orvis standard basket, as it is essentially very similar.

Used and decent shape will do fine. I get to a beach infrequently: There's not much surf in Western Colorado. I will see the California coast in mid-September...

Thanks for your help,

Dana

Colorado-

I think the "new" LL Bean style is now manufactured by a company in Denmark called Linekurv. Price is dependent on the exchange rate- now about 42 bucks and shipping around 14.

I fish a lot for striped bass here in the northeast surf. A simple solution is a Rubbermaid dish pan and a bungee cord (with hooks). Drill or burn a hole (with a hot nail held in a pair of pliers) in the rim of each of the short sides for the hooks of the bungee cord to go through, and wear it around your waist (you can adjust the bungee cord by just tying some knots to take up slack if you need to adjust the tension). The beauty of it is you can flip it up and out of the way to see where you're walking if you fish rocky shore lines or uneven bottoms, and just flip it down to hold your line when you're ready to cast. I've been using one for 30 years. I don't bother drilling holes in the bottom or using any cones or heavy weed whacker mono etc, just the plain old dish pan and it doubles as a handy place to put wet stuff in the truck and packs easily for trips in luggage since you can just fill it with stuff.

Good luck,

mark

Another basket purchasing option.......
Get on Orvis's mailing list. They send out coupons for $25.00 off a $50.00 purchase. It seems they do this about once a quarter.
That takes the price of the Orvis basket from $59.00 down to $34.00.

I've got three of the LL Bean baskets. They work great. You'll find someone selling them occassionaly.

Good luck.

I may end constructing a stripping basket. I have mesh basket that failed miserably. I like the feature of keeping the line from tangling when you move.

My concern with purchasing from Denmark is the slow boat and my time frame. I purchased a Hardy reel overseas and that took six weeks to transit the Atlantic...
well outside my time frame.

Any other sources out there?

Sorry to suggest something you didn't ask about, but it sounds like you're traveling and the Mangrove Hip Shooter is great for that. Personally, I prefer it over all of the other options I have tried, including the Bean-type bucket and my old mesh nightmare that collapsed around the stripping line constantly. The price is only slightly cheaper than the Orvis basket, but there are a lots of folks who fish the surf out here in California who swear by the Hip Shooter. That said, I do like the idea of DIY stuff and I'm sure whatever you make will be great, if you go that route.

Thanks Sean. My concern with regard to the hip shooter is wether there are devices that keep the line seperated and from tangling. The images that I have seen don't show the base. The general idea looks good though for one or two hand stripping. Can anyone comment further?

My Hip Shooter came with two sets of removable inserts for line management, one thin and one thick. The only downside for me is that I have to keep track of them, but I suppose I could always just epoxy them in permanently if I didn't need to break it down for travel. I always use the thin ones, but the thicker are more reminiscent of the Bean/Orvis approach, and some people like them. For me, the narrow, pliable thin inserts work best with mono shooting lines.

Thanks Sean.