I have always had issues with stripping baskets. I want to make a long strip and with a basket in front of me or high on my side it never felt natural. Hard stripping baskets get pushed around by the water and are clumsy. Mesh ones are usually too shallow and the surf pushes the line out of my basket. To get a basket to hang low enough I had to wear my belt like some homeboy wears his. That isn't my style.

I've been looking for some time for a different solution. Tried to make my own (not much different from purchased solutions) and then Capt. Doug Jowett turned me on to this other model. It is a deep mesh basket in a 14" cube shape. It hangs off of your wading belt and also ties around your leg. This positions it low so your hand never hits it and allows you to get a full strip and then drop your line. 14" is deep so the line will not tend to come out. The basket will also stand upright on a deck or can be tied around your waist or even neck for those deep water situations. The 1/4 mesh will not retain water (the older model on sale has a finer mesh and was modified for this reason.) They even claim it can be used as a landing net. The mesh is similar to a trout net. Granted I have not yet had a chance to use mine (I'm in snow country) but I thought it looked good enough to purchase and now that I've looked at it I'm impressed enough to post this.

Below is the link. They even have a video. I'll let you know if I still like it after I give it a try.

http://www.flyfishbasket.com/

jed