here is a little diy project for anyone wanting to make a simple stripping basket for under $20. i found this cool woven plastic basket (31.5″ long, 11″ wide, 8″ deep) at target last weekend. they came in red or black and cost $9.99 each. The fact that the plastic was woven on the sides, eliminated me wanting to put holes in the bottom for drainage, although you can if you like! I prefer stripping baskets to be on the deep end, often times dish pan baskets tend to be shallow and your line will blow out on a windy day. then i took a trip to my local hardware store and purchased 5 – 1/4″ , 4.5″ hex bolts, washers and nuts ($3.20). i drilled five holes through the bottom of the basket and attached each hex bolt with two washers and a nut. the stiffness of these sturdy spikes will really keep your line in place when you move up and down the beach. these stiff spikes eliminate overlaps and shifting causing less tangles when you shoot line.  the last  component i found was an adjustable wide bungee strap – two pack for $6.49, cost for one ($3.25)  the total material cost for this project was $16.44 for a  bad ass basket!

NOTES: Just got some R&D on this basket from a good friend who fished it the other day.  the size was perfect, light weight. the spike threads are causing some friction problems when shooting line, which we need to address. We are dropping  the size of the bolts/spikes to 4″ instead of 4.5 This is obvious but one should note: when you clip the bungee cord it is important to clip from the inside out so your line don’t catch on the bungee hooks. The best solution to the threads may be plastic spikes (no friction) that can be threaded so you can use a washer and nut system to secure in place. I still will try to find a solution to the hex bolt system which is a simple build. Suggestions are welcomed…more to come! It’s almost there…

-Al Q