Quick Tip For Stripping Loops

I’ve never found a stripping basket that agreed with me. In my mind, it was just one more thing to deal with and likely lose, or forget. Here is a simple way of managing fly line whether fishing from a boat, on shore or wading in the surf. Coiling line in your hand creates tangles that foul your cast, but if you control the loops with your fingers, the line glides out smoothly.

Begin your retrieve by curling your pinky around the line and strip by trapping the line between your ring finger and your pinky. Make the next strip with your ring finger followed by the middle finger. On the last strip, grasp the line between thumb and index finger.

When you are ready to shoot line, just open your hand and let the coils slide off, one by one. One key to this technique is that I never lose contact with the line. I like to always keep a portion of the line wrapped around my pinky so that I can easily begin stripping after the cast.

Not retrieving enough line? Just capture every other strip, letting the odd-number strips drop. This will form larger, more relaxed loops.