Fishing:

Getting Started in BTBFF - Part V: Essential Extras

Staying Under Control

A line management gadget of some sort can be a big help when fishing from a boat. While it's possible to use weighted netting or tape to make your boat more "fly-fishing friendly", a line management device is an easy, clean way to fix the problem. Line management devices can take several forms:

• The traditional solution is a stripping basket. The conventional waste-high body-centered basket will work, especially if you like to use a two-handed strip. However, this type of stripping basket has some drawbacks when used BTB:
  
  • If you leave it on, with line stripped out and your rod at-the-ready, you can not move around the boat without taking the rod with you. If you spend a lot of time running the boat, this is a definite disadvantage.
    
    
  • If you use a single-handed strip, having the basket in front does not allow a full range of hand motion. This restricts retrieve speed.
    
    
  • One solution to the hand motion issue is to move the basket off to the side, and down past hip level. Stan Pleskunas' Hip Shooter stripping basket (now made by Mangrove) is an excellent example of this style of basket. Having the basket down and to the side allows you to make a full stroke of the arm when stripping in the fly. And the Hip Shooter can be removed from the belt when not in use, making it easier to stow when running the boat. The Hip Shooter can be purchased at a number of stores on-line.
• 
  FlyTubez Stripmat
  Another solution is a stripping mat, such as the one made by Fly Tubez. This is a plastic mat with soft plastic tubes sticking up to control the fly line. The soft tubes can be stepped on without hurting either your foot or the mat. These work well at keeping the fly line in one place, but cannot be easily moved about the boat with you.
  
  
• Another option is a Vertical Line Management Device, or VLMD. This kind of device is typified by the Pro-Trim Line Tamer, Pleskunas VLMD, or the Sea Level Fly-Fishing Stripping Bucket. These are basically large diameter, free-standing plastic tubes that you strip your line into. Some are heavily weighted with non-skid bottoms, others are weighted by adding water. Some have spikes or cones to keep the line from moving, others have nothing. Our favorite is the Pleskunas Travel VLMD, which is a bit narrower diameter (12 inches), has a heavily-weighted bottom with swiveling non-skid feet, and line control spikes.
  
  
  
  Pleaskunas VLMD
  Why do we like them so much? After all, VLMDs are bulky, and take up valuable deck space. However, we've found VLMDs to be the best solution overall when you spend a lot of time running the boat trying to locate fish, or if you have to move around the boat.
  
  Since VLMDs have carrying handles, they can be easily picked up and moved. Since they are enclosed, you can't stand on, or trip over, the fly line, And, since they are free-standing, you can safely place the rod in them when you are not fishing.
  
  Our normal approach is to fire off a long cast, and strip the fly back to the boat. We hook the fly onto a guide foot, then place the rod in the VLMD, and place the VLMD in the corner of the cockpit. It stays there, ready to go, until you find the fish. Once you find the fish, it's an easy matter to pick up the rod, shake out some line, and cast. If the fish are on a different side of the boat, just pick the VLMD up, and move it. If someone has to walk by you, same thing.
  
  
• You can also make your own line management device from various wastebaskets, leaf containers or buckets, although the end results are usually not quite as effective as the purpose-built versions. The main problem is height - if the container is too low, it is difficult to get your fly line in the bucket when stripping fast. If it is too high, you can't get an adequate range of motion in your stripping hand to put some speed on the fly.

Do you really need a line management device? Many people do not use them, preferring instead to keep the deck clean, and just strip the fly line on to the deck. If that suits you, fine. However, we've found that between the wind and people running around the boat, leaving the line loose on the deck is not a good idea.

Capt. Scott Leon (Paradigm Shift Charters) was a VLMD skeptic, until he got a chance to try the Pleskunas bucket in our boat, and was given a couple of the Sea Level buckets to try on his boat. How does he feel now?

"I don't know how I got along without them before" says Capt. Leon. "If you're running-and-gunning, or have to troll for long distances but still need to be ready for action, there's no substitute."