By Steve Kantner
You can buy these or like at any Target, K-mart or Sears. They’re just $7 and under – utility cans with lids. This one is 14 5/8″ L x 13 1/4″ W x 16 5/8″ H. Of course, you leave the lid in the car. Makes life on the bank sooo much easier.
[dropcap]I[/dropcap] fish plenty of brushy creeks and canals, most of them from the shoreline. So my ability to manage a fly line is always a major concern. At first, I attempted to overcome the tangles by stripping it onto a plastic tablecloth that I’d spread-out wherever I intended to fish. It would come back covered with brambles and burrs; plus, the wind lifted the edges and scattered the coils.
Using a conventional stripping basket under adverse conditions turned out to be a waste of time. Yet nothing else seemed to work. So initially, I just had to grin and bear it until no less of an authority than Lefty Kreh pointed me towards the nearest K-Mart.
Lefty’s solution was a lifesaver, and I still carry it around today. So what, exactly, is this miracle tool?
I paid less than a sawbuck for a modular storage box that works like a charm – not just for minding line, but for changing locations. It packs conveniently into my SUV. As an additional bonus, my wife gets to use it for transporting groceries without worrying about spills.
If you purchase the right box, you can tote rod, reel and line without having to reel-in when you make a move. Just make a cast, then strip back the fly line, so it’s arranged with the belly on top. Then lay rod and reel (with fly secured) on top of the coils, and you can drag kit and caboodle up or down the bank.
As far as the actual dimensions, I suggest a model that measures approximately 2- by 3-feet, with a depth of at least 18-inches. That’s large enough to do the job, and fit easily into your car.
–SK
