are fastened to a stripping basket however there are situations where it is desirable to remove the stripping basket such as on a crowded boat while awaiting a turn to fish by having complimentary fasteners strap 156 a may be fastened to strap 156 b when the stripping basket is removed keeping the straps 156 a and 156 b from dangling and possibly getting caught on something while on a boat fig6 shows a side cutaway view of a stripping basket 100 in accordance with the present invention during preparation for stowing base plate 104 is folded towards front wall 120 as indicated by arrow the line separators 108 are configured to fit through slits 132 fig3 to provide optimal compactness during stowing in one embodiment base plate 104 is removable and is simply placed against front wall 120 for storage in another embodiment the base plate 104 is foldable in this embodiment the base plate 104 is attached to stripping basket 100 at pivot point 123 thereby allowing the base plate 104 to be folded in to position against front wall 120 fig7 shows a top down view of a stripping basket 100 in accordance with the present invention during preparation for stowing after base plate 104.