Phil,

I have not tried a casting blanket. Not sure I've even heard of that to be honest. I did buy a line basket that fits on my hip. I tried that thing a couple of times and it just ended up pissing me off. Apparently, my strip length is a lot longer than most people because my hand always ended up well below the lip of that thing. I found myself screwing up my retrieve because I was so worried about making sure that everything was going into the basket. At this point, I let the line lay right on the boat floor where I am casting. yes, it gets tangled now and then and yes, I step on the shit now and then too but overall it works out fairly well. If the winds start getting around 15-20mph, I find that if I can kneel in the front of the boat, it helps out big time to keep the line from flying all over the place.

Damn I love this sport!!!