Rodholders

[texasspud]

Currently running a skiff with rails and I clamp rodholders to them. My new one that will arriving soon has no rails. I'm thinking I need to drill and mount some to the lip on the gunnels. Any advice on brands, where to get them and best practices on istalling greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Dave]

I like these rod holders, with flush mounts. ROD_HOLDERS (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0012292012829a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=flush+mount+rod+holer&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=1&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&Go.x=13&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1)

Install is strait forward... using a sharp spade bit, drill a hole in the gunwale to accept the base tube and fasten with SS screws. The rod holder is separate and removable. You can buy extra bases, install them along the gunwale and then move the rod holders to where you want to use them.

[yellowdog]

Depends on what you are gonna use them for. We use driftmaster rod holders for striper fishing with downrods and ones like Dave suggested above for planer fishing. Not sure if Driftmaster has changed, but my first set rusted when I used them in saltwater. Driftmasters are pretty indestructable. They make several models. You can get adapters to run a "spider rig" set up for crappie fishing also. If you are trolling big plugs, might want to get something beefer than the plastic models out there.

[justaddwater]

I like these rod holders, with flush mounts. ROD_HOLDERS (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0012292012829a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntt=flush+mount+rod+holer&Ntk=Products&sort=all&Go.y=1&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&Go.x=13&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form1)

Install is strait forward... using a sharp spade bit, drill a hole in the gunwale to accept the base tube and fasten with SS screws. The rod holder is separate and removable. You can buy extra bases, install them along the gunwale and then move the rod holders to where you want to use them.

Dave you think those would hold up using downriggers?? I think I want a couple of down riggers for king fishing and I nervious about cutting holes in my gunnel for flush mounts. Just thinking out loud.

[Whatever]

Jaw,

Downrigger mounts, mount the same way those rod holders do,with the difference of Four Bolts instead of screws. With the downrigger mount you will not need to drill no big hole in the middle. Most downriggers bring there own rod holder attached...*thumbsup*

Sorry do not mean to highjack the thread...Now back to the corner I go...*clonk*

[tod0987]

Dave you think those would hold up using downriggers?? I think I want a couple of down riggers for king fishing and I nervious about cutting holes in my gunnel for flush mounts. Just thinking out loud.

JAW

After talking with Dave about thoes I am going to order a set or 2 in white for the boat though they will have the top mount seen Here (http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0012292012265a&navCount=2&podId=0012292&parentId=&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20166-cat410001-cat21300&catalogCode=UK&rid=&parentType=&indexId=cat21300&hasJS=true) which looks to be 4 small holes vs 1 large of the flush mount. With the thought of easier to fill and less to notice if removed.

[texasspud]

Thanks guys. Looks like there's no lack of options out there. Have a Cabela's close by. I'll head down there and check the options out. We'll be using them for trolling white bass, usually under two pounds (we fish freshwater) and drifting for blue cats. The lake has its share of 30-50 pounders, so we'll need something strong here.

[DylanRanson]

I use some rod holders just like the ones from the first post for stripers on the chesapeake. I ise two of them for our mojo rigs (20 + oz) and so far they hav3 held up. Ill be honest that im not convinced they will hold ip to a 20lb+ fish but i should find out this year. We run safety lines just in case

[Dave]

Dave you think those would hold up using downriggers?? I think I want a couple of down riggers for king fishing and I nervious about cutting holes in my gunnel for flush mounts. Just thinking out loud.

Once you have cut the holes in your gunwale, you're going to be dressing it up with (IMO) a very attractive flush mount base for these rod holders. The center hole is approx 1-3/8" diameter, (easily drilled with a sharp spade bit) requiring 4 additional (through) holes for a screw in each corner of the base. Use the appropriate sized SS phillips head machine screws with washer on the bottom and matching SS (nylon) lock nuts... can't remember exactly the size but they are stout, in the neighborhood of #12 or maybe 1/4". These are rock solid mounts and so long as you use a little care when positioning the rod holder into the mounts, (to match the key and gears of the shaft to the keyway and gears of the base) the two should last a very long time. If you are not careful however, and don't seat the rod holder shaft into the base fully, you may end up (as I did)dog-earing the nylon gears under the strain of the heavy drag on a big fish, requiring you to dress up the top of the gears and/or replacing the base or both base and rod holder. Just to be clear, if you fit the rod holders to the bases properly, I have no doubt (after two years of primarily offshore use) that these rod holder are built strong and with long lasting quality.

Pulling inline planers is the most severe test of rod, reel, and rod holder that I can think of while trolling. No matter what you're pulling, your reel drag has to have enough capacity to keep that drag (when set) from pulling line from the reel. A Penn_113H_Reel (http://www.pennfishingstore.com/penn-113h-reel.html) for instance, has a max drag capacity of 20 pounds... which is quite a lot, but with this reel, that's about all the force that can be placed on the rod and holders no matter the size of fish that strikes the bait or lure.

To address the issue of "are these rod holders strong enough for (insert application here)"... the best way to answer that question then, I think, is to consider how much torque the drag on your reels can possibly put on these rod holders, rather than the size of fish you happen to catch. Most experienced trophy or tournament king fisherman will keep there strike drag at only about 2-3 lbs, so as to minimize hooks from pulling loose on the strike from these soft fleshed fish. Unless something has changed since my tournament king fishing days, most serious and dedicated king fisherman are using high quality reels in the range of 2/0 & 3/0, with high (line) capacity, and well tuned and maintained, silky smooth drags.

[justaddwater]

Once you have cut the holes in your gunwale, you're going to be dressing it up with (IMO) a very attractive flush mount base for these rod holders. The center hole is approx 1-3/8" diameter, (easily drilled with a sharp spade bit) requiring 4 additional (through) holes for a screw in each corner of the base. Use the appropriate sized SS phillips head machine screws with washer on the bottom and matching SS (nylon) lock nuts... can't remember exactly the size but they are stout, in the neighborhood of #12 or maybe 1/4". These are rock solid mounts and so long as you use a little care when positioning the rod holder into the mounts, (to match the key and gears of the shaft to the keyway and gears of the base) the two should last a very long time. If you are not careful however, and don't seat the rod holder shaft into the base fully, you may end up (as I did)dog-earing the nylon gears under the strain of the heavy drag on a big fish, requiring you to dress up the top of the gears and/or replacing the base or both base and rod holder. Just to be clear, if you fit the rod holders to the bases properly, I have no doubt (after two years of primarily offshore use) that these rod holder are built strong and with long lasting quality.

Pulling inline planers is the most severe test of rod, reel, and rod holder that I can think of while trolling. No matter what you're pulling, your reel drag has to have enough capacity to keep that drag (when set) from pulling line from the reel. A Penn_113H_Reel (http://www.pennfishingstore.com/penn-113h-reel.html) for instance, has a max drag capacity of 20 pounds... which is quite a lot, but with this reel, that's about all the force that can be placed on the rod and holders no matter the size of fish that strikes the bait or lure.

To address the issue of "are these rod holders strong enough for (insert application here)"... the best way to answer that question then, I think, is to consider how much torque the drag on your reels can possibly put on these rod holders, rather than the size of fish you happen to catch. Most experienced trophy or tournament king fisherman will keep there strike drag at only about 2-3 lbs, so as to minimize hooks from pulling loose on the strike from these soft fleshed fish. Unless something has changed since my tournament king fishing days, most serious and dedicated king fisherman are using high quality reels in the range of 2/0 & 3/0, with high (line) capacity, and well tuned and maintained, silky smooth drags.

I agree that they would hold any drag setting I would use, but that plus the shear weight of the lead ball coming up and down combined together is what I was thinking of.

Whatever: I know there's some that bolt directly to your gunned but the ones I was thinking of fit into your existing rod holders so when not king fishing you could remove them.

[BentRod]

I have 12 Cabelas Quickdraw rod holders on my boat. They are pretty solid, but occasionally if stressed wrong the hinge pin on them will break. It's no big problem because Cabelas replaces them for free, but it does stink to be out of a rod holder for awhile.

The Cabelas 360s won't have that hinge problem (no hinge) and I think they will stand up to just about anything. These aren't cheap plastic rod holders. Once you see them firsthand, you'll realize the quality. The 360s are basically Scotty rod holders with Cabelas name on them.

Driftmasters are also a sweet rod holder that will stand up to anything. They lack the adjustability of the 360s, but will also outlast the boat (provided they don't rust). With those you have to make sure you buy the one's for the right or left side of the boat. The threads are different to prevent the rod holder from giving way under stress.

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r307/Tgearly/Skiff/100_0936.jpg

[Dave]

Scotty does make these rod holders for Cabela's. If you like that mount for the 360's, WalMart sells the scotty's WalMartScottys (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Scotty-Power-Lock-Rod-Holder/7679605?sourceid=1500000000000003260410&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=7679605)

They also sell a similar rod holder and mounting system branded by Cannon WalMartCannon (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10710712&findingMethod=rr)

Because I'm partial to the flush mounts, and because I order regularly from Cabela's, I get mine from that outlet. I think BassPro sells Scotty products too, as do a few other retail outlets.

A bit off subject but I just noticed that Scotty makes a neat little product that solves a problem for us guys that want to use boat fenders but don't have rails on the gunwales of our skiff to tie the fender line to. They should fit into any standard scotty or cabela's rod holder mounts. ScottyFenderRing (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001M4HTBG/ref=asc_df_B001M4HTBG964459?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=nextag-sg-delta-20&linkCode=asn&creative=380341&creativeASIN=B001M4HTBG)

[Whatever]

Whatever: I know there's some that bolt directly to your gunned but the ones I was thinking of fit into your existing rod holders so when not king fishing you could remove them.

Yes sir they do, most all major brands give you that mount option, I have it for my Penn's....If you go that option I highly recommend you attach a tide down safety strap, that you can tie to a point on the boat, they have been know to slide out when you hit a rough water spots...:eek:

[justaddwater]

Yes sir they do, most all major brands give you that mount option, I have it for my Penn's....If you go that option I highly recommend you attach a tide down safety strap, that you can tie to a point on the boat, they have been know to slide out when you hit a rough water spots...:eek:

I hear ya....thanks*Cheers*