Fishing Rod Holders

If you are a fisherperson who fishes from a boat, more than likely you will be acquainted with fishing rod holders.  I have seen many in my 60+ years of fishing.  The main priority is to hold the rod securely while yet having it readily available with minimal effort of removing it.  Bank mounted rod holders are rather simpler.

Rod Holder Placement : Those of you who troll for salmon, my upgrade your hit to hookup ratio by changing how you mount your rod holders.  Most of the fishermen know that when using downriggers that the rod needs to be set high in the air & arced rearward under the tension of the release clip to the downrigger wire.  This arcing allows the rod under strain to pop up when the fish hits, setting the hook.

Now, if you only use your rod holders that are mounted on the downrigger as a rod holder even when you are not using the downrigger for normal salmon trolling like Buoy 10 or Willapa Bay salmon fishing, you are handicapping yourself.   Think about it, if that rod is pointed high in the air, the line is entering the water considerably farther back.  Unless you are using a pool que rod that is strong enough to set the hook in conditions like this, the fish will just hit the bait, but the limber rod (in this upright condition) has not got enough strength to set the hook & the fish takes your herring, but does not get hooked 90% of the time.  Here when a fish hits, the 9' rod moves in a arc & you can have a 5' spongy movement of the lure.   If you are using monofilament mainline, it's stretch will also add more movement.   However if the rod is mounted lower & somewhat rearward, your fairly sold lure movement may only be 1' & the fish is hooked.

For salmon trolling in conditions like Buoy 10 or Willapa Bay, the rod needs to be mounted low (almost parallel with the water) & slightly pointing sternward as seen in the photo below. 

You may go on for years thinking many things on how to increase your hookup ratio, like changing different style of hooks, going to braid mainline or a multitude of other trials.  And all the time it was simply how you mounted your rods.

Many Rod Holders to Choose From : Some rod holders are good, others not so good & others simply so cheaply made that they are may only last one trip.   The early ones were simply made on a modification of a carpenters C clamp with a fork on the outside & a open hook mounted lower on the inside.  In use you laid the rod in the fork & brought the handle down & under/into the hook.  These could be moved as desired, but just never seemed to be sturdy enough if you were after anything much more than a trout sized quarry.  Most of these were imported & made of a thin metal stamping.   I have seen one USA made that was basically the same design but was a brass casting as shown below on the left, & it was probably the one the later ones copied.

Simple Clamp on Holders ; Currently made Danielson, Bass Pro & others shown in the photo on the right;   This simple design has been made for over 50 years by various makers, allows you to quickly attach these rod holders to your boat or dock making it easier to fish with multiple rods.   Constructed from stamped sheet steel, or die-cast aluminum, these portable rod holders are fully adjustable.  The standard size rod holder fits up to 1-5/8’’ diameter rods, and the clamp fits up to 2-1/4'' gunwales.

This old solid brass unit is a Totem model made by Barco Mfg Co. & was given to me used by my uncle about 1960	This type has been around for many years & is a cheap steel somewhat copy of the one shown on the left.

Down East ;  According to the website, in 1946 Down East Sportscraft  http://www.down-east.com/ devised a holder that used the DownEaster name.  I came across it about mid 1960s.  In my book they were the forerunner of what we have today.  It again used a C clamp type base, however this was substantially made.  The base clamp had 2 pivot bolt locations & shallow Vee notches so the holder could be adjusted depending on the gunnel it was mounted on.  There are also other bases available.  Above the clamp was a cup that had internal notches & a clamshell type holder sat in the cup.  It could be rotated 45 degrees in any direction.  In use all you needed to do was lift the rod straight up & the clamshell opened releasing the rod.  The clamshell is stopped from coming out by a cross-pin.

C clamp type	Rail mount type

Plath / Damielson ; Then in the late 1960s along came a cast aluminum tube with a angled attachment pin about midsection pointing down which went into a base that had 3 sides that mated the holder allowing you to pointy it 45 degrees to the right ot left & straight out on the other side.  This unit was very well made as it used a stainless knurled bolt tat the bottom to retain the unit to the base.  The name was Plath Specialty marine Hardware of Portland Oregon 337 N.E. 10th Avenue. 

These could be used with the base either on the flat or side of the gunwale, utilizing either end of the holder as top. The base & the holder were slightly beveled to mate so that when setting bottomed out the holder was wedged into place.

They apparently went out of business & Danielson came out with a poor copy.  They tried to copy it but cheapened by using a smaller headed lock screw that once it became exposed to salt air, the screw became impossible to loosed without the use of penetrating oil & a pliers.  The bases did not  usually interchange with the Plath & the holders did not usually interchange with the Plath because the stainless steel pivot was never drilled in the same location on each one during manufacture.  These were finally discontinued about the early 1990s.  The Danielson's can further be identified by a more abrupt diameter change on the ends as the Plaths were blended in.

Plath #865 pointing out	Plath #865 pointing at a 45 degree	Danielson copy of the Plath

About the early 1990s a newer method was brought out. This method utilizes a base that is either bolted or clamped onto the boat & it has a splined center hole that receives the holder itself that can be positioned in about 10 degree increments of rotation.   These are made of a high impact plastic.  the brand that has seemed to been around for the longest is Fish On model by Tempress http://www.tempress.com/.  These  have the pivot shaft which also has the splines, but at the bottom of this shaft is a notch that matches a small bump in the base as a retainer.  To install the 2 together you need to rotate the holder 180 degrees so that a bump inside the aligns with the notch, then rotate it back to your desired position. 

Fish On ; These Fish On units are cut out on the outside allowing the rod to lay in, but the rear encircles the lower part of the rod handle below the reel.  There is a separate plastic ring that you can rotate entrapping the rod until you rotate it back.  They have a white plastic rotating lock ring that can be utilized or not.  If you are using rods larger than trout rods you may need to remove the lock ring & cut the upper front edges back at a bevel & slightly widen the slot to facilitate the larger rod front cork handle as seen in the RH photo below.

Tempress Fish On model	Tempress Fish On in use

Fish On Copies ;There are or were a few knock offs of this type that interchanged, a couple being Danielson, Action Outdoor Rod Tender & Roberts products.   All of these holders do not have the rigidity, strength or flexibility of positioning the holders a the Fish On do.   And most do not use stainless steel fasteners.  The bases seem to be pretty much interchangeable however.

Action Outdoor Rod Tender

Scotty also makes a similar one, but it uses the retainer knob on the opposite side of the base hole.  This could allow the rod holder to become dislodged & come out under the wrong conditions.  Also Scotty's splines do not really match the Fish On as the Scotty are just enough smaller that you have to force the Fish On into the splines.   They retail for over $20 each

Scotty Baitcaster/Spincaster Rod Holder Model 280

Cabelas also sells the above rod holders which were made by Scotty but with Cabelas name on the upper section, Scotty's on the base.

Scotty has recently come up with a copy of the Folbe shown below.

Folbe ;  Folbe http://www.folbe.com/ makes one similar to Scotty only more sophisticated & it uses it's own style of splines, bases & holders.  These act like clamshells & can be adjusted in about any position, plus either RH or LH depending on the side of the boat it is being used on.  One side is stationary, while the other side pivots out.  These are a simple lift it straight up type & are very efficient with little effort required.  They have a base lock so can locked in a rotated position.  The secret to understanding usage of them seems to be that you need to set them so that the solid portion be facing rearward thereby allowing the clamshell portion to freely open up.

Many dedicated salmon fishermen swear by these after they get used to them where the need for a quick rod pickup is desired.  However I have found that there is a trick to get it to lock the rod in, seems it has to be just in the right position to slide down & lock up.

Folbe

Here is a different idea.  This is a conversion kit that can be made to fit the popular Fish-On or Scotty regular rod holders, converting them to a quick release.  It is a patent pending idea by Merrell Sager of Olympia WA.  His method is to cut the top rear section out of the existing rod holder, place & pop rivet a PVC pipe coupler in the bottom rear section.  Then add a stainless steel hinged cover, utilizing the cut out plastic rear, but also adding a spring loaded thumb latch.  In the top center he has added a rubber button which with the rod in place & the latch secured, locks the rod in place when latched.  The thumb release lever has a plastic covering.  This is quick & simple.  You can even unlock the rod without moving it if you are having a bite.  All you need to do is press the lever with your thumb as you grasp the rod handle & lift up.

Merrell is trying to find a business to manufacture these conversion kits in quantity so he doesn't have to do them all by hand.  To contact him CLICK HERE.

 

Quick Release conversion on a Scotty	With rod locked in place	With the unit unlocked ready to lift up

Tube Type ;Then there is the simple pipe type holder.  These are generally used by the charter boats because they are sturdy & are usually clamped onto the rails.  Other chrome or stainless steel versions have dual positioning bases that attach to pipe type railings. 

You will also see this type used on overhead radar arches & if being used there, they are many times referred to as "Rocket Launchers".

Tube type, rail clamp

Do not even consider just setting a unattended rod (for even 30 seconds) against the gunnel.   I have seen a couple of rods lost this way.   It is rather a hopeless feeling to see a rod go skipping across the water & then disappear.  The word is you just donated a nice rod & reel to the Fish Gods.