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.

Some 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 but was a brass casting.

Danielson, Bass Pro & others;   The 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 type has been around for many years

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-bolt.

C clamp type	Rail mount type

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.  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. 

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.

Tempress Fish On model

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 on the opposite side of the 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 makes, (or has some made) that are similar but they pivot upward allowing you to remove the rod by pulling straight up.

Cabelas Quick Draw	Cabelas XR Quick Draw

Folbe http://www.folbe.com/ makes one similar to Cabelas 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.  These are a simple lift it straight up type & are very efficient with little effort required.

Folbe

 

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.

Tube type, rail clamp