Best rod-holder

[fishNphysician]

There have been a few threads about salmon trolling lately... rods, reels, techniques. But what about that all important rod-holder?

This is a piece of boat equipment that nobody really thinks much about, after all how much can there be to a device that just sits there holding your rod for hours at a time? But how many of you have had a certain brand of rod-holder (the one with the lion's share of the market) buckle under the force of a vicious strike, giving the fish instantaneous slack... fish off? Or worse yet having a rod slam down against the transom or kicker motor so hard that it shatters? !@#$%^&*()*&^%$#@!

How many of you have lost a fish because you couldn't remove the rod from the holder without thrusting the rod toward a fish directly behind the boat, thereby giving the fish unwanted slack right at the critical moment when you really need to be setting the hook?

When fishing a rod straight out to the side (the "side-rigger" position) how many of you have struggled to remove a rod from the holder when it's totally "buried" by the force of a giant king? It's darn near impossible to get it out without throwing the fish some slack.

A good rod-holder must hold your precious rod/reel securely, but even more than that, an excellent one will allow you to remove it from the holder effortlessly while maintaining the load/bend in the rod to prevent giving the fish unwanted slck at the critical moment of the hookup.

Last year, I discovered the FOLBE Advantage rod-holder... and it is absolutely revolutionary. Its unique modified "clam-shell" design will hold your rod securely (even halibut rods!), but more important is the release mechanism that allows you to remove the rod in one uninterrupted fluid motion that enables you to maintain a continuous load on the rod. No slack... no more lost fish at the critical moment of the hookup!

Here are some pics showing the FOLBE mounted in various positions on my boat.

Side-rigger:


Angled toward the rear:


Straight back behind the boat:


The last pic of the FOLBE mounted on my main motor is a good view showing the "clam-shell" in its open position after a rod has been released.



I'll be mounting a full set of them on my Willie Predator on the Kenai this summer.

To learn more, here's a link to a thorough discussion about them from a PNW forum:

http://www.ifish.net/forum/showflat....=965981&page=1

Or you can try this one direct

http://folbe.com/

[yukon]

Thanks for the picks doc, it looks good. Although, anymore I think people pull the rods out too quickly. Like we have discussed before, rod down, drag screaming, fish-on!!!

[AlleninAlaska]

I've been using the Fish-on rodholders for years and never have had a problem with them. I am getting ready to install 4 of the Quick Draw rodholders.

[fishNphysician]

I've been using the Fish-on rodholders for years and never have had a problem with them.

Rest assured, your day will eventually come, especially if you spend anytime chasing big kings.

I've never seen a FishOn that the lock mechanism doesn't eventually strip out, rendering the rodholder useless other than in the flat horizontal position.

At that point, for the purposes of trolling or backtrolling, they will only be good for the side-rigger position. But even then, I've had one fail. I lost a Kenai king last year that took the rod down on a plug bite... PUMP PUMP PUMP.... rod folds over... and while waiting for that final critical moment for the line to strip from the reel, the holder suddenly gave way, allowing the rod to abruptly spin toward the transom, throwing immediate slack to the fish.

FISH OFF.... game over.

Never again.... least in my boat.

[fishNphysician]

And no, I don't work for the guy, nor do I get any endorsements. Just enthusiastic about spreading the word when I come across a product that really works.

Trustworthy in Soldotna is now carrying the FOLBE's. I understand they are currently "on special" as well.

Anybody who has used them will never go back to anything else for salmon.

[Gundog]

Doc,
I changed all of my Fish-On to Folbe about 2 weeks ago. I like the Mounts better also. You can use a Fish-On holder in a Folbe mount but not the other way around. If you have Fish-On mounts on now and want to switch to the Folbe the bolt patern is the same so you don't need to drill any new holes.
Mike

[akfishinguy]

B&J

My buddy picked up a set of Folbes from B & J Commercial in Anchorage. Put them to work on the Kasilof this weekend...no fish, but the holders worked great!

[Alaskan Fly Guy]

They look nice. What do those little puppies cost?

[fishNphysician]

$30 - $35 retail... but I hear they got'em for $25 apiece at Trustworthy. At that price, you can afford to outfit the whole boat.

Best $100 you'll ever spend to upgrade the functionality of your vessel!

[Alaskan Fly Guy]

How would these work with fly rod & reel? They look like they would work fine. Any experience with fly rods?

[profishguide]

Scotty's for Halibut

The plain black Scotty's are the strongest I've found and I have still managed to break two of them off at the post (In the last 12 years). Spent twice as much for the Scotty's with the stainless rods and they stripped out faster than the fish-on's. The gunnel mounted rod holders almost never fail, but have no adjustments at all. I may try one of the Folbes, but hate to test new stuff, at $300 a rod if it fails.

[Mr. Pid]

I've got every Scotty I've ever bought and they're all in perfect condition. But then, I use rod holders to hold the rod while I relocate the boat. I use my hands to hold it when I'm fishing.

[wildog]

folbe

I bought one of them just to experiment at last years sportsmans show, and replaced one of the four on my Willie drift boat. I was very impressed at how quick you can get the rod straight out when you get a fish on. The problem is it broke right off and sunk into the river when I got a king on last summer. Maybe I should have loosened my drag quicker, but oh well, I was trying to row.
Along the same lines, the Willie's drift boat has a patented option where the rod holders slide the entire length of the boat on either side. It's extremely handy as one might imagine.

[ak_powder_monkey]

those cabelas quick strike ones are pretty sweet

[fishNphysician]

Got four of them for the Willie Predator I run on the Kenai, and seven of them for the Alumaweld SuperVee I run in WA.

Here is a pic of a 5-rod spread on my WA boat that allows me to cover a 25 ft swath. It's literally a "curtain of death" with a 7-rod spread where I am able to present a bait about every 4 feet across that swath.