Rod holders for trolling

[amateurfishing]

any recommendations for rod holders for trolling out there, hit mille lacs for first time but holding equip for 3 hours kinda gets old, is screwed on best or something removable preferred? simplicity in design for me for kid friendly

my boat is an '84 with decent ledge all way around but prefer not to drill into it if possible but will do what i have to.

[Brad B]

regardless of style you will have to drill if you want rod holders. how much you drill will depend on the style and brand and how much you want to spend for each holder. cheap end would be the plastic holders like the scotty's and high end would be the RAM rod holders. I personally run Drift Master rod holders on my boat. they are well built and will stand up to catfish that are 50+ lbs (I've never caught one that big but I do know guy that have and they were using the Drift Master rod holders). so they would hold up to walleye trolling. if you would like to see the drift masters and how I laid them out on my boat send me a PM.

[harvey lee]

I have used both the Scotty's and Ram's. My boat now has all Ram's.

I had to use bolts for the ones I have on the transom and the rest down the sides I used the LUND rail system to mount the other 5. Have to have a LUND boat to be able to use the style I did. It's nice as one can slide them to any position they would like.

[BoxMN]

Have used FishOn, Roberts and Cabelas, and now I will go with Cabelas 360 (not the "fast grab" or whatever, the standard ones) going forward. Key thing is using all the same, whatever you use. More flexible. Just try to make sure you consider the long handle of a trolling rod, including muskie rods, and also make sure you can spin seats, grab from sitting position, don't have them in the way of stepping from trailer fender into boat, and can open any hatches while a rod is in the holder.

FWIW, regardless of a boats age, the very first thing you need to do is start drilling into a boat so don't worry about that. It's all about customizing it to how you fish. Good luck.

[amateurfishing]

i have an '84 crestliner, any rod holders particular to crestliner boats?

what should i need to look for in a rod holder, installation requirements, what its made of, ease of use, any perks that it should have?

[titelines]

I run the Cabela's 360 holders in my boat and love 'em. I didn't want to drill either, so I got the rail mounts and they work great.

[bobbymalone]

yep, i got some c clamp mounts for my Big C rod holders. Put em where I want, take em off when I don't need em. One thing I did though was cut some scraps off a shamwow at the dollar store so I'm not scuffing up the boat.

[amateurfishing]

looks like really bad reviews on c clamp holders from that place....rod holder is good but c clamp breaks easily

[BoxMN]

Drill the holes and don't worry. Seriously. You likely will never move them, and if you do, use can use poprivet and it is fine.

[CaptainMusky]

My boat has gunnel compartment doors on the rails of the boat. I put the scotty flush mounts in the door. Yeah, I had to drill a sizeable hole to mount these, but I didnt want anything above the flush deck of my sides. I figured if I didnt want them anymore I could replace the door.

There are nice track systems from berts custom tackle. I thought about getting them, but they are spendy.

[amateurfishing]

.....was looking at the scottys flushmount @ wallys online, 5 star reviews, price & features look decent, any personal reviews on these out there?

[Jmeyers]

I've got 4 RAM holders mounted into my boat. They are a little more spendy but they look nice. HAve had a little trouble getting the holders in and out but only becasue they are in there so well. overall I really like them.

[Hoey]

I've got Scotty's, drilled holes in top of fiberglass gunnel for the post, drilled and tapped holes for SS machine screws for the flush mounts.

I have no problems with them. Knocked one pretty good on a tree trailering through a tight resort area and it still works fine even with some of the grooves busted off.

I went with Scotty's only due to the color, white to match my boat and that they are pretty simple in design, not alot of knuckles and tightening nuts.

[311Hemi]

If you want screw on with a c-clamp type mount check out Tite-Lok Rod Holder and Gunnel Mount. My buddy has a pair of these and they were pretty well and are well built.

Thinking about getting a pair for my boat.

[CaptainMusky]

.....was looking at the scottys flushmount @ wallys online, 5 star reviews, price & features look decent, any personal reviews on these out there?

THats what I have. Really like them.

[tacklejunkie]

I love the Down East rod holders. The drawback is the rod butts go into your boat

[yaggie]

The Big C and Scotties are interchangeable. Excellent holders for the price. Can handle the drag of dippsie divers with no problem. I have a couple of the big C quick draw type. Big mistake. The butt of some of my big water big C rods do not fit through them easily. Scotty Powerlocks=great for the money!

[nolte]

If you're going to just do some walleye trolling, those cabelas/scotty's will work fine. The ram's are a step up from those and nice too.

If you want to do salmon trolling on the great lakes, I'd suggest getting some sort of metal tube adjustable rod holders. Don't get the lexicon ones they will eventually break down. I'd go with a traxstech, bert's or cannon one personally. I'm sure there are others as well but they will need to be the beefed up kind. The good ones will last darn near forever but you have to pay for them. A guy puts a lot of torque on a rod trolling all day at high speeds with big gear. I don't trust plastic for that.

[dan z]

My vote goes to RAM. Have 4 in the boat and have tried others and they just arent the same....

[Northlander]

I use Scotty and RAM's.

[MuskieJunkie]

.....was looking at the scottys flushmount @ wallys online, 5 star reviews, price & features look decent, any personal reviews on these out there?

That's what I use. I have 8 in my boat and really like them. I'd recommend getting one of the quick draw styles so you can set your rod in it just as a quick place setting. Otherwise get the larger holders to fit all styles of rods.

[WillCFish]

I use the Ram holders. The only moving part is the flip and snap over bar. Releases in on quick move and the rod will come out from any position unlike those with a tube. We've caught lots of Muskies, trolling big rods and hard hits, with them and never had one fail.

WillCFish