I dont have much experience yet with these rod holders as I only picked them up yesterday…but so far, so good.
I stopped in at Everts in the morning yesterday and picked a couple up, including the 4″ extension post for the holders. It only took me about10 minutes to mount both holders in my boat when I got home, its very easy.
They are a little different than the Attwood and Ram holders I am used to, I have been using them for years. It seemed there was a little bit of flex with the 4″ extension, but they were pretty solid and I felt comfortable enough to try them out with the heavy rods we use.
When I hit the water, it didnt take all that long to really test them out. My cat/sturgeon rods have 1 1/4″ diameter handles(very thick) and the 1st thing I had to notice is tere was no fight getting the rod into the holder.. this is unusual… many of my rods barely squeeze into the Ram holders.
A short while after I started fishing, I got pre-occupied with other things in the boat, keeping a pretty close eye out for a strike in the windy st croix conditions. I thought I saw a bump on the rod, so I stared at the rod for a moment, nothing happening. I looked away, then looked back and the rod was doubld over on my #3 boss rod with 80# power pro and my drag was cranked! The rod holder was actually tweaking a little bit, the base hd minor flex.. but the rod wasnt going anywhere in the unlocked rod holder position. The fish was pulling so hard I had to force the rod to a somewhat natural position to get it out of the holder. The fish was a chunky 10# channel cat which isnt any record breaker.. but any of us cat folks know how hard they will strike. It was easy in comparison to other rod holders to get my rod out of the holder with the fish on the end of the line and pulling.
That one fish greatly raised my confidence in the quality of the holder. My only complaints are when the holders are new, they tend to be a little sticky.. not as smooth as the display models in the shop. I have no doubt they will get smoother with more use. The other complaint(or at least a change for me) is the holders must be locked in at the base or the rod holder could potentialy bounce out in rough water/trailering.
I would rate them a 9.5 out of 10. They are not cheap, but they are by far the best mutli-functional rod holders I have ever seen or used. I am glad I bought them, and I will eventually have my boat full of them.
I had to add this. As stated earlier, these arent the most economical holders on the market(about $30 at Everts), but I the more I think about it, the rod the fish was trying to pull out of the boat was a $250 investment(Boss rod with a Tekota 600 reel), and the rod in the other holder(2 lines allowed) cost about the same. $500 worth of investments hanging over the edge of the boat targeting the largest fish that swims in Minnesota(Sturgeon). I think $30 is a reasonable insurance policy!
You better order more in Dean, I’ll be coming to get some more!
