Rod holders

Anyone out there make your own rod holders for your boat? I’m looking for ideas on a heavier duty holder than PVC. Pics would be great if you have them! Thanks!

Driftmaster

I found these at Cabelas. Similar to Driftmaster.

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Here is what I built. I can move it anywhere on the boat.

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Fish Blood – How do those compare to Fishbite?

Jason wrote:

Fish Blood – How do those compare to Fishbite?

You’ll find endless possibilities with “Black River Tools” aka Driftmaster. From various rod holder angles to mounting options to Trees, etc. Left hand threads on port side of boat and Right hand threads on starboard. They have two sizes, i run the bigger beefier 1/2″ threads.

There have been a few spinoffs over the years, never heard of FishBite but Monster does make a comparable one.

I personally run the Pro Duos and have 12 on my boat.
Made of SST they’re bulletproof!
When ran on trees (round tubes) you have infinite angle adjustments and rotations of course are 360 degrees.
All rod butts are outside the boat freeing up space in the boat. Who buys a 12′ rod to have 18″ of butt in the boat. With driftmaster you ‘ve got the most rod outside the boat you can possibly have.

If your handy like red/green, you can make your own bases or trees for cheap too.
And, all the driftmaster rod holders are less expensive than that cheap poop called Scotty or folbe.

Driftmasters for 15 years or so. 12 installed at all times. Carry extras in case I need to switch methods- flatline style for flatheads or various angles for sturgeon or trolling. Made three trees for around $30 using aluminum tubing and barstock. Positions for three holders on each tree but usually use two on each
Holders are all 1/2” because the large handles On sturgeon/catfish rods won’t fit in 3/8” holders

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Jason wrote:</div>
Fish Blood – How do those compare to Fishbite?

You’ll find endless possibilities with “Black River Tools” aka Driftmaster. From various rod holder angles to mounting options to Trees, etc. Left hand threads on port side of boat and Right hand threads on starboard. They have two sizes, i run the bigger beefier 1/2″ threads.

There have been a few spinoffs over the years, never heard of FishBite but Monster does make a comparable one.

I personally run the Pro Duos and have 12 on my boat.
Made of SST they’re bulletproof!
When ran on trees (round tubes) you have infinite angle adjustments and rotations of course are 360 degrees.
All rod butts are outside the boat freeing up space in the boat. Who buys a 12′ rod to have 18″ of butt in the boat. With driftmaster you ‘ve got the most rod outside the boat you can possibly have.

If your handy like red/green, you can make your own bases or trees for cheap too.
And, all the driftmaster rod holders are less expensive than that cheap poop called Scotty or folbe.

Thanks for the reply. Do you ever get up to the dam in Hastings? If you see me sitting out there stop by and say hi – I’m in a red and white Crestliner. I run between the dam and Prescott quite a bit.

Jason wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Do you ever get up to the dam in Hastings? If you see me sitting out there stop by and say hi – I’m in a red and white Crestliner. I run between the dam and Prescott quite a bit.

Put 90 miles on my boat in two days last weekend so you could say i get around and see a lot of red/white boats. Might be easier to say hi to the guy in the Sylvan Pro Fisherman, there aren’t many of them.

Will do!

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

And, all the driftmaster rod holders are less expensive than that cheap poop called Scotty or folbe.

Did you have a bad experience with Scotty?

Two of the six I’ve got on my boat are twenty years old. I’ve never had a single issue with them. They’re easy to install, work great, and can be set effectively at the desired angle rotated horizontally and whatever angle rotated vertically. It takes maybe ten seconds to set them however you want.

I checked out the driftmaster ones on their website, and maybe I’m missing something but they’re not adjustable? If it’s the model at 0 degrees, that’s it, you’re stuck using that rod holder for eternity at 0 degrees. Ditto for 30 degrees, 20 degrees, etc., you buy them at whatever angle you want to be stuck at forever?

Maybe I’m missing something because that would absolutely blow for guys like myself who fish for multi-species. I’m going to have them configured totally different when I’m catfishing the river than when I’m trolling walleyes on Mille Lacs.

What advantage is there in having a rod holder that isn’t adjustable?

I’ve never had a scotty do anything but stay in the same position I’ve set them at. Were you having them slip on you or something? I don’t see how that’s even possible but I’m trying to figure out why you’re calling a product that I’ve never had a single issue with in twenty years poop.

Do you know why they engineer motors with stuff like sheer pins?

So something minor breaks in order to prevent something major from breaking.

I’ve beat the hell out of my scotty rod holders. There’s been plenty of times on the river where I’m fishing a snag and a branch catches one as I’m drifting away, or I’m taking out someone who’s either inexperienced or an idiot and an anchor rope catches one after it’s been dropped, and they’re pretty tough since I haven’t broken one yet and I’ve broken a decent amount of other gear and equipment over the past twenty years.

With that being said, I like the fact that I don’t have a metal rod bolted to the hull of my boat because that way when me or someone I’m fishing with does something really stupid….we only end up breaking a rod holder. No biggie. They’re $25 and you can pick them up at pretty much every sporting goods store.

The driftmaster being heavy duty metal seems like a terrible idea since if me or someone does something really stupid….we end up breaking the hull of the boat. Why would it be advantageous to save yourself a rod holder at the expense of your boat? Because whether you got fiberglass or aluminum it looks to me like if something is putting enough force on a rod holder to be above what the breaking point of a scotty is…what’s going to give is the part of your hull wherever you have a driftmaster mounted.

Again, never used driftmaster and just checked them out for the first time after reading your post, so I might be totally missing some operating features and wrong in what I just described. Since you’re experienced with them I’m hoping you can fill me in on what I’m missing and correct any assertion I just made that’s incorrect. Thanks

It’s all preference. Drift masters are nice, Scottys are nice and if you like them I wouldn’t think twice. I had monsters and loved them for fishing on the river in my old boat. I have Folbe now and prefer them because they can be moved around, seem durable, hold the rod better while static fishing than the scottys I’ve had, are adjustable, etc. for me as a multi species guy they are great.

Your mileage may vary, I’d just recommend buying good durable rod holders that securely hold your gear.

Then just go fish

joneser wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
And, all the driftmaster rod holders are less expensive than that cheap poop called Scotty or folbe.

Did you have a bad experience with Scotty?
Moreso i’ve found the versatility and capability of the Driftmaster line to be superior to the scotty, i have owned many and have given all away for free

Two of the six I’ve got on my boat are twenty years old. I’ve never had a single issue with them. They’re easy to install, work great, and can be set effectively at the desired angle rotated horizontally and whatever angle rotated vertically. It takes maybe ten seconds to set them however you want.

You can only set them to the preset increments both horizontally and vertically.

I checked out the driftmaster ones on their website, and maybe I’m missing something but they’re not adjustable? If it’s the model at 0 degrees, that’s it, you’re stuck using that rod holder for eternity at 0 degrees. Ditto for 30 degrees, 20 degrees, etc., you buy them at whatever angle you want to be stuck at forever?

While partially true here, the ones on my boat are all 0degree or 30 degree. The rod holder base is where the versitility comes into play. Now, horizontally, there’s 360 degrees of rotation. You can be an any sigular degree you choose. Not just the pre established 6 that folbe and scotty have.

Maybe I’m missing something because that would absolutely blow for guys like myself who fish for multi-species. I’m going to have them configured totally different when I’m catfishing the river than when I’m trolling walleyes on Mille Lacs.

Yes, i fish everything from walleye, musky (i do utilize Saltys for rod-tip underwater propwash trolling), catfish, sturgeon, panfish, etc etc etc to downriggers, planer boards, whatever………….. These rod holders will work for all.

What advantage is there in having a rod holder that isn’t adjustable?

I’ll go ahead an elaborate on the variety of bases options now. You can install these into the variety of bases. Most of which would install the rod holder with no additional vertical adjustment other than what comes with the rod holder, example, a standard base and a Pro Duo allows infinite 360 horizontal rotation, but vertically they can only do 0 or 30. However, if i use the tube mounted base (mount to a 1″ tube” then i can rotate the base on the tube and achive 90 degrees of rotation capability, in any singular degree you choose. Of course you wouldn’t want to be below horizontal much and you wouldn’t want to be near vertical either. But they are capable of the full 90.

I’ve never had a scotty do anything but stay in the same position I’ve set them at. Were you having them slip on you or something? I don’t see how that’s even possible but I’m trying to figure out why you’re calling a product that I’ve never had a single issue with in twenty years poop.

I’ll elaborate here about why i feel scotty and folbe are poop in comparison. First off, and the biggest reason, these rod holders hold the BUTT of the rod. So all length of the rod, except the rear most of the butt, is outside the rod holder. A 10′ rod will be nearly 10′ outside the boat. In a scotty or folbe, the reel is in the holder, and the entirety of the butt is within the boat. A 10′ rod fishes as an 8’6″ or less rod. Secondly, the increase versatility of angular adjustments (If using the proper base). 3rd, a rod can be pulled from a driftmaster with zero effort, one hand, and can set the hook simultaneously. No claps to close or open. 4th, these are great for big bulky baitcasters that just dont fit the scotty or folbe. 5th. There is no flex, bend, etc that you get from plastic (yes they’re quite strong despite the amazing amount of bend you see when using scottys. Maybe it is just the $500 combos i’m concerned about losing – though a scotty has never cost me a rod from breaking). Lastly but probably most importantly to me, is the base itself. Scotty and Folbe are of plastic design, which requires a significant increase in material size to accomplish only a fraction of the strength. The bases gaudy big. You can flush mount if you want a 1″ hole in your boat, or you can mount on top rail and have a 2″ high base. Driftmaster bases are must less invasive, not as big and oooodles stronger. My biggest complaint about the driftmaster is when a fish doubles over a rod, i don’t hear a thing (No creaking like you’d hear from the plastic rod holders). Now, when you look at all described above, and then think i’m going to pay more for scotty or folbe, to do less, you’ve entered my definition of overpriced. Driftmaster can be put on top of trees, for additional height, and they also offer extended height ones. A scotty with an extension is like a wet noodle. If i have it set to 90 degrees (perp to the boat) and a huge fish hits, a scotty with extension can almost rotate a full 90 degrees under that pressure. Twisting like a wet noodle.

Do you know why they engineer motors with stuff like sheer pins?

Yes, and it so happens i’m an engineer myself who designs things with planned breaking point to protect the valuables or harder to change points of a system, whatever that system may be. SO lets think about this. If you are concerned about such a thing, ask yourself what is the weakest point of a driftmaster? Is it the 1/2″ shaft? NO. Is it the fasteners that attach the base to the boat? Yes, the fasteners. This is no different than a scotty, except the scotty flexes to the point that the base fasteners probably would never break. So, if you are concerned, use itty bitty fasteners. I’m using all SST Screws that are a fraction the sheer strength of a 1/4-20 bolt. Knowing all you need to do is have a 1/2″-13 nut to attach a driftmaster, any red/green expert can design in the base of their choice. You want to make a track to run along you boat. You can do that. You want to make a 1″ bar/Track to run along the boat so you can slide the bases and have complete vertical adjustments, you can do that. Driftmaster will also make custom, or they offer a large line of trees, etc for those non red/green folks.

So something minor breaks in order to prevent something major from breaking.

Ya, I get it

I’ve beat the hell out of my scotty rod holders. There’s been plenty of times on the river where I’m fishing a snag and a branch catches one as I’m drifting away, or I’m taking out someone who’s either inexperienced or an idiot and an anchor rope catches one after it’s been dropped, and they’re pretty tough since I haven’t broken one yet and I’ve broken a decent amount of other gear and equipment over the past twenty years.

With that being said, I like the fact that I don’t have a metal rod bolted to the hull of my boat because that way when me or someone I’m fishing with does something really stupid….we only end up breaking a rod holder. No biggie. They’re $25 and you can pick them up at pretty much every sporting goods store.

You can bend 1/2″ stainless, you can also design in a failure point in the base. This is all up to you. You’ll find that the 1″ pipe mount bases will rotate if you smoke em against the lock wall (done that :)). Or you can use the set screw to absolutely lock them in place(comes standard) and prevent any rotation so that 60# fish can TANK you biggest XXMagHeavy rod tip to the water.

The driftmaster being heavy duty metal seems like a terrible idea since if me or someone does something really stupid….we end up breaking the hull of the boat. Why would it be advantageous to save yourself a rod holder at the expense of your boat? Because whether you got fiberglass or aluminum it looks to me like if something is putting enough force on a rod holder to be above what the breaking point of a scotty is…what’s going to give is the part of your hull wherever you have a driftmaster mounted.

Again, never used driftmaster and just checked them out for the first time after reading your post, so I might be totally missing some operating features and wrong in what I just described. Since you’re experienced with them I’m hoping you can fill me in on what I’m missing and correct any assertion I just made that’s incorrect. Thanks

I hope this helps answer some of your questions as to why i’ve long time since switched from the midwest available scotty to the Driftmaster brand of rod holders.

The ease of removing a rod from the rod holder is paramount IMO.
They work on any rod, and rod butt, any reel, any application, come with significant better strength and longevity durability, and for a price less than that of the Scotty and Folbe, all with less invasive mounting systems to boot.

I personally cannot understand why someone would use scotty or folbe but ignorance can be bliss. I also realize i’m not your average user or the average thought process.

Here’s a photo from my “Scotty” days.
The flush mount scotty bases are still in the boat and occasionally used for my handlining mount (attached handline reel to scotty extension). As you can see in the sturgeon photo i also have some scotty bases holding my Mr Perch V rod holders also. If you saw my boat today you’d see 3 driftmasters on each Tree. Always evolving.

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So with a little free time and some scrap metal I ended up making these. 1/2” thread on both. One is all 1/2” the other is 3/8”. They are adjustable for any angle I want. Wrapped them with a rubber tape. I’d prefer to dip them in plastidip, but for now they should do the job.

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Look at that garage engineering!