Rod Holders

[smallmouth89]

[black][size 3]Vertical rod holders attached either to your yak/pontoon boat or a milk crate carried on either vessel are fine in the open waters of the ocean or in lakes or ponds but make sure you carry your rods horizontally when river fishing. I almost lost my vintage Fenwick Ferralite glass ultra-lite on a recent river float for smallmouth bass. At the first logpile I came across I hooked a big bass which promptly powered back into the sticks and snagged me up. In order to make headway against the current I back paddled closer to shore and back to where the fish had me snagged up. I was so intent on getting to the fish I didn't notice the jig on my other rod (in a milk crate rod holder) had caught on the shoreline vegetation. When I did take notice my rod was bent in half under a lot of strain. I quickly reached in my pocket for my scissors and cut the line thus saving an irreplaceable rod. I will be carrying my rods horizontally on any future river trips.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Live and learn. I had a couple of similar experiences when fishing near shore on small lakes with lots of overhanging tree branches. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Stowing your rods inside the craft or at least carrying them horizontally is some protection. But, you still have to be mindful of the tips of the rods and any potential snaggy things that can reach out and grab rods or lines.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I used to have a 7' Fenwick glass rod that I dearly loved. I ended up not using it much in Southern Arizona and did some horse trading with a guy who thought he couldn't live without that rod. There have been many times since that I wished I had kept it.[/#0000ff]
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[tubeN2]

I also trade my flag poles for a joust when the situation arises.

Don't mind the Guppy in the picture but look to the right. You can see a horizontal rod rack that I built from a TubeDude design. It comes in handy at some of my lakes especially when going under some low bridges and overhanging trees.

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[size 1]This particular model is set up to accomodate 6 rods and 1 Bass at a time.[cool][/size]
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[smallmouth89]

Nice Guppy!
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[smallmouth89]

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[cool][#0000ff] But, you still have to be mindful of the tips of the rods and any potential snaggy things that can reach out and grab rods or lines.[/#0000ff]

Especially with flyrods. On a recent downriver trip on my pontoon I was really enjoying the efficiency of having two ultra-lites rigged and lying at the ready on my pontoons right beside me. The fish were taking the minnow jigs so well I hardly even picked up the flyrod. When I finally did, I probably missed the fish of the trip when I layed a cast right tight to the bank and a big smallie cartwheeled out of the water with my streamer temporarily in its jaw.

The efficiency of the ultra-lites with small jigs brought back memories of when I used to fish like that all the time before I became a "Fly rod junkie".

Apologies to the "Fly Goddess" for temporarily selling out to the dark side. Hmm I wonder how I'd make out with my bait caster? (another classic.... Fenwick Lunker Stik and Abu/Garcia Ambaseur reel.)Haven't used that one in about 15 years.

Hey Pat,
I'll have to look into those Okuma reels. What kind of baitcaster setup do you use? In the past I only used my Lunker Stik for tossing plugs and spoons for walleyes and pike and casting plastic worms with sliding sinkers for bass. How do you use your baitcasters? Have you found a good one for jigs? [/reply]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]I have built 4 baitcast rods on 7' med light, fast tip spinning rod blanks. They are a joy for casting jigs down to 1/16 oz. with an ultralight baitcaster and 6# line. I also built a couple on 6' med light one piece spinning blanks. The latter are a bit stiffer, and shorter, and are better for vertical jigging.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have several baitcast rods built on medium and medium heavy blanks but have not used any of them since my last trip to Mexico in the early 90's. Too much fun throwing light stuff for big fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I haven't tried any light Okuma baitcasters yet. The light models I like the looks of do not come in left hand retrieve. I have several mid-range (pricewise) light Daiwas and a couple of Quantums. I also have a couple of Shimano Curados that are pretty sweet reels. Again, all of my baitcasters are left hand. I get a lot better feel and positive hooksets by holding the rod in my right hand...just like I was using a spinning rig.[/#0000ff]
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[tubeN2]

There is one of the Okuma 100 series baitcasters that is in the left hand mode. If you look through the catalogue, the LX denotes the left hand model.

The Okuma V System V-100LXa with total of 10 Ball Bearings,

the rest are in the 200 and 250 series.[cool]
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]A couple of those would make a GREAT Christmas present for a GREAT grandpa. (HINT - HINT)[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I will look around and see if I can find one to get a feel of. Hate to buy reels online if I haven't got a grip on 'em yet. Heck, some of those reels are almost as expensive as a tank of gas.[/#0000ff]
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[tubeN2]

One thing I have noticed is that the list price on the Okuma is way lower than the normal sale price of many of the competitors identical Feature/Design reels.

Let me see what I can work out with Okuma Claus. I'm sure his elves are bound to have some overstock. hee hee.[cool]
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[AdictedBassTard]

Hey smallmouth, I rarely fish open waters that's why I rigged my rod holders like this on my 'toon.

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=28509"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=28509[/url];

The rod holders rotate easily to put the rods in an "up" or "down" position.

-ABT
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