Fishing from a boat often requires great balance, often a boat can rock violently with the waves, this is when you see the value of rod holders in key places along the gunwale. In addition these devices free up your hands and the hands of your guests. While this may seem insignificant, you can be assured that it is very important as piloting a boat and ensuring the safety of your passengers requires all of your physical attributes, particularly in bad weather, or in high seas. You can look back from the cabin and see your rods are still fishing without a problem and all of your passengers and fellow fishermen are safe.
When trolling rod holders and rods are strategically positioned to get the best action on the lures and avoid tangling with other lines on the boat. Rod holders also serve as a means of transporting rods with gear attached. Leaving your rods in the holders is generally a safe way to transport them to and from the fishing grounds. Make sure your hooks and sinkers are secured when the boat is moving!
There are various types of holders that serve this purpose, flush mount styles are located in the gunwale. This type of holder comes in different angles, 0 degree, 15 degree and 30 degree are the most common. Retro fitting flush mount rod holders requires cutting a hole in the gunwale that will accept the tube on the holder, be sure to measure properly and use a template when tackling this installation, reinforcing the gunwale with wood on the underside is recommended for aluminum boats.
Other types are clamp-on, adjustable and bulkhead. The clamp-on styles are very popular with fishermen because they take advantage of the stern rails which many boats have. Simply select the angle and then secure the device to the rail with the Ground Rod Clamps and nuts. Next we have the adjustable/removable versions which are also popular because they can be re-positioned easily and can also be removed at the end of the day. Using this style rod holder will usually require adding a base unit somewhere on the gunwale, the base unit stays in place but is not obtrusive, the rod holder either slides into the base or is attached with a quick connect pin. A great example is the Whitecap 7007Blue. Lastly there is the bulkhead style. These are usually permanently affixed to inside the boat on the vertical or rear gunwale with screws, it is important that the screws are secured to wood members because of the severe stress that in incurred when trolling.