Rod Holders/planer Boards

[packersooner]

Saw a planer board thread about a year ago and rather than bump it, thought I would start a new one with a slightly different twist.

What type of rod holders do you all prefer? Have done a little research and it seems like the Folbes have high marks.

What types of planer boards do you prefer and how many do you run at a time?

I want to give trolling cranks a serious try this year and you all have already been very generous in your tips and suggestions. Many thanks!

Jason

[Mike Worley]

Saw a planer board thread about a year ago and rather than bump it, thought I would start a new one with a slightly different twist.

What type of rod holders do you all prefer? Have done a little research and it seems like the Folbes have high marks.

What types of planer boards do you prefer and how many do you run at a time?

I want to give trolling cranks a serious try this year and you all have already been very generous in your tips and suggestions. Many thanks!

Jason

I have 2 kinds of rod holders on my boat with 9 rail mounts. I use Ram 2000 rod holders for everything except planer board rods which I like the Attwater / Roberts rod holders for. The rail mounts for these two brands fit both. Both brands have strong points and weaknesses. The Attwater / Roberts seem to do a better job of holding planer rods which are set up almost vertical to get the line up high enough to get the side planer boards out far enough and at the right angle to work properly I use 8 1/2' rods for that application. Flat lining & dead sticking I like the Ram 2000 which has a 6" post that raises rod holder up higher and allows for a wide range of adjustments for different trolling rod lengths, I use a mixture of rod lengths from 5' to 12' when flat lining, leadcore trolling, contour bottom bouncing or dead sticking. The weakness of the Ram 2000 is the twisting of the plastic post when trolling with side planer boards and you snag the lure on something and the drag is set a little too tight the Attwater rod holder seems to hold up better under that pressure. Also if you decide on rail mounts be sure to leave the brackets a little loose so you can move it with the rod holder installed up or down which will give you a lot more adjustment.

I prefer the Offshore side planer boards but have also used Church and Yellow birds. I generally find that one board on each side is enough but I do run one or two extras at times mostly when the fish are biting in shallow water near the shore line. The main reason I use side planer boards is to give enough room to be able to have 2 or 3 rods in holders off the stern of the boat.

[powerdive]

I troll from a smaller tiller boat. Got 4 rod holders--2 standard Ram 2000's up front and 2 Folbe Advantages farther back. The Folbes are my primary holders, and I love them. They're incredibly strong in every aspect of their construction, hold the trolling rods firm, and release/reseat the rods instantly. Lift straight up to release, set down into the cradle to seat--the Folbes have a cool hinged design to open and close automatically. It's nice to not have to struggle with pulling a rod when running a tiller.

I have both Offshore and Church TX-22 (reversible) planers. No problems with either. I actually prefer NOT to use the spring-loaded Tattle Flags--we don't have weeds down here, so they're really not needed. As long as you familiarize yourself with how the boards run, you can read them just fine, even if a very small fish hits your lure and comes along for the ride.

I usually run a board or two when I've got someone else in the boat to help with chores. Often, though, I just run the lines behind the boat--both leadcore and flatlines. With an 8' rod set out on each side, I get plenty of separation (no tangles on tight turns)--and two lines are all I care to wrangle with when soloing in a tiller.

[lonkm]

I went the cheap way. I bought 2 sets from Bass Pro, that are made by Action Products here in Mo. They have served me well. I have snagged cranks several times and they have twisted from 90 degrees to almost parallel and held with no damage. The only draw back is the rod keeper. White ring. I have had 2 come off. They need to come up with a better way to fasten it in place. I am thinking of getting 2 sets of the Bass Pro brand now. Any one use them?

[Martin]

I already had my rod holders when I heard abour the Folbe's....I use the Cabelas holders & I think they are called the HT 360. I had two of the Cabelas "Quick Draw" holders and I DO NOT like them....The Cabelas HT 360's are the same as Scotty's I think. Might even be the same as Attwater's......I have extensions that will fit any of my holders that I use when bottom bouncing crawler harnesses...

I do have two Ram holders. They work fine but they are net grabbing sons of guns...I probably won't buy any more of those.

I use Offshore Boards, but I own 2 Church Tackle Walleye boards. I haven't played with them yet.

I did change out ALL my Offshore clips for Church Tackle clips....They are just plain easier for my fingers to work, especially when it's cold. You can buy the Church releases online. Oh, and they do hold the superlines just fine.

I can run 2, sometimes 3 boards by myself, but it becomes WORK if you get 3 or 4 out there when fishing alone. With a good partner, we run 4 boards min. when trolling cranks.

Hope this helps and isn't too confusing.

[powerdive]

Oh, yeah, good point, Marty. I also replaced the releases on my Offshores with standard Church clips. SO much easier!

[Martin]

Oh, yeah, good point, Marty. I also replaced the releases on my Offshores with standard Church clips. SO much easier!

Another thing, our friend Scott uses Church releases on his offshore boards, but he has both releases (2 per board) rigged on the same mounting screw. What I would call one right side up and one upside down. He can pinch both releases with one hand at the same time to disengage the board from the main line. It's really slick. He fishes alone alot. He's drowned so many of his partners...lol

[rangerman]

I run 8 holders total. Ram 2000's and also run the cabelas brand scottys with quikdraw. I am kind of with martin on this as you would think the quikdraws would be cool, but you still end up pulling the rods all of the way out the front on a strike anyway. The one cool thing is I can run the scottys in my ram holders with no problems.

Planer boards are off shore tackle OR12's with tattle flags. Got the tattle flags just because it was something I just had to have. Just don't need them though.

Run snapper OR snapper releases on the planer board.

I run 2 flat or leadcore lines and 2 with fireline on planer boards.

[packersooner]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Sounds like I can't go wrong with Offshore or Church...using Church clips regardless. I am leaning towards the Folbe rod holders with extensions. Still not sure how I would mount them. I have a Lund 1660 Classic SS...which includes the Sport Trak system. I could buy the Sport Trak plastic brackets and side mount the holders to the brackets, or just mount them permanently to the gunwales. Would love to hear anyone's take on whether or not the Sport Trak approach would hold up to wear and tear of trolling for walleye.

Jason

[rangerman]

Should work great Jason. Now go buy some cranks and I mean ALOT. Thats the best part of trolling for walleye.