Some of y'all know that I have a new to me 24' Grady White boat. The boat came from the factory with flush mount rod holders used mainly for trolling with outriggers and such. These work fine for trolling but my boat needed horizontal type rod holders for live bait and drifting.

I had Driftmasters on my Baystealth and they never let me down. I didn't have to drill holes in the gunnels for the base because my boat had a rail around it and I bought the rail mount base.

On my new boat I just can't bring myself to drilling holes in the gunnels so I searched and searched for some kind of mount that would go into the flush mount and let me mount the horizontal rod holder on it. That way I could quickly take them out or put them in, depending of type of fishing I want to do. No holes or anything sticking up off the gunnel to trip me up as I stepped in and out. I found Scotty brand has just such a item but Scotty is plastic and I can't believe they will last like a steel rod holder will. (JMHO). I also searched Driftmasters and they sell what I want but they cost 43.00 dollars each. Other than that, not much out there.

Looking over at the catfish page and other places, I thought I might try the Bee Ready type of holders because they are much smaller than the Driftmasters but they also, don't sell any kind of base that would do what I wanted.

After pondering for a bit, I came up with an idea.

I took some 1 3/8" od aluminum bar stock, cut it to the length I wanted, cut the 30* angle on the top so it would be parallel with the gunnels, drilled and then tapped the bar for use with the Bee Ready holder.

I plan on also doing this for Driftmasters as I'm not sure of the strength of the Bee Ready's.

Who knows, I may just start making these to sell. Should be more than stout enough for any fish.




In and out in seconds, easy to store, should get the job done. What do my fellow striper guys think?

A lot nicer looking than mine. I used 1" PVC with a 45 glued on the end and then drilled a hole through the 45 to attach a driftmaster holder.

They work great, but they do pull out and twist when you grab the pole to set the hook. Have not had one come all the way out yet.

I tried that idea but just like you said, if I pulled on the line at an angle, the holder pulled out.

I can make these bases for 25.00 each. Can make them for any brand. Pm if you want some.

Here's a pic of my PVC trial rod holder.

Those catfish guys seem to have a lot of faith in the bee ready's.They should work fine and It looks great!

I use driftmaster t-bars that are designed to slide into the angled flush holes. Holds two driftmaster rod holders each. I have two on each side that can hold eight rods. See my picture of my boat on my website.

Flush Mount T-Bar #T-150

Fully adjustable rod angle

Fits into flush mount rod holders

Fully adjustable rod angle

Designed for trolling or bait fishing

Adjusts to 2 positions: troll to rear or
drift to side of boat

Requires two 215B Li'l Pro
or 205B Pro bases

Bases and rod holders sold separately

Yea Michael, I seen those. They are priced at 43.00 each and 99.00 with two duo-pro rod holders.. (Or somewhere close to that.)
I've got way less money involved in these bases and i can mount a T-bar on top should I neede it. Still not sure about the Bee Ready but time will tell.

I would see if the bee readys base will mount in, line up in the holes that you have in your current rod holders. If not maybe mount the bee readys on a large round plate where you can drill the holes to line up. Just an idea!

It is tough to drill holes. I put the RAM rod holders on my boat.

This is a good idea but it seems like it will limit the number of rod holders.

My next boat will have these:

http://monsterrodholders.com/

Scottys have white flush mounts, and will last as long as you have boat. They may be plastic , but you aren't breaking them. They pop out quick, and look good on a grady