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Posts: 34
| Fished this last weekend with a guy that used folbe rod holders for suckers. First time I had seen them. What are the pros and cons of these. Does anyone have experience with them. Looked like they worked pretty sweet. Your comments would be appreciated. |
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Posts: 530
| If you do a search on this forum you will have info up to your eyes, some love them, some do not. I have used them, they work well, I currently do not have them in my boat. Its a personal preference they all have good points and bad points |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | They are plastic...
The bottom line is this...Do your research and ask guys who extensively troll long hours and with various size baits and you will find that MOST are using Down East rod holders....There's a reason for that. I don't care what chemicals or state of the art plastics are being produced today...plastics break down/weaken before metal.
It is ultimately personal preference and what works best for your needs, however, most people using Folbes are not extensive trollers and find other uses beneficial with that style holder such as drift fishing.
I said "MOST" not ALL! |
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Posts: 2097
| This is modern day. The chemical resins used in today's injection moulding manufacturing practices are very durable. |
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Posts: 2687
Location: Hayward, WI | I have a couple on my boat and so far I like them. It's easy to get the rods in and out of them, and they are easy on the rod handle. Great for suckers. I don't troll a lot and will admit that I haven't caught a musky on them yet. Some other incidental catches yes but no muskies. They seem pretty durable while pulling 14 inch Jakes and Planer boards.
Most of the people that don't like them, make the comment that they are plastic. To date I don't think I've heard of somebody having one break. I'm sure somebody out there has broken one but I haven't heard about it. More people use the Down East holders, and I have heard of them breaking, so even they aren't foolproof.
In my experience (as a limited troller), I would recommend them. |
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Posts: 1211
Location: Walker, MN | They are way better than those oar lock looking ones! |
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Posts: 1023
| I have them. I troll very little but we have pulled big baits and hooked fish up to 52" with no problems. easy on handles and easy in and out. |
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Posts: 555
Location: Tennessee | Love my Folbe holders. Durable, secure, and they function great |
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Posts: 297
Location: Not where I want to be! | Love em! They are made from a very tough composite. You are able to remove the rods very quietly. I think it's better to be silent when sucker fishing. Down easters are noisy and do not lend themselves to using as a down rod in the prop wash. They can open and there goes your rod. Folbes can be locked closed. |
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | Folbe holders are easy, cheap and they work. The only talking points between Folbe and Down East are metal vs composite and the fact that down east holders eat cork for breakfast lunch and dinner. I have never heard from anybody who has had a folbe break on them personally (always a friend of a friend.) Most big time trollers get better holders than down east or folbe |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I switched to them from DE in 2007. I'm not an 'extensive' troller, but when I troll, I troll extensively, sometimes for days, on trophy waters. No failures to date, in 7 years, and so much easier to use than anything I've owned in the past. If you plan to troll, sucker fish(the smoothness and quietness is unparralleled), and also need a spot for another drink holder while running, or cleat holder while moored, give them a look.
Yes, they are 'plastic', space age polymer, composite, or whatever you'd like to categorize them as, and while proven tough in trophy musky situations thus far, if you are going to make your living trolling for trophy muskies, you should consider the toughest options available. The biggest draw to Folbe for me is that they've taken the great mechanical feature of the DE holder, and improved upon it by making the rear portion stationary, allowing for ultra simple removal under load.
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Location: 31 | Not trying to be harsh with Travis; but I pretty much disagree with everything about his post regarding the DE. First, it's not just about metal versus plastic, there are certainly many other considerations.
I see a lot of people posting that the DE chews up cork, and the rod can pop out of the holder, this is simply not true when the "reel" is is seated properly. I've used DE's for thousands of hours and there is no appreciable damage to the cork, just minimal stuff on the reel seat trigger after a few hundred hours. I'm also not sure who should be classified as a big-time troller, but guys like Mike Lazarus use DE’s nearly every day of open water for muskie. I'm confident that most charter boats do not use DE’s, but they also cater to the masses, whereas the style of trolling that Lazarus uses is more in keeping with the 2-3 person norm.
With that being said; I definitely see advantages using live bait with the Folbe, and I certainly value others options like Jason's, who-unlike me, has used both rod holders. I'm confident based only on Jason's opinion, I would not have issues using the Folbe’s. However, the DE will remain my personal choice, mainly because I see no reason to fix something that's not broken. Now, if you are having trouble using the DE, and you're concerned about the plastic breaking, the simple solution is to rig up a lanyard. Here is a very old photo from when I was converting from the Fish-On (hanging from the lanyard) to the DEs. It's kind of a neat picture when you notice what's still in the water by the big motor.
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| im 100% with ShutUpNFish on that
de is a safest choice for trolling. |
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| i've tried everything from various plastic rod holders, to RAM rod holders, to Down East, to Folbe. i never broke one, but i did have other trouble with the DE's: pins bending, holders sticking, tougher to get the rods out without lifting it "just right", etc. and got very frustrated with them. i switched to Folbe at Reef Hawg's recommendation. i've been completely happy since then.
i use the Folbe's occasionally for open-water trolling in the Madison area, but have really given them a test over the past 3 years during October trips to LotW where we are constantly banging lures off the rocks (and snagging them often) running Headlocks, 10" and 14" Jakes, and 9" and 13" Grandmas. one boat with us this year had a DE break in half on a snag, and another one lose a pin. my Folbe's continued to perform flawlessly, and it's effortless to get your rod out of the holder whether it's for a big rock or a big fish. |
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Posts: 34
| Thanks for all the input. I appreciate the passion in the responses. Basically I will not be trolling large crank baits because a lot of the water I fish in Wisconsin you cannot troll. That may change. This will be mostly hanging suckers. I am going to give the folbe's a try. Either way, DE's or folbe's, it will be an upgrade from the old ones I have that make you pull the rod way out horizontal to the water before you raise them to put pressure on the fish swimming away with the sucker. Always worried about dropping the rod in that maneuver. |
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Posts: 52
| I Love my Folbes have 3 and they work great and I am sure for what You are going to use for they will be fine ... |
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Posts: 791
Location: WI | I have not used Folbes but have heard good things. I have rams and DE. I just bought a pair of ram light speed holders which are a clam style like the Folbes. I would not recommend them for down rods. Kinda flexy and I broke one of the locks. Did catch a big one on a prop wash on it but the DEs work much better. Rock solid.
And Jerry..... If you are not sure what classifies a big time troller..... You are. |
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Posts: 1504
Location: Oregon | Guys I live on the west coast where salmon are king. There are literally tens of thousands of salmon fisherman here and half or more of them are using folbes or Scotty orcas which work in the same way. I have never seen a broken Folbe, the plastic is extremely tough, you won't break it. Very seldom do you see a metal rod holder here, in fact I don't know of a single angler or guide in the area that uses them. I have Orcas and I love em, they have never failed and make removing the rod very easy. They do mark up cork handles a bit but not as bad as holders that require you to slide the rod down into position. If you are concerned about the cork handle, you can buy rod wraps for 5 bucks that work really well. |
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Posts: 134
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Posts: 2240
Location: SE, WI. |
Riverman, fishing for salmon! does not compare to trolling for musky. Most salmon fisherman are probably trolling, spoons,flies,small cranks. Salmon hit hard, but that is why you have a drag. I can see the folbes working fine out west. Do the trollers put rods 3-6ft down on the water? Do they pull dbl tens, giant size blades on spinnerbaits, large deep running crank baits, and do 4-8 MPH + floating weeds that can weigh several lbs...I doubt it? As far as Folbes breaking. if your going to drown suckers, or drag small cranks at 2-3.5 mph with rods above water, by all means, go with folbes. if you are going to be a hard core troller, with the above baits I mentioned,forget the folbe . I broke 3 folbe. the post going into the housing, that has the spines, will round off and slip. I personally was in contact with both the father, and son (folbes owners), and they told me that the folbe will simply not work for musky trolling of large baits. In fact, they told me to go with downeast...yes, the owners of Folbe!!! Also, you think Thorpe, or Lazarus out east are using folbes...hec NO. They are using down east. They are trolling probably thousands of hours and doing speeds of 4-8 MPH. As far as noise, I hardly think a musky is going to spoke because of a little metallic sound. Most surface baits make tons of metallic Sound. Besides, I can pull a Rod from a powder coated down east, as quiet as a mice If I need to!!!! As far as a down Rod in the prop wash, down east works great. Again, Thorpe/ Lazarus, run rods vertical to the walls of the boat, and never loose rods. I personally have friends that run rods straight down and have never lost a Rod. Downeast does not recommend this, But I have been running down rods for years with downeast and never lost a Rod to date!!! I troll about 400+ hours a year! JD |
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Posts: 32800
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Any rod holder can and will break. Every brand. Metal, plastic...they all occasionally fail.
Fish what you are comfortable with.
Don't use inexpensive rod holders made out of any material designed to troll walleye spinners trolling big baits. |
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