Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | You can put rod holders anywhere you want. The rule of thumb I use is this; For running multiple rods with flat lines and still being able to make sharp steering changes keep them all as far back as possible. If you run boards you can mount holders farther forward as they will pretty much prevent making serious steering moves and keep lines out of harm's way.
Learned this by trial and error out on the big lake chasing salmon. There I'd easily run 9 to 12 rods out of an 18' boat with room for more. To run four flat lines I'd use two very short rods pointing straight back and two long rods pointing out at a 45 degree angle so the rod tips are as straight in line as possible. Then you can do every kind of maneuver you can think of and still have the lures running great IF they are tuned to run straight. By adding weights or using deep divers to the back inside lines you can use your imagination on sets and progressively run more and more rods. All you need to remember is for optimal efficiency, you try to set a double "V" configuration. Deepest lures short and in the middle of the spread while you put out more line and run shallower sets as you progress outward. Shallowest sets will be the outside rods and longest lines, deepest sets will be the shortest sets and inside rods.
Even if you are only going to run two rod holders, I'd try to keep them as far back as possible to keep the lines away from the prop if you lose control in the wind or while fighting a fish. The farther forward they are the greater the chance to run them over with the motor if they have diving lures on.
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