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Posts: 1267
Location: Walker, MN | I have had a couple of these for 15+ years now and I find them kind of awkward for getting the rod in and out. Where do most of you clamp on to the rod? At the reel? On the foregrip? On the butt section behind the reel? It seems like clamping it at the reel is the only real way to keep it from spinning up side down on a slack line but is most clumsy for setting and retrieving the rod. Any advice? |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | I like it around the reel just ahead of the pistol grip if the rod has one |
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Posts: 86
Location: colorado | I have used mine for years and have always put the reel centered in the clamps. One thing that i have learned is to always grab the rod bye the fore grip and pull it forward to unload the weight and then pull up and out. |
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Posts: 246
| They are awkward no doubt. |
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Posts: 216
| Yup around the reel for sure then it can't spin around as much when slack lined.plus I wouldnt feel safe having it locked on the cork behind the reel,what if you get hit while Turing that direction. I like resting my power handle on the side of the boat with the reel locked in between the clamp,very little flopping around and you have to pull em straight up and out,always tough when it's being bent over pulled to the side with a big one on. |
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Posts: 192
| I have the Downeast rod holders and I really like mine but I use trolling rods that do not have triggers on them. If I try to put one of my trigger stick casting rods in the holders it doesn't work well to straddle the reel. |
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Posts: 865
| Have been using these since they came out, and love them However I did have trouble with some G Loomis rod triggers being a little tight So I enlarged the trigger cut outs on all my holders. Simply cut a little off on both sides and then grab with a pliers and wiggle it will break right off. Then just file a little and round and smooth edges. Keep the hinge pin lubricated with silicone I Did this on everyone of my Down easters since then ...Try It They will last forever and work Flawlessly. mike |
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Posts: 463
Location: Sw Pennsylvania | I've ground all the triggers off all my trolling rods. Makes it a lot easier to get the rods in and out of the down east holders and lets you position them how you want in the holders.
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Posts: 77
| They're pretty simple once you get the hang of them. You just have to know how to relieve pressure while pulling them out (especially when trolling). Definitely the beefiest of the rod holders. Most of the St. Lawrence trollers use down-east. Downsides to them are that they're noisy when running wide open and they chew up your rod cork. |
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Posts: 177
Location: ON | I am going to get a couple very short bungee cords, to wrap around them in hopes to silence them while not in use/running. I don't have a system to quickly remove them, just plain old clamping them to the gunnels.
So once put on for the weekend, they stay on.
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Posts: 865
| I believe these were designed to clamp on to your rod around the reel seat and trigger... NOT around your cork handles...As far as being noisy, They sell an item that is sold in Swimming Pool accessory stores, that is a round Colored foam float tube that the kids use in pools.......Simply cut it to a 6" piece and trim diameter to the size of a rod, run a piece of line threw it and fasten to the down easter...While running just open and insert foam inserts......No Noise |
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Posts: 192
Location: Quebec, Canada | Best musky rod holders IMO. |
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Posts: 1267
Location: Walker, MN | No real tricks then it sounds like. Personally I have no trouble getting the rod out of the holder. Like some mention, just pull up swiftly on the foregrip and butt at the same time and it's game on. When there are other people in the boat it doesn't seem to matter how much I tutor them, they struggle. I may just pick up a couple more folbes to make things go a little smoother for everyone. Thanks for the input fellas. |
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| cocathntr - 12/13/2013 9:05 PM
I have used mine for years and have always put the reel centered in the clamps. One thing that i have learned is to always grab the rod bye the fore grip and pull it forward to unload the weight and then pull up and out.
same thing here |
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Location: 31 | There's a learning curve with the DE, and that’s why I think people have issues with them. They are definitely designed to have the reel centered in the holder, and some low-profile casting rods/reels will simply not fit into a DE holder. I think removing the rod triggers, or enlarging the DEs opening to better fit the rod triggers are both excellent ideas. My biggest issue is people not seating them all the way down in the pocket, scary stuff… and it’s always something that gets re-checked in my boat when somebody else is setting rods. I agree that it seems almost everyone has problems getting the rod out of the holder until they get use to them, so for a guide they might not be the best answer. But for most of us though, once you get use to seating them correctly, and get the hang of how to relieve the pressure to remove them, there is simply nothing more versatile and efficient than DE that you can quickly rotate on the rail with moderate pressure. For you guys who use DEs… try a one hand lure check by pushing forward and simultaneously lifting the rod by the butt only, this and lifting the bait to the surface to check for weeds is easy. The only semi-tricky part is snapping the rod from the holder so the DE stays open, then dropping the rod back in the open DE using one hand on the rod butt becomes possible. It’s just something I like to do for fun when I get a little bored on the water, but shows how easy the DEs are to use once you get dialed in. |
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Posts: 191
Location: WV | don't forget to check the pins, after time they wear out or wear out the groove they sit in. jw |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | What would be the strongest rod holder for mounting on the transom with the rod pointed straight down with 5 feet of rod in the water. Down Easters won't work in that position |
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| why do you need 5 feet of rod in the water?if its for weed personally 1 feet is more than enough |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | The Idea is to put the lure double 10 or bigger under the propwash 10 feet back without the use of weights. I have friends having good success. I worry about the locking ring on the Scotty as these I believe were designed to run upright. |
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Posts: 906
Location: Canada | horsehunter - 12/21/2013 8:22 AM
The Idea is to put the lure double 10 or bigger under the propwash 10 feet back without the use of weights. I have friends having good success. I worry about the locking ring on the Scotty as these I believe were designed to run upright.
A small manual down rigger will do this without the rod being pointed straight down off the back off the boat. We have had good success with the rod tip pointed in the water back on an angle from the back corners 10' - 15' back to the 5' leader. |
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Posts: 682
Location: Sycamore, IL | What size weight are you using on your downrigger for blades in the prop wash? |
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Location: 31 | That makes sense with the downrigger if you're trying to keep a blade well below the prop wash. I think another viable option for Horse Hunter is to simply use a pivoting rail mounted DE close to the transom/kicker so the rod can be easily submerged. On a low sided boat like a Ranger Fisherman you can pivot the rod down so it's touching the rub rail (almost straight down) off either side rail, an 8’ rod will put the lightest blade 4-5’ down. When you're running 2 blades submerged off each side like this (I normally stagger them about 10’) your less than a “muskie length” away from the center of the boat. We are also in that same 20’ wash range, and the bait closest to the kicker is usually the one getting smoked, so I understand what Horse Hunter is trying to accomplish. However, the opposite side still gets hit, same with the “tail-gunner” that we run 50-60’ straight back right in the wash. |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | The two guys I know that are successful with the Scottys and the rod pointed straight down have downriggers on their boats so that is not the answer. I think I would trust the DE even less than the Scotty in that position.
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Location: 31 |
horsehunter - 12/23/2013 2:40 PM The two guys I know that are successful with the Scottys and the rod pointed straight down have downriggers on their boats so that is not the answer. I think I would trust the DE even less than the Scotty in that position. Frank, I can understand your concern of the rod and reel popping out of the holder (I even used a lanyard for a while), because it sure looks like it could pop open. However, I’ve used rotating DEs for prop wash trolling like that for hundreds of hours and lots of fish… I simply wouldn't post anything I couldn't stand behind. Happy Holidays, Jerry |
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Posts: 906
Location: Canada | Tell ya next year as we plan in mounting Scotty's on the back of the boat pointing straight down off the back. As for now we've used Orca's off the back corners pointed back and tipped down with success and no problems. |
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| imo down east is way better than any other rod older and this at every position.some of mine are 15 years old+ and still working like new one.i troll more than 150 hours each falls with lures that fight harder than 10 pounder salmon with no problem.a couple of falls ago me and a friend lost a rod a reel and a big frankie's baits on a ram that simply explode when we hit the bottom |
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