Pole Holders for plunking.....

MasterCaster · 01-05-2003, 09:11 AM

With the talk about plunking I was just wondering what type of pole holders other plunkers like. I dont like my bell on my rod so I built my own holder with an adjustable bell attached. It doesnt take much of a hit to ring but Im usually watching my rod and see the hit before it goes off anyway.

The spring steel rod is 2' to 3' longer than you can see in the pic.

Whay types of holders do you guys like? I think pvc or abs pipe is much better than metal. Meatal seems to tear up the cork too bad.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[ 01-05-2003, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: MasterCaster ]

Big TULE · 01-05-2003, 10:54 AM

I use a 2 1/2 foot piece of pvc pipe that i place in the ground after digging a foot hole and place the rod in it i think it cost me 1.00

dogfishboy · 01-05-2003, 12:33 PM

Interesting bell placement MC. Saves looking for your bell when it goes flying after setting the hook.

I made a rod holder last spring for springer fishing after some friends invited me to fish a beach with them. Never done much plunking so had to have something.

I used a 40"ish piece of 1 1/2"x1 1/2" angle iron and attached a 2" pvc pipe cap with a hose clamp for the rod butt to rest in. Then I cut a piece of 2" pvc in half and attached half of it to the top on the holder to rest the rod above the reel in. I lined this half piece with some rubber to protect the rod. This enables me to remove the rod quickly in a backward motion as I run up the beach to set the hook. I don't have to lift the rod up and out of the holder before setting the hook. I added another smaller cap below the rod butt to hold a scent bottle.

I also found it important to put a piece of bright colored material on my bell so I can find it after landing a fish. I learned this the hard way. My rod holder is very rigid, so putting the bell lower is not an option for me. I'd post a pic but it's on the boat at the marina...sorry.

MasterCaster · 01-05-2003, 01:33 PM

I like the ones I make but the only down side is it doesnt do good in sand or soft soil. The spring steel rod doesnt stick too well in it. The places I use it on the Wilamette are all hard ground and rock so it works really well and just pushes right in. I never have to go looking for my bell either! :grin: With it being adjustable I dont have to worry so much about my holders angle. I can set it so its really sensitive or if the wind is blowing I can set it so its not dinging all the time. I tend to get a little jumpy when I hear a bell ringin and on a windy day it gets really bad even if Im looking right at my pole when that bell rings it still gets the blood pumpin.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

crabbait · 01-05-2003, 02:42 PM

I attach an 8" piece of coat hanger wire to my bell so that the bell cannot move free of the wire. The tip of the wire goes just barely through a guide foot as far up as I can reach. I also tie about 10' of string to the bell and a piece of surveyor's tape.

When a fish hits I just set the hook and ignore the bell. It goes flying back behind me somewhere but the end of the string is tied to the rod holder and the tape makes it easy to find. (I used to just use the tape but the bell sometimes landed with a splash..the string makes water retrieval much easier).

Land Shark · 01-05-2003, 04:47 PM

With too much time on our hands waiting for clearer water, my brother and I slapped a couple together yesterday. Patent Pending......

verysweepy · 01-06-2003, 12:14 AM

I've heard people mentioning before that when you get a bite, to grab the pole and run up the beach with it, what is the purpose for this? I know it's to set the hook [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img] but why so much force?

wetaline · 01-06-2003, 07:30 AM

the best and cheapest rod holders for sandy conditions, you can make yourself. buy some pvc pipe, cut a farely steep angle on one end, make the whole thing 2.5 - 3 feet long... round off the other end w/ a knife, grinder, or file or something... and wallla

dogfishboy · 01-06-2003, 07:52 AM

Verysweepy,
It was necessary in our case because the current required us to use 10 and 12 oz pyramid sinkers. Some of us would use two and three spin-n-glows which required a skiff to take the lines out and guarantee a "good drop." It took a lot to get the lead off the bottom and there was a lot of stretch due to the fact that we had a lot of line out. This is why we ran up the beach. Using these techniques in no way reduced the amount of fish we hooked and landed...just the opposite. Those that did not run back up the beach would almost always have their fish come off.

LandShark, My holder is very similar to yours on the left including the adjustable rod butt. Good luck with them. I hope you have a lot of bell ringers.

Last spring was my first experience with this method and I WILL use it again. Perhaps others who have plunked more than I might have other reasons.

Herring Impaired · 01-06-2003, 09:39 AM

When I plunk on the columbia, we usually have a pretty good bow in the line, and trying to reef back on the rod would just take some of the bow out of the line. We just grab the rod and take off until we feel resistence, and then give the rod another tug to set the hook.

will_e_fish · 01-06-2003, 10:04 AM

PVC works fine in sand and I use the rebar for pounding in gravel . The rocks at bonneville works OK if you forget yopur holder or are too lazy too pack it down the bank. I am looking forward to making some new ones for spring plunking. Keep it simple and functional is my mode of operation. I have extras I take along to give away in case someone forgot theirs!

husker · 01-06-2003, 10:38 AM

tie some fishing line to your bell.....tie the other end to your rod holder.......you'll never looking for your bell again.......its always attached to your rod holder......quick easy fix......

verysweepy · 01-06-2003, 01:43 PM

ahhhh....now I get the picture [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] , thanks for the replies.