I'd like to try out trolling this yr. in the BWCA, but have never done it from a canoe. What type of rod holder could/should I use on my canoe? I'm wondering if I should use a rather small rod as well? Thanks for your help!

I use a 7ft medium rod for trolling with no problems. I also use a rod holder from Piragis. You can find their catalogue online. just google it. I like their rod holder cause it can swivel. I tighten it so that it holds the rod while I paddle, but if a fish hits it will swivel back avoiding the hard pull on the side of the canoe. I used this to catch a 42" 21 lbs. pike last summer.

If you don't want the rod holder you can always tuck the rod under your leg or the seat, but then its in the way while paddling. I like the rod holder cause I can place it forward enough out of the way of my paddling stroke.

I have always rested the rod on the thwart in front of me. with little or no trouble. This year, I'm going to have that rod holder sold at Piragis.

I always just tuck it under my leg with no real issues but a rod hold would be cool also.

I hold the rod with my legs. If I am fishing off of the right side, It goes in front of my right knee and behind my left calf. I have used a rod holder but didn't like it. It was slower to grab the rod and set the hook and also I felt less "in tune" with my lure.

I also just put the rod between my legs. It works well without any major problems. The only problem you really run into is when the person in the front of the canoe is trolling. Sometimes their line might hit you in the face and make it more difficult to paddle when the canoe turns.

And sometimes I trick Mr. Barley and give his line a tug so he tries to set the hook!!!

I'll have to remember that 'trick' for my son this summer. LOL

ill tell ya what i put on my canoe this spring...but i cant give them a review yet...

berkley quicksets. $15 a piece at the mans mall.

light, compact, swivels and locks in place, top removes easily. aft receptacle (mine) bolted on a thwart, bow receptacle bolted to a short thwart i installed.

ill let ya know how they performed about may 29th. :) Jan

I went for years just tucking the butt of the rod behind a knee and resting the rod on the other knee. Seemed like there had to be a better way, so got a cheap rod holder. Mistake. Fell apart and didn't clamp securely. Turned out to just be portage weight. So I got a heavier duty Tite-Lok brand holder at Cabelas. Does a superb job at what it's supposed to do, but have missed a few reaching for it after finally noticing the rod quivering, and I do miss the feel of the rod to know how the bait is running and feel the fish hit, etc. I may just go back to the knee method and save the extra weight. Not sure.

Schweady - I fish the Loc Tites all the time at Lake Michigan in Milwaukee. Does a great job for me. Kind of pricey ay $32 each. Light weight I thought. I am thinking of taking 2 in this year. Do they clamp onto an aluminum canoe OK ? Izzy

I also use thwe rod holders from Piragis.They work great,one thing to do to make them better is to buy a can of liquid rubber and dip the clamp ends.They hold much better on the gunwales and don't scratch them at all.

I use the exact same technique as marsonite, only flip-flopped since I fish out of the left side. I have a nice rod holder, but I just don't like using it. I found I can react much quicker to a bite or strike if I'm in constant contact with the rod. Plus there's no reaching.

the reason i going to try the rod holder route is because its just plain frustrating for me to paddle with the rod that close...especially applying major corrective strokes.

ill try these berkleys.

maybe ill hate them!

if i do? ill go back to the double leg-lock hold...

signed, vern gagne (aka...Jan)

if i do? ill go back to the double leg-lock hold...

signed, vern gagne (aka...Jan)

and all this time I've been using the figure four grapevine to hold my rod....no wonder I was having problems paddling!

an especially hard "hold" for spinning rods! i admire you for even attempting it! :) Jan

This is the one I tried for the first time last summer. Tite-Lok 5610 with C-Mount.



Aluminum construction makes it incredibly light for its size, just rather bulky to pack. Does the job very well -- large jaw allows it to clamp securely to the canoe skin. (I used a section of bicycle inner tube draped over the gunwale to keep it from marking.)

But I also agree with snakecharmer: I miss the continuous 'feel' of the rod behind my knee (for both the fish hits and the inevitable snags). And the need to reach and then sometimes miss fish or get hung up unnecessarily makes me question its overall worth. Also: since we usually fish only after making base camp rather than while traveling, it's a more liesurely troll without so much concern with power strokes. Therefore, the rod being too close by when having it in the figure-4 leg lock is not that much of a concern.

A very cheap alternative: Tape a section of PVC to the thwart straight out to the side, stick the handle of the rod in the hole and there you go!

Happy fishing!

Hey Dagmn,

Have you used this PVC pipe method before? It does sound cheap and feasible. Plus, a piece of PVC that was taped parallel to the thwart would be out of the way and you could keep it there when portaging without it getting in the way. Can anyone think of drawbacks of this method? Your rod will be sticking staight sideways over the side of teh canoe, but if it was right in front of me I could keep an eye on it.

I just put it in between my seat, and the canoe hull. Works fine for me.

I've tried:
a) cheap (broke right away),
b) homemade (nearly lost everything),
c) good quality (reliable/more expensive),
but may just wind up going back to:
d) the leghold (tried-and-true).

I am willing to overlook the usual weight and cost concerns when it comes to my fishing extras to allow for me to bring some of my better rod/reel outfits without as much worry, so I have settled on using either my Tite-Lok or my knees.

check these out they work great and are very easy to attach. I just leave it on all the time for portaging and all, you can even turn them to hold your rod inside the canoe while portagong.
they are called the rod sentry and clamp onto the thwart versus the side of the canoe
http://www.canoegear.com/catalog/product.php?productid=173&cat=70&page=1