When the stripers are off the beach and I can’t find a crew, I go wire-line trolling by myself. Unfortunately, single-handed trolling is difficult and can be downright dangerous: If I get a bite, I have to leave the wheel of the boat while underway to hook the fish. Taking the boat out of gear causes me to lose fish by creating slack in the line. I realized I needed my rods to be closer to the helm station, so I built a removable rod holder that mounts on the back of the jump seat just behind the helm seat. To build the rod holder, I used a piece of Starboard, two pieces of aluminum U-channel and an angled, slide-in rod holder. I screwed the U-channels to the back of the jump seat within reach of the helm. The angled rod holder is fastened to one end of the Starboard and the other end of the Starboard slides into the U-channels. Now I can troll, hook the fish and still control the boat. And when the crew is around, the whole thing is easily disassembled and stowed.
– Don Geyer, Bayshore, New York
