Pick your setup
Four setups that cover most trailer boats. The totals are live; the button puts the whole setup in your cart.
Small boat softbaiting
A tinny or small centre console that drifts and casts. Two open-cradle holders on the rear gunwales, pointing aft, so a bait can fish while you work a softbait, with backing plates for the thin alloy.
5 to 6 m all-rounder
Two flush-mounted holders amidships for straylining and jigging, two on the stern corners for softbaiting and a bit of trolling, and an extender to bring a rod to hand at the bait board.
Trolling and game
Stainless-jacketed tubes on the stern corners for the long lines, and the strongest holders amidships at right angles to the hull for the short lines and the fight.
No-drill rail and clamp
For a hire boat, a pontoon or a hull you will not drill: two clamp mounts on the stern corners with tube holders that lift straight out, and a rail mount for a holder on the bow rail.
Where they go
Top-down, bow at the top. Every rod tip points out over the water.
Drift and cast ahead; the holders fish behind you.
Backing plates under both mounts on a thin alloy gunwale.
Two upright amidships, two aft on the corners.
The extender goes on whichever holder is nearest the bait board.
Long lines from the corners, short lines off the beam.
Space the positions so reel handles clear each other.
Clamps on the stern corners, a rail mount forward.
Everything lifts off when the boat goes back.
Arrow: the rod points that way, tip over the waterDot: rod held upright
Mounts
Pick the mount for the surface you have. Every holder on this page fits all of them.
Side deck mount
Scotty 241 · 3 7/8 × 2 in
The standard receiver. Four bolts, flat on the deck or on the gunwale side, in black, white or grey. The one most holders come with.
Rail mount
Scotty 243 square · 245 round · 1¼ in
Clamps the rail with stainless fasteners and takes any holder. Move it along the rail or take it off when you sell the boat.
Side deck mount with a backing plate
Scotty 241 + 441 plate
A thin alloy or GRP gunwale needs the load spread underneath. Fit the backing plate under every mount or the bolts will work loose.
Clamp mount
Scotty 449 · clamps up to 2 in
Clamps a gunwale or transom up to 2 in thick with a side deck mount on top. For hire boats, inflatables and anything you cannot drill.
Holders
Pick the holder for the job. All of them turn 360° and tilt, and lift out of the same mount.
Open cradle with a locking ring
Scotty 230 Powerlock · 1.95 in
Takes almost any rod and reel, and the ring at the front stops the rod jumping out on the road or in a chop. The all-rounder.
Fast-release cradle
Scotty 401 Orca · 1.60 to 1.86 in
One lift and the rod is out and in your hands, which is what you want when a kingfish takes a livebait. Locking flush mount with a splash cover.
Upright tube with a gimbal pin
Scotty 349 Rod Master II · 10 in
Holds the spare jig rod upright and out of the way while you fish the other; the gimbal pin stops the reel turning. Fits the clamp and rail mounts.
Stainless-jacketed tube
Scotty 470 Rocket Launcher · 9 in
A heavy tube that takes the drag of a trolled lure all day. The dual version puts two on one base for a corner pair.
Reinforced cradle that lets go
Scotty 240 Striker · 2 3/8 in
Stainless-reinforced arms and a rotating inner support that releases the rod the moment a big fish hits. For the heaviest tackle on the boat.
Cushioned cradle
Scotty 280 · 1¼ in opening
Holds a baitcaster in a padded cradle or a spinning reel in the front slot; the open side clears a trigger grip.
Triple cradle
Scotty 256 · three Powerlocks
Three cradles on one post for a softbait rack behind the seat or a small trolling spread.
Rod holder on the tackle box
Meiho BM300 · clips to a Meiho box
A holder that mounts on the end of a Meiho tackle box, for the dinghy or kayak with no gunwale to drill.
Fitting
Get these right and the holders last the life of the boat.
The holder only drops into its mount when it points inboard, and locks every other way. Fit the mount with the logo the right way up as you look at it from inside the boat, and check a holder clicks in before you tighten the bolts.
On the side of a gunwale, fit the mount as close to the top edge as it will go. Any lower and the holder hits the gunwale before it can swing right round.
Thin alloy and GRP gunwales flex under a loaded rod and the bolts loosen. A backing plate under every mount spreads the load and stops it.
Leave enough room between positions for the reel handles to clear each other, and keep rod tips inside the hull footprint so they survive the wharf.
Hardtop launchers store rods; they are too high to reach a strike. Troll from the gunwale and stern holders where you can get to the rod.
Watch
Where the mount goes on a gunwale, and how the holder locks into it.
Marking, drilling and bolting the side deck mount, then clicking a holder into it.
Video by Scotty Fishing & Outdoor Products, on their YouTube channelThe locking version of the same mount, on top of or beside a gunwale.
Video by Scotty Fishing & Outdoor Products, on their YouTube channelQuestions
Short, plain answers.
Yes. Every post-mount holder on this page drops into every mount on this page, so one set of mounts can take different holders on different days. The exceptions are a couple of specialist holders that use their own mount, and the downrigger mounts.
It is hard to have too many. A working minimum is one per angler on the gunwales plus two at the stern for trolling or softbaiting behind the boat, which is the all-rounder setup above.
No. Hardtop launchers are for storing rods when they are not in use. Troll from the gunwale or stern holders where you can reach the rod.
Yes. An adjustable extender raises any holder about 9½ in and angles it toward you, so the rod is in the fighting position before you touch it. It is in the all-rounder setup.
On a thin alloy or GRP gunwale, yes, under every mount. On a thick timber or heavily laminated gunwale the mount can bolt straight through.
Rod holders
Fibre-reinforced nylon holders with 360° rotation and tilt, the triple and dual bases, and the holders sold without a mount for your own clamp or rail mount. Prices and stock are live.
Related guides
Boat gear
Laketroller, Depthmaster, Strongarm, Depthpower and High-Performance tiers matched to your boat, steel versus braid, and the rigging hardware.
Downrigger
Livebaiting kingfish on the downrigger: downriggers, mounts, weights, release clips, livebait hooks, leader, rods and reels, step by step, with two Adam Clancey videos.
Softbaiting
The rod, reel, braid, softbaits and jigheads that catch snapper in New Zealand, from a first setup to a technical one, rods and reels by budget, and how to fish them.
Storage
Eight Versus Meiho boxes compared, accessories by job, four ready-made builds with one-click cart links, a compatibility matrix from Meiho's own fit lists and a system builder.