My favorite rod holders for water master Kodiak or Grizzly

Thanks, I’ll probably do that at some point. For now, I place the butt end of the rod in the PVC zipper bag on the inside and point the rod tip backwards. It works totally fine but I’m also not rowing in technical water with my Kodiak.
 
I have also lost a rod off the back with the handle on the seat, and broke a rod tip with a rear facing Scotty. 😢

I have a "Water Strider" raft co. "Bolt Action" PVC pipe rod holder that is longer than the "Rod Right" holder WM sells and has the reel cut out for pivoting the rod to lock it in place. It has two strap slits in the side of the PVC pipe to mount it horizontally along the side, front or rear facing. But a Kodiak is still too short to give any real protection to a fully rigged rod. Someone on the old WFF site said he made a DIY WM length PVC rod storage tube that would fully protect a rod broken down into two pieces, or possibly it was a full length storage. It had the slot down the middle to slip the rod into and a reel cut out. It mounted along the top or side of the tubes. I asked some questions about how he mounted it, if he could easily reach the reel to unstow the rod, and if he could post pics. Unfortunately he never posted anything on the forum again. ☹️

And one other thing, a Scotty can be a fly line magnet if it's mounted close enough to easily reach from the Kodiak seat. When trolling on lakes I use the Bolt Action holder facing forward mounted at a 45° angle, but its hard to reach if using the stripping apron. 😏 I use the Scotty near the seat facing backward for rod storage.
 
Here’s a DIY I’ve used in the past with my Grizzly when on moving water.

IMG_9820.jpeg

IMG_9821.jpeg

IMG_9822.jpegIMG_9823.jpeg

It’s a piece of 1 7/8” PVC I picked up at our local ReStore.

It was initially made for my 9’ 5 & 6 wt rods and will fully protect them when broken in half.

As you can see, it’ll hold my 6 wt switch but would need to be a bit longer to fully protect the rod.

On the raft, I secured it under the two oar strapsIMG_9824.jpeg

with the long end extending over the back.

On the Grizzly, the PVC tube would slightly restrict/inhibit vertical oar movement at the pin, but nothing too bad for me. Haven’t tried it yet with the Kodiak.
 
M_D said:
Here’s a DIY I’ve used in the past with my Grizzly when on moving water.

View attachment 182043

View attachment 182044

View attachment 182045View attachment 182046

It’s a piece of 1 7/8” PVC I picked up at our local ReStore.

It was initially made for my 9’ 5 & 6 wt rods and will fully protect them when broken in half.

As you can see, it’ll hold my 6 wt switch but would need to be a bit longer to fully protect the rod.

On the raft, I secured it under the two oar strapsView attachment 182047

with the long end extending over the back.

On the Grizzly, the PVC tube would slightly restrict/inhibit vertical oar movement at the pin, but nothing too bad for me. Haven’t tried it yet with the Kodiak.
Click to expand...
That looks very much like the PVC rod (tray) holder that was described to me and I had mentioned above! With a little toggle bungie rod keeper and all, Thank You!
 
Brian Miller said:
That looks very much like the PVC rod (tray) holder that was described to me and I had mentioned above! With a little toggle bungie rod keeper and all, Thank You!
Click to expand...
Sheese...maybe that's where I got the idea....from a posting on the old site.

Heck .....maybe I did the original posting back in the day :unsure:

Who knows anymore the way my mind works........or doesn't :rolleyes::ROFLMAO:
 
M_D said:
Sheese...maybe that's where I got the idea....from a posting on the old site.

Heck .....maybe I did the original posting back in the day :unsure:

Who knows anymore the way my mind works........or doesn't :rolleyes::ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...
Is your holder about 48" long? And the rod slot is about 21"?
I'm curious, if you made it specifically for a Kodiak would you have made it any longer?
 
Brian Miller said:
Is your holder about 48" long? And the rod slot is about 21"?
I'm curious, if you made it specifically for a Kodiak would you have made it any longer?
Click to expand...

Just measured it..

59” overall and the opening is about 31” inches ….going from about 3-34”

IMG_9825.jpeg
IMG_9826.jpeg
regarding the opening/tray section, I actually remember having to make several cuts, increasing the opening length, so the rod would easily slide in.

If I make another one, I’d make it long enough to protect whatever the longest rod was I brought along. The reality is I haven’t done any moving water floats the last couple years and I don’t use it for still water, so it’s just been in the garage.

That said, I’m hoping to get out later this week so I’ll snap a couple pictures with it on the Kodiak.
 
@TheFlyFishingFilmmaker here is a pic of the Bolt Action Holder. It will mount to either side with the T slot for the reel. There are 4 thin horizontal slits in the back, 2 pairs with one slit above another to pass the straps through. It's 1 7/8" pipe, 12" long
1776302240826.jpeg
1776304030084.jpeg
1776303992515.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Brian Miller said:
I have also lost a rod off the back with the handle on the seat, and broke a rod tip with a rear facing Scotty. 😢
Click to expand...

@TheFlyFishingFilmmaker, @M_D , and anyone else with a Kodiak, I'm curious, would anyone consider using one or two of those very cool PVC rod holders exclusively for storage & protection that are long enough to protect a fully rigged 9' to 91/2' rod in tight, rocky technical water, or coming into a tricky takeout with low branches or a high bank? Perhaps with a carefully formed shallow curve contouring around the stern for the tip, and the reel cutout out of reach to extract the rod without being beached...
 
M_D said:
Here’s a DIY I’ve used in the past with my Grizzly when on moving water.

View attachment 182043

View attachment 182044

View attachment 182045View attachment 182046

It’s a piece of 1 7/8” PVC I picked up at our local ReStore.

It was initially made for my 9’ 5 & 6 wt rods and will fully protect them when broken in half.

As you can see, it’ll hold my 6 wt switch but would need to be a bit longer to fully protect the rod.

On the raft, I secured it under the two oar strapsView attachment 182047

with the long end extending over the back.

On the Grizzly, the PVC tube would slightly restrict/inhibit vertical oar movement at the pin, but nothing too bad for me. Haven’t tried it yet with the Kodiak.
Click to expand...
Wow that is really cool! I like it!
 
Brian Miller said:
@TheFlyFishingFilmmaker, @M_D , and anyone else with a Kodiak, I'm curious, would anyone consider using one or two of those very cool PVC rod holders exclusively for storage & protection that are long enough to protect a fully rigged 9' to 91/2' rod in tight, rocky technical water, or coming into a tricky takeout with low branches or a high bank? Perhaps with a carefully formed shallow curve contouring around the stern for the tip, and the reel cutout out of reach to extract the rod without being beached...
Click to expand...
Hmmm where would you mount it? Also PVC in long amounts seems to be heavy. I have swiftcast rod holders on my bruin, but I often hem and haw about bringing them just because they can be a bit of pain to use. I have yet to break a rod tip with my rods in the scotty holders, so it's hard for me to imagine that the weight feeling worth it to me. I rowed some really rocky technical water in New Zealand and I don't think I ever really felt like my rod tips were in danger.
 
Brian, I will remain
a novice when it comes to moving water. I’ve done a handful of floats and none have been technical…. cuz I’m a big chicken.

That said, I’ve quickly found myself in shitty, short lived situations on my home (Class 1??) river the Nooksack. My Safety Sam side wouldn’t want 4 or 5 more feet of any sort of tubing extending beyond the raft.

I’ve seen the bent/curved rod holders and while they’re neat and all, I am not that great of a fisher who needs a quick draw rod….meaning I’m content with the little bit of extra time it takes to reconnect the two halves of rod and whatever kink that formed in the leader disappears pretty quick.

But that’s me, you gotta do you, have fun with whatever you come up with 👍
 
TheFlyFishingFilmmaker said:
I rowed some really rocky technical water in New Zealand and I don't think I ever really felt like my rod tips were in danger.
Click to expand...

M_D said:
I’ve seen the bent/curved rod holders and while they’re neat and all, I am not that great of a fisher who needs a quick draw rod….meaning I’m content with the little bit of extra time it takes to reconnect the two halves of rod and whatever kink that formed in the leader disappears pretty quick.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your comments.
Yeah, On lakes I now use easy on - off rod floats that don't impede casting or stripping and will keep a loose rod floating if it goes overboard, and both of my incidents have conditioned me to stop before approaching shore or obstacles on rivers and lakes to assess any hazards that might damage a rod, then take appropriate action.

But I will probably try making at least one of the @M_D rod holders to stow a rod.
 
Brian Miller said:
Thanks for your comments.
Yeah, On lakes I now use easy on - off rod floats that don't impede casting or stripping and will keep a loose rod floating if it goes overboard, and both of my incidents have conditioned me to stop before approaching shore or obstacles on rivers and lakes to assess any hazards that might damage a rod, then take appropriate action.

But I will probably try making at least one of the @M_D rod holders to stow a rod.
Click to expand...
A lighter alternative for the longer rod holder to use thin walled (2mm - 1/16" wall) PVC central vac piping. The 60inch rod holders I made (shown below) for the back seat of my Honda Ridgeline were by Broan-NuTone, but the big box stores in Calgary carry IPEX now. The thinner wall is easier to cut with a utility knife but you have to be more careful if you use power tools.

My Ridgeline is gone but I'm going to modify one of those rod holders as per @M_D above to use for my 2nd rod on my Fish Cat Scout.

3c2 Rod Rack Central Vac Pipe Grey.JPG
 
M_D said:
Here’s a couple pix I took today View attachment 182207View attachment 182208

and since the Kodiak tubes are slightly larger in diameter than the Grizzly, the rod tube doesn’t interfere with oar movement much at all
View attachment 182209
Click to expand...
BTW, my WM seat back-cushion has a little pouch on the back with two grear rod holders; I use the one on the port side to stow my net. But 😮 that seat looks COMFY!
Is that a modified CAROCC memory foam? cushion off Amazon? (sewed some velcro hooks into the cover bottom and added snap hooks to the straps to clip to the D-rings?)
 
TheFlyFishingFilmmaker said:
Hmmm where would you mount it? Also PVC in long amounts seems to be heavy. I have swiftcast rod holders on my bruin, but I often hem and haw about bringing them just because they can be a bit of pain to use. I have yet to break a rod tip with my rods in the scotty holders, so it's hard for me to imagine that the weight feeling worth it to me. I rowed some really rocky technical water in New Zealand and I don't think I ever really felt like my rod tips were in danger.
Click to expand...
🤔 The Swiftcast holders look nice but the price makes it a non-starter for me. The Kodiak total length is 8'10". Is the Kodiak tube length from the outside of the tube at the bow around the stern curve long enough for a DIY holder fit the Kodiak tube contour? 🤔

A DIY, possibly 2-pc PVC or IPEX holder like @M_D made with a carefully heat-formed curve (I have a YT DIY video bookmarked) with its own 6' straps to lash to the tube in the bow, near the seat, and shorter straps for the D-rings in the back.

But unlike a larger raft the Kodiak would probably to be beached to access or stow & secure the rod.

That alone might make it more of a hassle than its worth.
 
Last edited:
Brian Miller said:
BTW, my WM seat back-cushion has a little pouch on the back with two grear rod holders; I use the one on the port side to stow my net. But 😮 that seat looks COMFY!
Is that a modified CAROCC memory foam? cushion off Amazon? (sewed some velcro hooks into the cover bottom and added snap hooks to the straps to clip to the D-rings?)
Click to expand...
It is comfy (y) I got it a couple years ago when I had some lower back problems.

https://www.amazon.com/Lifted-Lumba...table-Ergonomic/dp/B0C1TT3W6Y?ref_=ast_sto_dp

as you'll see on the link, it has straps that snap to the bottom....so it's like a stadium seat. I just cut the clips and the seat bottom strap off and sewed on the snap clips so it works with the D loops on the raft.

didn't bother with putting velcro on the cushion bottom cuz the d loop straps hold it in place just fine.

Hind sight tho, I'd find a way to attach the snap clips without cutting the stadium seat straps....cuz just yesterday I realized I could use the stadium seat version on the bench seat of my aluminum boat, should I have a friend along.

FWIW, the down side of the seat, if there is one, is it's heavier than the WM seat and it holds water. So, if you're packing the raft in, I'd hold on to the thinner WM seat. Generally, I'm always wearing waders so I don't care if the seat cushion is damp....just know it's a thing, if that's important to you.

Also, I just happened to see one at my local Goodwill the other day. If you like, I'll let you know if it's still there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top