Step 3 (Customize and Mount): At this point you can line up the rod holder and mount with tapping screws larger than your drilled holes (it is not recommended to use tapping screws alone without drilling as you risk cracking your boat panels), or whenever possible use a nut and bolt, this allows you to fully tighten the rod holder securely. You are going to need to buy additional mounting hardware that best matches your boat.

Now Bass Anglers are known for their flashy rigs, after all bass boats are basically the sport car equivalent of fishing craft. Most bass anglers would find the white rod holder quite functional, as well as quite unsightly when mounted on their boats. Our Nitro 180FS is Blue/Platinum/Pearl color combination with black console instrumentation, so we decided to do a little bit of customization to help our new rod holders better blend in.

We chose to paint the rod holders to match the boat, and purchased two cans of spray paint. One black matte base coat, and one black/silver fleck finish paint. If you decide to do a little tailoring of your own make sure to purchase paints that are outdoor rated. The Berkley Rod Holder doesn't spray paint easy in its standard form and should be run over by hand with a fine sandpaper then washed and then completely dried to ensure a better paint bond. It took two coats of base layer and three coats of finish paint to get the rod holder just the right color. But finally we had something that we felt pleased to mount in the boat.

Real World Tests: The best way to test our newly mounted rod holder was to go fishing in the California Delta. The first thing we did was load the rod holder with three completely rigged baitcast combos and head to our destination at a speed of 45mph. The rods held nicely in the new holder and were spread apart enough so that the rod tips and reels never came in contact with one another during the outing. JIP fished from the stern while I casted from the bow, and never did any of the stowed rods ever get in the way of our normal fishing routine. Best of all, I was able to make quick changes in my combos when I decided to switch from reeling deep diving cranks to tugging topwater buzzbaits.

Price & Time Investments: At under $12.00 the Berkley Rod Holder is among the cheapest accessories you can slap on your boat, but it can go along way to helping you organize your favorite rod combos. All in all it takes less then an hour to mount the rod holder, with the majority of time spent picking the perfect location and checking and rechecking the mount positions before you proceed to drill. The addition of paint will increase the project time another hour as you spray on multiple layers and wait for the paint to dry.

Ratings:

Pluses and Minuses:

Conclusion: Berkley designed their tube rod holder to be above all, simple and functional. This no frills rod holder does the job well, whether you are organizing your bass rods, or stowing offshore rigs. The only complaint we had about the Berkley offering was lack of optional colors, which we were able to overcome with a little customization, and the lack of configurations like a 2 or 4 tube holder, this would allow for easier positioning on a variety of watercraft. While pointing rods are not common on most bass rigs, the important thing is the ability to switch rods to match applications quickly, which will help you react to conditions at whim, and achieve the ultimate goal....to catch more fish.

Until next time....Tight Lines!