Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgia?

[sutor623]

Hey guys I am about to get rid of the junky plastic attwood rod holders on my boat. My bud and I fish for big Blue Catfish on the James. Im talking BIG. 70+ pounds are the target fish, anything from 20-50 pounds is pretty usual.

I have seen the 3/8" driftmasters fold up right at the threads. They make 1/2" rod holders also. From the threads all the way to the tip.

Hills has a ton of 3/8", and he has also devised a way to beef up the threads that go into the base. There is a converter that turns the 3/8" threads to 1/2", but the rest of the holder is still 3/8", although there are no welds at all, which he claims makes them stronger.

Below you can see the difference of the 1/2" Hills and 1/2" Driftmasters. The difference in price is crazy.

 

[stevecur]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

My experience with Hills is that they are made with very soft metal. I would stick with Driftmasters or Monster rod holders. I like the Monsters because they are larger and work better with the size rods you will be using. They are priced close to the same as Driftmasters but they include bases which makes them cheaper.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

Get some Downeaster SALTY series holders for fish up to 85lbs. and 100 lb. test line:

Rod Holders

 

[sutor623]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

My experience with Hills is that they are made with very soft metal. I would stick with Driftmasters or Monster rod holders. I like the Monsters because they are larger and work better with the size rods you will be using. They are priced close to the same as Driftmasters but they include bases which makes them cheaper.

Steve, did you own some hills? Did they fold up on you?

 

[jigngrub]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

I'm tellin' ya mang, the Salties are the way to go for big fish. They call them Salties for a reason.

It's also the rod holder of choice for trolling for big Muskies too!

I have 4 on my boat and won't ever have to worry about breaking or folding them up.

 

[stevecur]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

I had one fold when a large blue hit hard and pop 80# power pro. Had others bend just from guys using them for handles or grabbing them to catch their balance. They bend very easy. I even cut them down shorter and rethreaded them to gain some strength. Helped but still to soft.

 

[tanuki]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

Just another option---> 1/2 Heavy Duty Catfish Package 8 PK [] - $55.99 : MetalRodholders.Com

 

[saumon]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

x2 on the Downeast S-10.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Catfish and Deep Sea guys! Anyone heard of Hill's Wire Form rod holders in Georgi

There is a converter that turns the 3/8" threads to 1/2", but the rest of the holder is still 3/8", although there are no welds at all, which he claims makes them stronger.

Below you can see the difference of the 1/2" Hills and 1/2" Driftmasters. The difference in price is crazy.

The 1/2" coupler and threaded rod might make the contact point at the base stronger, but the 3/8 rod holder is still the same length and I don't see how there would be any less stress on where the 3/8 threaded rod goes into the coupler....

I'm using 1/2" Driftmasters for longline trolling, never had a problem with them bending. Though, the holder can turn in the threaded base if a fish hits hard or I'm trying to motor them out of cover... I bent a 3/8 Driftmaster once, but it was my fault as it caught on my clothes as I was running past the boat. Though, when I'm trolling for big stripers the force is going horizontal and the threads would slip before bending the rod holder.

My experience with Hills is that they are made with very soft metal. I would stick with Driftmasters or Monster rod holders. I like the Monsters because they are larger and work better with the size rods you will be using. They are priced close to the same as Driftmasters but they include bases which makes them cheaper.

Hmmmm Monster rod holder's eh?!? I've never heard of them. Do you know what their 4 hole bases are made from, aluminum, stainless steel??? Their website doesn't say. I made 4 hole bases for my Driftmaseters by tapping some 3/8" thick Tite-loc 4 hole bases,,, and brazing a galvanized nut on the bottom as I don't trust 3/8" thick aluminum.

I'd really like to find some 1/2" thick stainless steel or 3/4" thick aluminum, 4 hole bases.