Most kayaks come with rear facing flush mount rod holders and these are great for trolling a lure or storing the rods whilst paddling. Some kayaks come with forward facing flush mount rod holders and these are useful for when fishing at anchor or on the drift, however they position the rods at quite a steep angle. I find this annoying when bait fishing in chop or swell where the sharp angle tends to bounce the weight on the bottom instead of gently dragging it across the bottom. I needed a rod holding solution that positioned the rods at a lower angle. The use of a rod rest has recently become popular so i decided to make a fully adjustable rod rest system that i could easily transfer between any of my fishing kayaks. This is how i done it..... |
Making the Ram Mount Kayak Rod Rest
- 1 x Ram Mount 18" Long Extension Pole with 1.5" and 1" Open Socket Ends (RAP-CB-201-18)
- 1 x Ram Mounts 1" Ball Base with 1/4"-20 Threaded Insert (RAM-B-337)
- 1 x Brass Bank Stick Camera Adaptor - 1/4"-20 Male Thread to 3/8" BSF Male Thread
- 1 x Brass Extra Long (1") Nut - 3/8" BSF Thread
- 1 x Maver Ripple Rod Rest - uses 3/8" BSF Male Thread
The Maver Ripple Rod Rest features a standard bank stick thread which is 3/8" BSF thread. This screws into the extra long brass nut with 3/8" BSF thread. To the other side of this the Brass Bank Stick Camera Adaptor screws in - one side has a male 3/8" BSF thread, the other side has a male 1/4"-20tpi thread (standard camera mount thread). This can then be screwed into a Ram Mounts 1" ball mount with 1/4"-20tpi threaded hole. Use a dab of Loctite Thread Locker or Superglue on these threaded joins to stop them from loosening / spinning during use.
This rod rest assembly then attaches to the 1" open socket end of the Ram Mounts 18" extension pole. The other end of the pole has a 1.5" open end socket which can be fitted to any 1.5" Ram Ball Mount. This could be a deck mounted ball, such as the 1.5" ball with round base (RAM-202), a track mounted ball such as the 1.5" Quick-Release Track Base (RAM-383), or for Hobie Kayaks a mast-tube mounted ball such as the 1.5" Mast Tube Wedge Mount (RAP-354).
On the RTM Tempo
On the RTM Abaco
On the RTM Ocean Duo
Rod Rest on the Hobie Revolution 16
Rod Rest on the Hobie Outback
On other kayaks?
Cost
The Ram Mount 1 inch Ball with 1/4"-20 threaded hole costs around £9
The Brass 3/8 BSF to 1/4"-20tpi adaptor (bankstck to camera adaptor) costs around £2.50 (Ebay)
The Brass Extra Long 1 inch nut with 3/8 BSF thread costs around £2.50 (Ebay)
The Maver MX Ripple Rod Rest costs around £11
Total for the rod rest is therefore around £55. You then need a 1.5" Ram Ball for each kayak and these cost around £15 each. Ram Mounts also produce track mounted 1.5 inch ball mounts and 1.5 inch ball mast tube wedge mounts for Hobie Kayaks which can be used to attach the rod rest. It is a pricey rod rest but is not too far off in price from buying 2 or 3 separate deck-mounted rod holders such as those produced by Scotty, Railblaza or Ram. It can easily be transferred between kayaks and can also double up as a Go Pro pole.
I have been using mine for the last 6 months and it is great, I rarely launch without it!