I bet if you sent them in they would replace. Maybe a faulty few?

My buddies all run the folbe's and I'm not big on them either. I think they are a little sticky, a little rough, and hard to "sneak" a rod out of the holder if your getting light bite sturgeon. The way people rave about them, I kept thinking I'd come around, but so far I dont like them any more now than the first time I tried them.

I need to outfit 2 boats with new rod holders soon and have been very interested buying Folbes. I'll have to try some that have been worked over to see how smooth they are.

I agree that for the price you shouldn't have to do anything to them to make them perfect fishing machines, but on the overall, I'd rather sand the rough edges off and use them rather than use any other type...

Fish on...

Todd

Folbe's seem to be a great product and they sure do have a loyal fan base... ala Willie boats.

I'm gonna buck consensus here though and say that I ain't all that crazy about 'em either. For me, it isn't the gettin' the rod out of the holder that I don't like... it's the hassle of puttin' it in.

Fish-On's and Scotty's are a one-handed deal. If your Folbe is closed, you need the second hand to open and set it before you put the rod in.

For low-angle driftboat or sled rod holders, I'll stick with my Fish-On's.

Any other application and I'd use the Folbe.

If you're gonna invest in a device designed specifically for ergonomics and efficiency, it needs to be utilized with those objective in mind. The mobile half should open TOWARD the inside of the boat on rear-facing rods-- OR -- toward the bow of the boat (stern in a drifter) on rods facing out to the sides. This motion results in the most effortless release... and leaves the rod holder wide open to receive the rod when you are ready to put it back in again. You can fish all day without ever touching that rodholder again... you simply open and close it with the rod butt.

A FOLBE rodholder doesn't do much, but what it does, it does exceedingly well.... dare I say unsurpassed.

a) Hold the rod securely without fear of losing a rod.
b) Hold the rod securely at a pre-set angle without fear of it collapsing during the strike.
c) Permits the effortless release of a fully loaded rod....
d) without ever losing the load on the rod....
e) all in one fluid continuous motion.

It takes all of 10 seconds to train any user the minimal muscle memory required for the effortless release. It all hinges on two principles:

1) removing the rod in a path of motion that matches the 1/4-radius track of the mobile half.
2) applying even pressure on the rod grips both fore and aft of the FOLBE as you release it.

If pressure is applied evenly fore/aft, and the release motion is along a 1/4 radius path, the rod will release from the holder effortlessly EVERY time. The release can also be achieved without the 1/4 radius motion by pulling straight up with even fore/aft pressure, but it takes a just a wee bit more effort. It also results in the rodholder immediately closing (due to simple gravity) after clearing the rod. That's because the mobile half is NOT taken thru the complete 1/4 radius excursion to rest in the fully open position.

Any other attempted "release" technique will result in the the rod remaining SECURELY held by the FOLBE..... which is EXACTLY what it was designed to do. 1455 SECURE rod-downs without a mishap on my FOLBES since 2004 speaks volumes about the product.

Rod holders??? I guess those are for guys that don't know how to mooch

7 or 8 on my boat, the only holder to have

It is known that most fly fisherman prefer to hold their own rods, so apparently Folbe saw no need to pursue that market

Do the Folbe's fit the common Fish On bases?

No...but Scotty's and Fish On's do fit in the Folbe base just fine...

Fish on...

Todd

I prolly don't want to replace 7 mounts on my DB but maybe I can modify them. I will pick up a holder and check it out.
Thanks TR,

Quick draw McGraw didn't wait for the rod to load, lucky the fish was there. Folbe was flawless.

I try to stay off these threads but what the hell.
All Folbe Rod holders are not created equal and I am responsible for every one of them. If you have a Sticky one you shouldn't and it is my fault. I am not Folbe but my company molds most of the products they sell. Every one of them is hand worked to an extent by people that work for me. There is a limited time available for each one to be fitted and they are inspected twice. The problem occurs as the part cools and shrinks. You may even notice that on a hot day they will feel a little different than on freezing day. The reason some are a bit sticky is the same reason they just don't fall open and drop hundreds of dollars worth of tackle over the side of the boat. All of them have the ability to not be sticky and work perfectly all of the time. I would have to say the slide lock on the most popular mount is the weakest link. We will be designing an auto lock at some point in the near future but until then we urge that you set them up and be sure thy are locked in the mount before you start fishing. Both the pedestal mount and the flush mount are auto locking and I recommend them. The pedestal mount can be mounted on a rail and gives a couple inches of more height to the rod holder that is nice to have.

You will also be seeing a a few more versions in the future including one for KK. If ya have one you are not happy with I would be glad to rework it for you. If ya want to fix it yourself shoot me a pm with a phone # and I would be glad to talk to you about it...Art

Jebus Gary your just plain mean....

I have Folbe's on both of my boats and wouldn't go any other way.

Have a couple of sticky ones but a little grease and they are now fine.

On my bow rods in the Willie Predator I used a 5/16th" bolt and a washer
on the bottom of the round post and now they won't come out of the holder part. Sorry, don't know what the technical name is for those parts. But the round post has a hole in already and it was a 2 minute fix. A couple of them don't have the hole in the post so they are my stern holders. The slide locks suck on Folbe's but it sounds like they are working on a fix for that.

I would post a picture of the fix but I can't resize my pictures to fit here anymore.

fp

Been fishing Folbe's for over 6 years now, some do reguire more break in than others, what I've found works best, is to just fish the hell outa them and they smoooth right up.

What I tell my clients is, "Somertimes they're a little clunky @ first to load and unload, but when it matters most(ROD DOWN...FISH ON!)...their is nothing better than a Folbe!"

Great products...great customer service!

I've got sets on all my boats and thanks to Art have helped set up quite a few board members with Folbe's.

A shot or two of WD-40 is all I've ever had to use to get a sticky one operating like butter.

Thought I'd include some pics about proper on-the-water open/close orientation.

Like I said before, it's all about ergonomics and efficiency.

Looking down on the base mounts, there are 12 stops that potentially allow you to point the holder at every "clock hour" position. Think of 12:00 as pointing straight back, and 3:00 as pointing straight out to the right side. I use 5 different stops in my boat, depending on how many rods are being deployed.

For rods being deployed on the port side gunnel, the 12:00 and 1:00 positions will have the mobile half of the FOLBE releasing to the left, opening toward the middle of the boat. When the rod goes down, the holder is released with a very small motion toward the middle of the boat, continuing into a high vertical hookset to maintain the load on the rod.

Here's a spread of 6 rods where the port side FOLBE's are set to 12:00, 2:00, and 4:00. The second pic is a close up of the rear FOLBE set at the 12:00 position which opens toward the middle of the boat.

At the 2:00 position, the FOLBE's should open the opposite direction (to the right) allowing the rod to release toward the front of the boat, continuing into a low horizontal hookset to maintain a load in the rod. What I tell newby's in my boat is to remain seated (rear-facing) during the strike. When the golden moment arrives, simply lean forward in their seat toward the transom, pickup up and release the rod, and then simply lean back in their seat to complete the low horizontal hookset in one fluid continuous motion.

Here's a pic showing another 6 rod spread. As you can see none of these guys listened to a damned thing I had to say 'cause they're ALL facing the WRONG direction!

The second pic is a closeup of the middle rod on the port side fishing the 2:00 position. Again the FOLBE opens to the right, toward the bow of the boat.

The FOLBE in the 4:00 position is my favorite rodholder in the boat. With the help of the double-ended dog-bone extension, it helps me to achieve maximum spread to deploy the widest possible curtain of gear in the water. It also helps to achieve maximum load on the rod before line strips from the reel. From the first moment of the strike, that rodtip is going to move nearly 8 feet before line starts peeling from the reel! It's a sight to behold!

And releasing that maximally loaded rod is still a breeze, even from a seated position. The guy just leans forward in his seat to reach for the grips, releases the rod, and then simply leans back in his seat to complete a very low horizontal hookset in one continuous fluid motion... without EVER losing the load on the rod!

Most folks probably won't be using that 4:00 position much, but opting for 3:00 instead. All the same rules apply.

To illustrate that WIDE curtain, here's a pic of the F/V eyeFISH spreading its wings. The second pic is a closeup of my side-rigger FOLBE, only on the opposite side of the boat (technically that'd be the 8:00 position, mirror image of 4:00). Notice how good the crew is about opening the FOLBE's on that 1/4 radius path.... no hands needed to receive the rod when it's time to re-deploy!