About to try spider rigging.

Went to Academy's web site and saw they had a rod sale going on. I saw they had the 12ft Slab Shakers on sale for $17.99 online. I looked on their weekly sale ad and they had some hot deals on rods. I went to the store to see if they had any in stock. They were out of the shakers but had the 12ft. Tournament choice on sale for $12.99. So I bought 4. One of them even had a reel on it like a mini solo reel. Not bad for a $1.00 a foot. I rigged them with some old spinning reels I had for my boys when they were young. I am close to getting ready to try my hand at that spider rigging yall have been talking about. Next purchase is rod holders. So far I am in it for about $60 with the purchase of new line for my old reels. Next project is to make a set of rod holders for my boat. A buddy of mine has a tube bender and a threader. He told me he has been wanting to make some too. Looks like in a few weeks I will be set. My goal is to learn with these 4 and move up to 8 poles. My next 4 will be probably 14 footers. Any input and advice sure would be appreciated. Would a set of holders work made with galvanized conduit.

Sounds like a heck of a bargain to me.

Yes they will. Just about anything you can come up with that will hold them and let you adjust them will work. Be warned though that you have just opened the door to another money pit:Rofl

I would just get comfortable with four rods. I personally would wait til I had the feel for the technique before graduating to the 14'. Just my two cents. I absolutely love spider rigging and have just about quit playing golf and duck hunting. It takes patience and a lot of practice. Very easy if you do it right. It is very easy to tangle up all of the lines. Or a goo or far fish swimming thru your lines ! I would offer any help to you that I can. I learn something new everyday. Good luck.

I agree with getdanet. 12' rods can be tough enough. I fish longer rods but they are tougher than 12s. And when I fish 12', 14', and 16' together, I seem to catch just as many on the 12'ers as the others. If I'm fishing by myself, and I'm around any stumps, or if the fish are biting, I just fish 6 rods no matter how many holders I have.

Good luck sauté , sounds like you have a good plan going !

Thanks oh I plan to crawl before I run......lol. I was looking online and found Driftmaster 18in holders for $29.99 and 24's for $49.99. Thats cheaper than I can build out of galvanized pipe. I already have conduit 3/4 inch conduit. But by the time I buy Ts end caps, floor bases and hangers to hook the individual holders there isn't much savings over the 18inch model. Is there a big difference between an 18in and 24in holder. I am installing on an Alumacraft 165 pro with a tiller handle trolling motor. I don't want to crowd the front too much.

hey saute'. I love to spider rig. I agree that under probably 95% of situations 12 footers will do the trick. I can't comment on the driftmasters. I have hi-teks. holler if ya need any info.

doc :)

I have spider rigged maybe 4 times....I have the driftmaster 24" bar....it came with 4 pole holders.....like this one....

http://www.basspro.com/Driftmaster-T...CROSSSELL_DEPT

also have the Rod Rester ....see here..

http://www.basspro.com/Driftmaster-R...SSSELL_PRODUCT

sometimes when fishing with shiners I like to set 2 poles out and fish with one in my hand.....the 24" bar is too long so I cut a wood dowel about 15" and put 2 holders on it.....I bought a 14 ft pole for rigging but just don't see the need for one that long....heck, in south Louisiana that will nearly reach across the bayou.....I have used two 10 ft poles and two bass rods of different lengths for sac fishing (trolling).....course, I am by no means an expert on this but it seemed to work ......I would start with what ever poles you have and figure out what you think will work for you....

The Driftmasters are very well made....really rugged...

Hey Saute... here is a link to some rod holders that i came up with for my 16 ft alumacraft... They worked fine, only reason i stopped using em was because i was lucky enough to win the set of driftmasters here on crappie.com.

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/showt...-rigging-setup

total cost was less about 30 bucks i think... also.. i wouldn't recommend setting up for any more than 4 rods out of the front of the boat. any more than that is just too much for a lake like toledo bend. (you will have 3-4 fish on at a time with 4 rods... any more rods than that = epics tangles & lots of lost fish)

they were super easy to make. hope it helps.. holler at me if you need any other help.

... heck if i still had these i would give em to you, but gave em to a fishing buddy that put em on his boat.

also your 12 foot rods will work great.. i bought 4 of the extendable type rods (2 12's and 2 10's and it has worked great for me)

Prowler those do look nice.

I started with all 12, and now have settled on a mix of two 12s, 14 and a 16 on each side. The advantage is huge when you hook a gar or bass that runs sideways and can tangle four lines in a second. With different lengths it rarely happens. But cost is an issue.

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Originally Posted by saute86

Prowler those do look nice.

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The only thing i would change about them now is that i would put a slot in the bottom so that i could adjust the angle they are on as well.. and then use wing nuts and bolts to hold them to the wood.....

With the weather bad and no fishing the past 2 days I decided to bite the bullet and build some rod holders. I used 2 10in & 4 12in black pipe nipples, 4 end caps, 2 T's, 2 floor flanges and 4 brass conduit hangers all in 1/2in. I went to academy and picked up 4 clamp on adjustable rod holders and salvaged what I needed. I found some spray on plastic coating to rust proof it and make it scratch friendly. I also built an extension for my depth finder. I used 3/4in for the pedestal so I can run the wires thru the base and pipe for a clean install. I am in it for $65 for two complete rod holders and a pedestal for the finder. I saved about $30 and have a set of holders you could stand on. Here is a picture of one of the holders and the pedestal. Next project will be to clean it good, mount it to line everything up, remove it from the boat and then plastic coat it. Attachment 166734

I like that. Looks like it will work

it should. I am going to get 2 elbows and 2 close nipples. I will mount them to the sides so when they are not in the boat the flanges will be out of the way.

Did you thread the pipe yourself?

looks solid as a rock..

looking good 86....

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Originally Posted by 20watt

Did you thread the pipe yourself?

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No nipples come threaded.
Use can get them close which doesn't ad length just joins 2 fittings to all inches to 36in. You can get the pipe and fittings in galvanized and black. I chose black because its half the price and I am going to plastic coat it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by saute86

No nipples come threaded.
Use can get them close which doesn't ad length just joins 2 fittings to all inches to 36in. You can get the pipe and fittings in galvanized and black. I chose black because its half the price and I am going to plastic coat it.

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Thanks. Learn something new every day

Thanks for the comments. I will take pictures once I get it installed. I just have to clean them up. That black pipe is a mess with its black coating of grease. Once cleaned I plan to line it up good the disassemble it and put it back together installed with with lock tight. Then remove and coat it.

Nice looking setup. Won't be long now.

Do spider rigger's ever use jigs alone or always in some kind of shiner presentation?

As for me, most of the time just jigs tipped with a nibble.

Started tipping large shiners 5 years ago. Won't ever do anything different. Same catch ratio, only back at the house a lot faster.

Or the occasional double minnow rig

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Originally Posted by mermentau

Do spider rigger's ever use jigs alone or always in some kind of sinner presentation?

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I have only been using jigs since i have started.... (only been doing it for about 8 months or so)

will have to see if i catch more with shiners.

spider rigging is a lot of fun once you learn how its properly done.The concept appears simple and easy but can be very aggravating.I would suggest you take a guide trip or find someone that makes it look easy and follow them around...watching what,how and when they do what they do.Remember...just because a guy has 8 poles out don't mean he's got a clue.you are looking for someone boating fish.I am very good at spider rigging and would offer a few tips.For me,the number ONE thing to know about SR is boat control.I check a new area with my electronics but still troll into the wind till I learn the snags.Always approach stuff with the wind in your face and stay away from the bank.spider rigging can be done in bad wind if you have control. TWO, i like yellow hi-vis 10lb line and double minnow rigs.I started SR using 6lb hi-vis and single hook tied in a loop knot about a foot above a 1/4 or 3/8 bell sinker.i think they call it a bottoming rig.I now use 1/2oz Troll Tech rigs from Wally Marshall.Believe me...dragging 16 minnows 30 feet wide will put fish in the live well !! THREE,be quick on the draw.you have to pay close attention to the poles,for bites and snags.The deeper you fish the more important this becomes.I always fish with a partner,we set side by side and work as a team.he goes for a pole...i go for the net.he is re-baiting a rig...i net a minnow for him.always keeping an eye on the poles.A bite can be slack line or a line that is at a different angle than the others or it could be a rod tip buried in the lake.I run my rod tips about 6-10 inches above the water but i have a very stable boat.My poles dont match.i have some 12s some 14s,different brands.I have gone to the cheap red reels from bps.they do tear up so i keep a cpl spares.spinners wont work for me...to delicate.I built me a nice net its a frabile rubber coated net on a 3 section 14' painter pole from mccoys.it made a big difference in the number of fish that got captured this year.you want to use the fishing pole just to get the fish to the top...your partner slides the net under the fish...you bring the net,fish and pole back as one.i never reel in...thats why the long net.small fish may not require this but big ones do.Richard