Scotty Orca rod holders?

[Fisherdv]

Anyone have or tried these? How do you like them? Looking for some more options for a Sturgeon fishing rod holder that I can get the rod out fast. I have a lot of the other popular holders but wondering what opinions you guys have about the Scotty's orca's?

[Dbobby23]

Some people love orcas, I did not. I got rid of them after a week. I purchased 4 folbe jrs and love them. Just my opinion, Folbes are very smooth, orcas were not. Folbe's also match up with Scotty gears. So a folbe will match up with a Scotty extension. Side note I did get one bad folbe out of the box and returned it due to manufacture defect. Folbe jrs fit my tekota 500s on 10.6 ft rods all the way down to my ultra light setups.

[Wiley]

I have a couple I haven't used alot but liked ok when I did. As stated they aren't the smoothest. There is definitely a way to pull rod out of them that works best, seems I had to be sure to lift at the front first. Once you get the hang of them no problems. I do like the locking feature for trolling. I'm sure with a little silicone spray they would smoothen up some.

[StreamFixer]

My Orca's were really clunky and stiff when first used.  As they wear in, they are becoming much smoother, OR I have learned how to better operate them...   
StreamFixer

[DevMah]

Similar to Steamfixer took me a while to get use to them, but have had no issues.

Dev

[Fisherdv]

Is it a must to have the locking base? I have the standard non-locking flush mount bases. Would they pull out of the base every time I grab the rod out without the locking base?

[Fisherdv]

Just ordered a couple. $35 a piece with locking base.

[Fisherdv]

Those Folbe holders mentioned look nice too. I went with the Scotty's because I have all Scotty stuff now. If I don't like them I'll give the Folbes a try.

[FishAddict]

When the orcas first came out I used them for all four of my holders.  They didn't work for the trolling rods straight out at 90 degrees.  I lost three rods overboard because of fish hitting them and sprinting the holder open.  The first year at the PDX show I tried to talk to the Scotty people about my experience and they denied anything wrong with the design.  The next year at the PDX show I asked them about the orcas again and they said they were redesigned to not accidentally open so easily.  I lost confidence in them and switched back to the Scotty strikers.  I have the Folbes on my jet sled and I like them a lot but they do stick a bit sometimes.  This year on my Arima I changed over to all Burnewiin 6550's.  I had to modify them with a dremel to get them to work with the tanacom 750's but they are hands down the strongest and easiest open rod holders I have ever used.  I no longer am concerned about leaving a rod in a holder.  The only downside to the Burnewiin is that it only has two fishing angle positions.  I normally fish flat lines for most fisheries but back when I used to sturgeon fish I liked the small adjustments of the Scotty strikers.

[Fisherdv]

Some of my rod and reel combos are in the $800 range. I cannot afford to lose any rods.

[Fisherdv]

I received the Scotty Orca rod holders yesterday and played around with them on the boat in the garage. I like them, and I don't like them. They seem to work fine, can get rod out quick and they are well built. With the new design, I don't see losing a rod being a problem anymore. Now the dislikes. With about 10 rod pulls with rods with EVA foam or hypalon grips, I noticed my grips are showing indentations from lifting up and pulling the rod out. I'm worried that after lots of use my rod grips would get chewed up. Probably more so a problem with my cork grip rods. I also don't like the reel flopping over to the side when they are in the holder. I like my bait casting reels to stay straight up, in normal position. I like the concept, and they do work nicely, but I think these are a no go for me.

[Dbobby23]

I feel your pain. The orcas like I said lasted a week on my boat. Folbe jrs are built just as tough if not better. I have never come close to loosing a rod and the reels stay strait up or close to strait. Big or small reel.

[Fisherdv]

Thanks for the pics DB23. 

[Fisherdv]

I ordered one Folbe rod holder so I can give it a try. I will compare the Folbe with the Scotty Orca tomorrow, side by side. 

[croaker stroker]

I have used many. So far, my go-to is the Scotty RodMasterII and the Rod Balancer.

.....although I never use a downrigger. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Fisherdv]

Tried the Scotty Orca and the Folbe rod holders today while sturgeon fishing. The Folbe is by far the better holder for my use, especially bait fishing for sturgeon on anchor. As to not spook the sturgeon, when I see a bite I hold the front grip of the rod, then start cranking the reel as fast as possible about 5 cranks, and lift the rod straight up out of the holder in fish fighting position. The Folbes are great for this. They are also much smoother opening than the Scotty Orcas. The Orcas are big, bulky, and stiff. I hooked up a big sturgeon (the rod in the Orca holder) and it made some blistering runs, then turned around and headed straight for the boat. Reeling as fast as possible, I just couldn't keep up. Got a little slack in the line and goodbye. Spit the hook. This is why I like a reel with a fast retrieve. Figures the fish hit the rod with the stiff Orca holder, and the slower reel.  The above poster is right, the Folbes are the better quick release rod holder.

[mustang65fbk]

I feel your pain. The orcas like I said lasted a week on my boat. Folbe jrs are built just as tough if not better. I have never come close to loosing a rod and the reels stay strait up or close to strait. Big or small reel.

What did you use to mount them to the downriggers? I've got the Folbe rod holders, extensions and gunwale side mounts but yours look different. 

[Dbobby23]

I feel your pain. The orcas like I said lasted a week on my boat. Folbe jrs are built just as tough if not better. I have never come close to loosing a rod and the reels stay strait up or close to strait. Big or small reel.

What did you use to mount them to the downriggers? I've got the Folbe rod holders, extensions and gunwale side mounts but yours look different. 

If your folbe extension is male one side gear other side it won't work in the Scotty gear head adapter. Best to get either Scotty or folbe extension gears on both sides. (Scotty and folbe have same gears) folbe has a slight advantage strength wise. Meaning the Scotty will flex a little more than the folbe.

[mustang65fbk]

I feel your pain. The orcas like I said lasted a week on my boat. Folbe jrs are built just as tough if not better. I have never come close to loosing a rod and the reels stay strait up or close to strait. Big or small reel.

What did you use to mount them to the downriggers? I've got the Folbe rod holders, extensions and gunwale side mounts but yours look different. 

If your folbe extension is male one side gear other side it won't work in the Scotty gear head adapter. Best to get either Scotty or folbe extension gears on both sides. (Scotty and folbe have same gears) folbe has a slight advantage strength wise. Meaning the Scotty will flex a little more than the folbe.

These are what I have.  I'd like to wrap them around the boom of the downrigger. 

https://www.amazon.com/Folbe-Advantage-Fishing-Holder-Extension/dp/B07DD4RDHL/ref=asc_df_B07DD4RDHL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=334177150287&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10057772048618907331&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033269&hvtargid=pla-686974928074&psc=1

Looks like these brackets would work on the backside of the mounts.

https://www.amazon.com/Folbe-Universal-Rail-Mount-Kit/dp/B00FDXJ83Y/ref=asc_df_B00FDXJ83Y/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241946017885&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5287838903749423744&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033269&hvtargid=pla-663369616757&psc=1

[Dbobby23]

I feel your pain. The orcas like I said lasted a week on my boat. Folbe jrs are built just as tough if not better. I have never come close to loosing a rod and the reels stay strait up or close to strait. Big or small reel.

What did you use to mount them to the downriggers? I've got the Folbe rod holders, extensions and gunwale side mounts but yours look different. 

If your folbe extension is male one side gear other side it won't work in the Scotty gear head adapter. Best to get either Scotty or folbe extension gears on both sides. (Scotty and folbe have same gears) folbe has a slight advantage strength wise. Meaning the Scotty will flex a little more than the folbe.

These are what I have.  I'd like to wrap them around the boom of the downrigger. 

https://www.amazon.com/Folbe-Advantage-Fishing-Holder-Extension/dp/B07DD4RDHL/ref=asc_df_B07DD4RDHL/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=334177150287&hvpos=1o3&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10057772048618907331&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033269&hvtargid=pla-686974928074&psc=1

Looks like these brackets would work on the backside of the mounts.

https://www.amazon.com/Folbe-Universal-Rail-Mount-Kit/dp/B00FDXJ83Y/ref=asc_df_B00FDXJ83Y/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241946017885&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5287838903749423744&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033269&hvtargid=pla-663369616757&psc=1

Mustang what downriggers do you have on the boat. If you have Scotty's the gear head meshes right up with the stock rod holder.

[mustang65fbk]

Thanks Dbobby, I've got the Scotty 2106's.  I'll have to take off the stock rod holders and see how that works out.  If it worked for you on yours I'm thinking it should with mine.