How To Make A DIY Holster For Your Paddle Or Push Pole
- By: Tony Acevedo
- on
You’re poling the flats looking for redfish.
After a few minutes of quiet, yet intense searching, you’ve finally found them!
You go to trade your pole for your rod so you can cast to them, but as you look down to quietly set your pole on the deck, you’ve lost them!
Has that ever happened to you?
It’s happened to me too many times, so I finally made this paddle/push pole holster.
It lets you quickly and quietly set your paddle or push pole down without ever having to bend down or take your eyes off of the fish.
Sight fishing is my favorite way to fish and this is my favorite tool to help me successfully do that.
In this video, I’m going to show you how to make your own holster.
Check it out below!
How To Make A DIY Paddle/Push Pole Holster [VIDEO]
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Whether you’re poling on your boat with a push pole, or poling on your kayak with your paddle, this holster can make it much easier for you to stealthily sneak up on fish.
Below are the materials and steps to make your own inexpensive holster.
Materials:
- 1′ of thin-wall 1.25″ PVC pipe
- 1 small stainless steel screw
- 1 small stainless steel locknut
- Old belt
- Heat gun (or blow dryer)
Instructions:
Step 1: Cut the PVC pipe into two sections: a 4.5″ section and a 7.5″ section.
Step 2: Cut a slit vertically down the 7.5″ section.
Step 3: Cut off the top 1/3 of the 4.5″ section to make the part where the pole will lay.
Step 4: Drill a small hole on one side of the holster where the screw will go to attach it to the backplate.
Step 5: Use the heat gun to heat up the 7.5″ section and flatten it out to make the backplate.
Note: using pliers to hold the plastic while you’re heating it up will help keep your fingers from burning.
Step 6: Place a flat, heavy object (I used a car battery) on top of the newly-flattened PVC to let it cool and take its new shape.
Step 7: Cut the backplate to about 4″x6″ (it doesn’t have to be precise)
Pro-tip: rounding and smoothing out the edges will make it more comfortable to wear
Step 8: Drill a hole towards the bottom of the backplate to put the screw through and attach the holster, fastening it with the locknut.
Step 9: Cut two slits about an inch apart for the belt to loop through
Step 10: Slide the belt through the slits and that’s it!
Conclusion
A holster for your paddle or push pole can make it much easier and quieter for you to pole the flats.
This DIY holster is very cheap and relatively easy to make, and has probably helped saved me from losing dozens of fish.
Have any questions about making this holster?
Do you use a similar tool?
Let me know down in the comments!
And if you know someone who needs one of these holsters, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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Watched video made belt pole holder
In about 10 mins awesome info
Headed to Titusville for some solo poling in custom tin boat
Thanks for all you do
KB
Awesome! Good luck out there!
Great tip! I ended up cutting the bottom out of a dollar store container to save time on making the back plate.
Thanks Stan! Great idea as well!
if you drill hole top and bottom of belt slits and cut them you won’t have the flimsy outer edge.
For sure! Thank you for the great feedback Roy!
As a pushpole holder, this works just fine and certainly is cheap enough to make. A couple of strips of electrical tape or rubber tape over the bolt head and nut will help keep from scarring your pole or paddle and keep from snagging on your clothes. This isn’t a new idea, as the original was the Polemate Push Pole Holder, but it works great and will save you about $45.00. Thanks for the video. https://fibertexandsupply.com/product/polemate-push-pole-holder/
Thank you for the great feedback Capt!
I planned on adding some thing cloth to the inside or a strip of utility carpet with contact cement to help reduce noise when the paddle or pole slides in it. Could also help with the screw scraping the paddle or pole.
Tony, How do you control your rudder when standing up paddling? I don’t have rudder and get blown sideways when putting down paddle to throw at fish.
Hey Lou!
I will actually push the rudder controls with my paddle if needed. I typically keep the rudder straight and inline so i can turn myself using the paddle, but sometimes i need to make q uick turn and pushing the rudder control with the end of the paddle gets it done.
Timely video! I’ve got some leftover PVC from the trailer and wanted to make one of these. Have you ever made one with the thicker pipe? Does it ever hang up on your seat or anything else while getting up and down?
I was wondering about the same thing Pat. I decided to cut my slot so it clips onto my belt like a pliers case. That way I can easy attach it when I need it.
Hey Pat!
I haven’t tried with regular pipe.
It definitely likes getting snagged on the seat strap. You just have to make it a habit to slide the holster either behind you or in front of you when you go to sit down to help avoid that issue.
Thanks for sharing that Tony. I definitely need that for my yak since not only does it prevent making noise but keeps me from losing my balance reaching down.
My pleasure Mario!
I feel lost without that thing. I went out one day and got to my spot, went to stand up and realized i left it in the truck. I tried fishing for 10 minutes and couldn’t take it. I went back to the truck and grabbed it. Makes a world of a difference when standing and fishing.