Originally Posted by
CrappiePappy
As far forward as you can put it & still reach the rod handle easily is usually the prime spot. That being said, you'll also want it where the other things (TM, DF, etc.) are not in the way, nor the rod holders are in their way.
When I did mine, I put everything up like it would be when fishing, then set the rod holders around in different locations to find their sweet spots so that the rods & rod holders were not blocking my view of my depth finder and would allow me to stow/deploy my trolling motor without having to break down or remove the left rod holder.
As it turned out, that dry run allowed me to set the rod holders where they're the most effective for one person in the front seat, or two people when the double seat is set up. I had to set the left rod holder a little bit back and in so I could stow/deploy the trolling motor and not have to dismantle the rod holder. The two rod holder mounts are not asymmetrically placed, but function as needed.
And just as a note ... I have the Hi-Tek rod holders.