A fishing pole holder is designed especially for use in catching large deep sea fish and has a bent and telescoping stanchion that is received in a standard pole holder found on a gunwale of a boat and other locations. A telescoping cross bar is attached to the top of the stanchion and has a padded member on one end and a gimble assembly on the other. The gimble assembly holds the fishing pole and allows pivoting along an X and Y axis. An arrester assembly is provided about the gimble assembly for safety should the fish pull down hard on the line of the fishing pole.