Planer Board

[creekslick]

Do y'all use anything to keep the planer board from going all the way to the crank bait went you have a fish on. I read a couple of articles that said to use a swivel and a plastic bead then about a 3 foot leader. I have never used a planer board so I am fishing for ideas.

[Shellback]

Yes, you can use a bead, swivel and a leader.

[J White]

Creekslick, the first planer board I ever saw was the first one I
ordered from Cabela's - didn't know if it was going to be useful or not,
so I just ordered one left board to begin with.

Anyway, it was an Offshore brand, and it came with some real nice
instructions with it which detailed two different ways of rigging.
One was the way you guys are talking about, the other is what I ended
up going with. It involves using two release clips, on both the tow arm
and the rear end of the board, and it doesn't release when you get a fish.
You reel till it reaches the boat, pick it up and unsnap them, laying it down
and then reeling the fish in. I can see where the first way would be better
for something that really fights hard like stripers or salmon, but they
recommended the manual "take off" for lighter fish, and it has worked
well for me.

[creekslick]

Creekslick, the first planer board I ever saw was the first one I
ordered from Cabela's - didn't know if it was going to be useful or not,
so I just ordered one left board to begin with.

Anyway, it was an Offshore brand, and it came with some real nice
instructions with it which detailed two different ways of rigging.
One was the way you guys are talking about, the other is what I ended
up going with. It involves using two release clips, on both the tow arm
and the rear end of the board, and it doesn't release when you get a fish.
You reel till it reaches the boat, pick it up and unsnap them, laying it down
and then reeling the fish in. I can see where the first way would be better
for something that really fights hard like stripers or salmon, but they
recommended the manual "take off" for lighter fish, and it has worked
well for me.

This sounds like what I need to use. I try to stay away from the stripers, they tend to make a mess of things.

[fishdoc]

tried it both ways and wound up doin the same as Mr. White.

[SteveJ]

A little info.
Absolutely A1 info at Walleye Central - Tips For Using Inline Planer Boards by Julia (Juls) Davis

[pstone]

Yep, I use the Jeff White method as well.

[badbrad]

J White and Pstone, I'm just now experimenting with using boards and wondered if the manual removal becomes a hassel if you start catching multiple fish at once. Seems like having to take them off each time you reel in and then putting them back on the line would get a little crazy.

Also, for a beginner how much line do you recommend putting out behind the boards if your trolling Bandit 300's.

[J White]

Yeah, it can get to be work at times, but I don't mind it unless it's
dinks or the wrong kinda fish. If it gets too hectic I'll put up a few
rods till the bite slows back down. And if I had my choice, I'd a lot rather
catch them without boards, but sometimes they get a lot more (or all)
the bites

As far as how much line, all to do with how deep you want to run -
I'll go as little as 20, up to 100 or more, just depends. But somewhere
from 50 to 60 has been good lately where I've been.

[pstone]

We have been doing 60-80 before the board, and then out to 125 for inside boards, and 190 for outside boards... just gets it away from the boat. Them outside ones catch twice as many fish as the inside boars, and prob 3 times as many as the strait back rods.

Like Jeff, I'd rather catch em strait out the back, but that is not always an option, as the fish sometimes run from the boat noise. Like Jeff said, they get to be pretty much work at times, and you really need a good partner if the bite is really on.