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Posts: 264
| Haven't done much trolling for muskies but am planing to this year. I am wondering if you trollers out there find planer boards a necessity for muskies when trolling, or not use them much? Thanks for your input. |
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Posts: 256
| I like planner boards in three situations. 1) we have more than 2 lines out. It's nice to get the lures spread out. 2) I want a lure to run really shallow in a zone I don't want the boat to be in. For example getting a lure up shallow on a break while keeping the boat off the edge 3) This is related to #2, but for a different reason. I'm trolling a shallow flat and I think the boat is spooking fish than I'll use a planner board to get the lures away from the boat. |
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Posts: 360
Location: Algonac, MI | It all depends where you are fishing. Some rivers and small lakes they are not well liked, as they crowd others.
But...if you are in an area which they are common. Your daily catch will double, it's that simple. |
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Posts: 155
| I,d say not to use them as a beginner.Just use a flat line to make sure your lure is in tune.I don, think you could tell with a board attached.Start with the basics..Also I,ve see alot of people lose fish because of the slack in the line!IMHO |
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Posts: 1086
| One other situation to think about...depending on which lakes you fish....floating weeds and planer board and lines off of planer boards don't work well together. Weedy lakes make for it being nearly a pain in rear to effectively work planner boards without the floating weeds catching on the planner board then sliding down the line and attaching to your lure rendering it useless. More work than it's worth. Weedy lakes are best left to long-lining with rods buried in the water off the sides of the boat to catch the weeds on the rods and keeping the lines and the lures free and clean from weeds.
If floating weeds are not a problem in the lakes you fish....then planer boards are a very useful tool.
One way to remedy the weed situation is you can place a snipped hook on the front end of your long trolling leader to catch the weeds. Just depends on how big of planer-boards that you're using at that point to be able to withstand the drag from the bunched up weeds on the snipped-hook and the natural pull of whatever sized lure you're running and the drag it creates...speed of the boat also being a factor.
Boards are highly productive, but can require more maintenance while fishing. |
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Posts: 956
Location: Home of the 2016 World Series Champion Cubs | Sharp hooks couldnt be more important than behind boards. yous almost want to go with a lighter gauge hook as well for easier penetration. Keep in mind the slack in the line as well as the spine, or lack thereof, on most trolling rods. Just my .02 |
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Posts: 1530
| boards are a must on big waters. just think you can run all lures at controlled depths. without boards you are dis-advantaged.. as for weeded areas we use a weed-eater. a piece of weedwacker line at the top of 5 ft leaders. it wont collect weeds like a treble hook. |
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Posts: 360
Location: Algonac, MI | In my post, I am referrring to the use of "big water boards" & not in-line boards. See rocketmans' site for examples.
Big water boards:
Required individual line releases and tie directly to the boat. The fishing line breaks free from planar board, while board stays connected to boat. Floating weeds are usually not an issue, unless they are giant floating pies of weeds. (Lake Erie & St Clair in July/August.....ggrrrrr!! )
In line boards, release after strike and float down to the sinker/lure. Or just breakaway all together after strike, and you have to circle back to get them. Floating weeds can be a problem.
Edited by Contender 6/1/2011 7:27 AM
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Posts: 5874
| Inline boards do not have to release from the line or slide down to a swivel. I keep mine on the line all the time. Also, I use them only to run 6 plus lines for lure separation. I don't use them to increase the spread to cover more water. I'm convinced that muskies are attracted to a moving boat and motor, so I keep my boards tighter to the boat than almost anyone else. |
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Posts: 1202
Location: Money, PA | Planer boards simply offer a different method or approach to catching muskies. A few intances come to mind when I think of running planers....Clear water, shallow water and multiple lines. There are some waters that I feel planers are a must to run. Its all about experimentation and having another method prepared to go in your arsenal. |
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Posts: 264
| Thanks for your comments guys. My situation for trolling is deep water through suspended baitfish in the main lake basin. The lake i am fishing is deep and clear, and floating weeds are usually not a problem there. |
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Posts: 1041
| Sounds like planer boards are a must for your lake.
They take some getting used to and you pretty much need another person in the boat to take the board off when you are fighting a fish and there is still 50 feet of line after the board.
Good luck! |
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Posts: 294
Location: Suspended | woodieb8 - 6/1/2011 6:49 AM
boards are a must on big waters. just think you can run all lures at controlled depths. without boards you are dis-advantaged.. as for weeded areas we use a weed-eater. a piece of weedwacker line at the top of 5 ft leaders. it wont collect weeds like a treble hook.
Interesting, can you tell me how you attach the weed-eater line? |
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Location: Eastern Ontario | In Ontario we are only allowed one line per angler so with one or two in the boat I won'tbe using planer boards. |
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Posts: 1530
| webguy. we cut 6 inches of weedwacker line. tie, by making a knot. the loop in the middle attaches to leader. the ends would be 11/2 inches. when debri hits the line in follows and drops off the ends. its flexible . with running 2 rods here it really helps with weeds |
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Posts: 294
Location: Suspended | woodieb8 - thanks! |
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Location: 31 | Having planner boards available when trolling multiple lines is a must for me, I definitely like the in-line boards better when there is a lot of floating weeds but still use a mast system at times...especially for fall/clearwater wide spreads situations. Obviously it's going to be more work with the inline boards when it's weedy. I've had times where I'm literally hustling from one board to the next in an effort to keep them clear... sometimes having to reduce the number of boards to keep up.
I think the weed wacker idea is good, I've also seen variations of that and where guys use heavy three-way swivels at the front end of their leaders too. I use a system that's a little different with 2 swivels connected by a heavy-duty split ring at the front end and a large snap attached to the split ring. It fends off the weeds great, but also helps prevent line twist from trolling bucktails, or when lures are fouled and spinning better than a just a single swivel. I can also quickly attach a snap weight so it's a pretty versatile deal. Also, when I make my leaders I leave about a half-inch tag end of wire bent at an angle just before the snap... kind of the last line of defense. If anyone is interested, I have a bunch of used large yellow birds ready to go... make me an offer.
Edited by Jerry Newman 6/6/2011 11:47 AM
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