Hi all, i purchases a few sets of planer boards a few yrs back and have never
used them. I think i am going to give them a try now but need a lil help from u
guys. I know how to attach the board and set the boat up but thats about it.
quote:
Originally posted by seapro43Hi all, i purchases a few sets of planer boards a few yrs back and have never
used them. I think i am going to give them a try now but need a lil help from u
guys. I know how to attach the board and set the boat up but thats about it.
- What type of rod and test line do u use?
- How or what determines how much line to pull off before attaching the board?
- What speed do u pull the boards?
- Do u all only pull live bait?
Any other tips or tricks will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
MikeSeapro43
I don’t use them quite as much as others do, but FWIW:
1. What type of rod and test line do u use?
I use my same baitcasters I use for downrods loaded with 15 lb test. Some guys go a bit lighter on the leader to make it break easier below the swivel should they get snagged.
2. How or what determines how much line to pull off before attaching the board?
I vary it and see what starts working. Anything from a few pulls to 25 or so. Generally, if I have a split shot or 2 on there I won’t put it as far back as if it was just freelined.
3. What speed do u pull the boards?
Anywhere from .5 - 1.5 or so for me. Just vary it and see what works. The best speed can change depending on the mood of the fish.
4. Do u all only pull live bait?
I do, but I’m sure you could pull a plug too. If I did I would probably pull one that if effective when worked slow if you are going to have live bait in the mix. Something like a floating redfin.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
Ditto to most of what Skiff said. My only exception would be that I rarely hook up pulling faster than .7 mph with live bait. With lures, up to 4 mph has worked for me. However, if the wind is pushing me consistently faster than .7 with bait, Ill deploy a drift sock to slow down.
Xpress HB-22
175 Yammy Jammer
I pulled one of those Castaic Trouts behind a board once and guess what I caught? a dang Osprey lol… He didn’t actually get hooked but he swooped down and picked it up… I’d stick to live bait behind the boards though… I use about a 4ft leader with a barrel swivel and a bead above the swivel. If you attach the board to the line so that it releases from the clip but slides down the line, then you will want a bead there to keep the board from sliding past the swivel, down to the hook and possibly knocking your fish off… If your boards have those flags attached to them, don’t put the flags up… The beauty of the planer board is that it not only allows you to get a bait off to the side to work close to the bank , but it allows you to pull multiple lines with multiple boards off one side and keep them from getting tangled…(Ok, sometimes they get tangled up anyway…lol) The numbers of stripers you catch will likely increase with use of planer boards. I know when I started striper fishing, they kicked up my catch rate big time…Good Luck!
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…
Thanks guys for all the info… I am confused though on question number 4. When skiff says anywhere from a few pulls to 25 pulls. Does this determine the depth the bait will run.Say I mark fish at approx 15ft would i pull out 15 to 20 pulls?
Sorry for so many questions
Mike
Seapro43
I usually have a least a small split shot on, except if I am running any up on a bank, so they are going deeper the more line you let out, but still staying relatively shallow. Some people may, but personally I never get into trying to figure out exactly how deep I’m getting with say 10 pulls, a #5 split shot trolling at .6 mph etc…
If they are in the area and feeding in the shallows or in the upper water column of some deeper water you will find them.
'07 198 DLX Carolina Skiff
FS90 Suzuki
This year was the first time I have ever really used planer boards but after several trips with guys that really knew what they were doing, I absolutely love it. Everyone that has commented seems to have it dialed in as well. My suggestion would be to go grab a snack and give Murrymaker a chance to read this and then do exactly whatever he tells you to do!
~Rob
Glad this topic is back up. Since every thing we know (or should say what we are doing) we have learned from this forum, it gives an opportunity to learn of necessary corrections or tweaks.
We use exclusively 3-4 inch live herring so 14 pound test line works fine, and one could probably even go as light as 12 pounds. However, if you’ve got your mind set on really big fish and are using 9-14 inch live bait, you’d better beef up your tackle to 20 or even 30 pounds.
We typically use 3 to 4 foot leaders, but how far back to deploy them from the planer boards can be a matter of preference, experimentation, or what’s working best at the time. I haven’t heard a good definition of what a “pull” is. With some it may be an “arm’s length” or from “reel to 1st rod eyelet”. Typically we put ours out 15 to 20 feet from the planer board. I understand that some vary the lengths with all boards.
Since our boat is just 17 feet, utilizing 4 boards is adequate for us. Just started adding a single split shot right above the swivel on our two forward rods. Understand this gets the bait “a little deeper” in the water column, but not sure how much. Maybe 2 or 3 feet?
We’ve been using cruise control to stay at .9 mph, but from what I’ve already read on this post, we may want to slow down a bit. I guess you really only need as much speed as necessary so the boards pull away from the boat. If one is using any lures, I suspect you’ll want a little more speed, especially if it has a lip on it so that it dives properly.
Finally, don’t fail to set out a couple transom rods.
Hopefully, some of the real pros on this forum will point out any of our mistakes, but I’ll say this, I really like the capabilities that planer boards give. You get to cover a wide area of water and can go almost anywhere with them, which tells me that at best, ones bait never really goes very deep.
Like Fogman said, we try to pull our boards and free lines at .4 to .6 mph. We rarely go faster than .8 mph. We will normally put the baits back 20, 30, 40, or 50 feet behind the boat, with the longest, being the free line. The fish will tell you what is best. We normally run 3 planer boards, a free line, and either a cork or transom bait on each side of the boat. Some of this depends on how deep the water is. We would not put it back 50’ behind a board running in 5’ of water!
Rick K
I always find this topic interesting because so many people do different things to reach the same outcome. I pull faster than prob 90% of most people. I generally stay around .7-.8 mph reaching upwards to 1.1 and won’t really go slower than .7mph. During this time i will burst the baits up to 1.5 for 3-4sec to get a reaction out of a bait.Every now and then I might fall to .6 if not paying attention. All those speeds work for ME. When pulling big bait I tend to stay at .9-1.1mph. And will burst big bait up to 1.5-1.7mph.
As for as pulls go I Avg 20-30’ behind the board. I use this for deep and shallow water fishing. I really don’t like split shots at all but will run one here and there.
In the spring I will kill some time with the youngins pulling lures on boards. I run rattle traps, KVD 2.5’s, spinnerbaits, swim baits, etc… When running lures on boards I typically run around 1.8-2mph. You need the extra speed to get them to dive and wiggle correctly.
Good luck.
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
I’ve been laid up sick for the past couple of days so I couldn’t respond sooner …
For the record I am no expert by any means and this is actually our 1st season pulling boards - but we’ve received lots of advice and assistance and we have figured out what works best on our boat (which, for the record has resulted in 5+ keeper fish per trip out so far this season) …
DISCLAIMER: This setup has not developed by us nor do we claim credit for it’s invention … It’s a variation of the theme suggested to us by Chip (thanks again, by the way) which we have (and continue to) changed to suit our purposes
Okay, so for starters on the gear …
We have a Sea Pro 2100cc Bay Boat and Minn Kota i-Pilot trolling motor …
While everyone up here almost exclusively runs the Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 6000 reels on Ugly Sticks we run Okuma Magda Pro 30DX’s on 7’-6" and 7’-0" Okuma Trolling rods … I like them because they’re cheaper (by almost half the price) and they have built-in line counters which is great for the summer months when we’re down rodding …
As for the line I have to admit, we’re braided line advocates … Up until Lake Murray I NEVER used mono line … but down rods and planer rods are better suited for mono in case of crossed lines …
We still use braid for our spinning rods on top water, but my Okumas have Stren Hi-Vis Gold 20lbs mono and my Free/Float line(s) have Ande Hi-Vis Green 20lbs mono …
I am using 17lbs clear fluorocarbon leader and my hook sizes vary from a 1/0 up to a 4/0 Owner Circle Hooks …
I use a plastic bead above my snap swivel to catch my planer board and I tie my leaders in a snell hook fashion with a loop on the snap swivel end and a Palomar Knot on the hook end …
Line types, terminal tackle, hooks, knot types, etc., are all a matter of personal preference - I’m not sure there really is a right or wrong way to go with all that …
Lastly, w
Where are you getting shad?
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
quote:
Originally posted by steelytomWhere are you getting shad?
Wellcraft V-20 sportfish with a 200 Evinrude
Normally I was getting Shad at Ned’s (used to be Better Bait) but this last time I got them at David’s house since he had both Shad and Herring left over from the MSC Tournament … I’m hoping he’ll keep stock of both through the spring when the other bait shops open up since word has it that both Ned’s and Lake World are closing down … 
Otherwise I don’t know where else to get them from …
it’s my Wife’s fault we HAVE to fish now!!!
2005 Sea Pro 2100cc / Yamaha 150hp 4-Stroke
Lawcrusher, I really enjoy your detailed posts. I put my spread out like your first example. I put the farthest out lines at the back of the boat and work to the front. There is no real right answer to speed although I generally go slower the colder the water. I use the palomar knot as well. I normally run 20’ to 30’ of line unless I am running real slahhow and will run less behind the board. I normally have a weighted and an unweighted line behind my boards.
Joby
Wedge or reverse wedge, I don’t think board configuration really matters. I do try to get my boards with unweighted lines farther from the boat than my weighted lines since shallow fish spook easier than those that are deeper. My configuration can get mixed up as I check baits, crank in fish, and whatnot… As for knots, I’m a snell guy 100%. I love the hook rotation on the bite that knot affords.
Xpress HB-22
175 Yammy Jammer
Thanks Lawcrusher. I have fished for a lot of different species in both fresh and salt water, but I have never done this type of fishing and I really want to learn how. I need to get some planer boards first, but I am going to learn how to do this. I guess I also need a few rod holders.
Ranger Bay 2000
Yamaha F150
Molon Labe!
Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. - Anatole France (paraphrased)
RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013
quote:
Originally posted by BowhunterThanks Lawcrusher. I have fished for a lot of different species in both fresh and salt water, but I have never done this type of fishing and I really want to learn how. I need to get some planer boards first, but I am going to learn how to do this. I guess I also need a few rod holders.
Ranger Bay 2000
Yamaha F150
charles, sent u a text this morning about Christmas eve morning. If you didn’t get it let me know
“Sea~N~Stripes”
21’ Hewes Craft Custom
115 Evinrude
Nice presentation, Lawcrusher.
With your “tech writing” skills (which a lot of manufacturers don’t seem to have anymore), maybe you should address some additional striper subjects like “boat and trailer” considerations, trolling motors, fish finders etc. You could combine the subjects in a publication and call it “Striper Fishing for Dummies” or “Read Me Before You Buy Anything to Begin Striper Fishing”. Wish I had some advanced knowledge or had asked the right questions before we took the plunge.
What brand boards do you guys like to use. My
Brother-in-law has some made by Waterbugz and they seem to do the job well. Just wondering what I should be looking for when i buy some.
'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki
I make my own boards. I have used the waterbugz plenty and they work fine though the foam flotation eventually delaminates and falls off. I used the medium tension offshore planerboard releases (black) on the last few boards I made but I think I will use the yellow releases next time and I use 80 lb berkley speed clips to secure the board to the line as it slides down to the bead/swivel.I make my boards a little big to tow big gizzard shad and trout around but its imperative that the line releases from the release clip because you don’t want to fight the board and the fish getting it to the boat. My boards are 8 inches long and 4 inches tall. The foam insulation is 8 inches long, two inches tall and 3/4 of an inch thick on each side for a total thickness of 1.5 inches. I use stainless steel split rings and lock nuts on the 1/4 20 galvanized threaded rod for the arms. You can reverse the board by unscrewing one lock nut and flipping the arm to the other side…I also like to use a vinyl adhesive covering on the blades that has a hologram reflective pattern. This thread has a picture of some boards I made (without the vinyl covering)… http://old.charlestonfishing.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=140854
Team Shad Up & Fish
If you’ve had fun catching fish on the transom bait, you are welcome…
I’ve spent about 85% of my life’s wages on fishing, the rest I just wasted…