planer boards and lead core

[osok]

I know that it is only getting towards the end of Feb. and there is some great spring fishing to be had.... but I have an open water questions for the local guru's. I'm thinking about trying out planer boards and lead core trolling this year as "another tool in the box".

What do you guys use for boards and how are the mini's in comparison to the full size units? Are those tattle-tale flags worth the extra expense or are they more gimmicky, Is there a brand I should steer clear of or gravitate towards?

And how many of you use lead core when trolling?

I've tried pulling cranks in the past w/ limited success and am looking to improve my abilities. And I need to expand beyond jigging and drowning live bait.

A good trolling rod and line counter reel is already on the shopping list for this spring and I'm looking to add to the list.

[guideman]

Hey osak,

As far as equipment goes you can't go wrong with the best. "Offshore tackle" is the leader when it comes to trolling. The yellow boards with the flags are well worth the investment. They also make all the hardware and extra do dads that you will want to aquire. I use both lead core and 10lb xt for trolling. Different situations will require different systems. In most cases you can get by without lead however leadcore is very effective at maintaining a constant depth as well as getting down to depths you can't reach with some crankbaits. JMHO.

"Ace"

[tunrevir]

Osok, look back and do a search in the walleye forums about leadcore and boards. There is some good info in there that will answer some of your questions. I run offshoreboards and the Walleye board for both walleyes and salmon and have found both will handle leadcore just fine for most purposes when targeting fish inland. Leadcore is great and easy to work with but don't be afraid to experiment with snap weights when working boards as well depending on the trolling runs you have and the type of structure you are trying to work.

Tunrevir~

[hanson]

Uffda! Bunch of good questions!

Planer boards? Easy answer and that is Offshore Tackle.

Tattle flags? Yes! When pulling boards, the phrase is a 'board going back' or something along those lines. Pulling boards is similar to watching your flasher when ice fishing, you are looking at the same screen over and over and over and looking for something different. On a flasher, its that bottom growing signifying a fish coming into the cone on the bottom. With planer boards, its knowing where they are running in relation to the boat under normal circumstances (no fish), and where they go back when there is a fish. Tattle flags make it easy because they run upright without a fish and flip backwards when they hit a weed, bottom, or have a fish take the bait.

Lead Core w/ Boards? Thats going to be situation dependant on what kind of lure you are trying to get to what depth away from the boat. Most guys who run lead with boards 'segment' their lead meaning you run 2 color, 3 colors etc and then mono back to the rod/reel. You let out the 3 colors, clip the board onto the mono, and then let out enough line to get the board as far away from the boat as you desire.

Very common leadcore technique is the long (12'-14') outside rods and the shorty (5') inside rods. If you need to spread baits wider than 35', then you have to look at boards with your lead if you need the lead to get that bait to the depth you want. Really situation dependant.

[PerchJerker]

I agree with the others. Offshore boards and tattle flags work great.

I've trolled lead behind boards a bit, but not very often. It's just not needed for the lakes and baits that I fish (here in MN where we can only troll 1 line per person). As Chris said, that is usually an approach to use with a segment of leadcore spliced into your line. These days I fish full spools of leadcore and just let out however much I need, I rarely use my leadcore segments any more.

[tunrevir]

The offshore boards will carry the weight of a full 10 colors of leadcore and it is nice to have the adjustable keel to work with but for most shallow water apps you won't need to run much more the 6 segments. I haven't tried the smaller boards but I would imagine they would allow you to work with lighter equipment like spinning reels and medium action to medium heavy weight rods. I love pulling boards!

Tunrevir~

[gdog]

I am going to jump in here and ask a few more questions. I fish the St. Croix a lot and would like to be able to pull four lines effectively (with my son ). I have two line counter reels currently on 8.5' rods that I was thinking of running planer boards and snap weights off the side. I was then thinking of picking up a couple of short rods and running lead core off the back. So, first off is this stupid? Second, what kind of line do you typically use when running planer boards? Third, how do you know how big of a snap weight you need to get the lure to a specific depth? Does that book Precision Trolling tell you that? Thanks in advance for the help.

[PerchJerker]

No need to go with short rods if you're pairing them with a couple of planer board lines. The theory behind short rods is to get line separation from the other rods, but with the boards you'd be getting that already. I'm not really a fan of short rods for leadcore unless needed to space the lines.

Boards run best on mono, the stretchiness and give in the line is ideal for boards, and the clips hold mono really well.

The precision trolling book has info on snap weights and running depth.

[gdog]

Thanks Perchjerker. What # mono and what brand do you usually run on the boards?

[PerchJerker]

Trilene 10 lb XT is what I usually use for boards. Even though I'm not a fan of a lot of Berkely lines, the 10 lb XT line works GREAT for pulling boards. And that's the line they used when putting together the dive curves in the Precision Trolling book, so it matches right up with what you read in the book.

[hanson]

I am going to jump in here and ask a few more questions. I fish the St. Croix a lot and would like to be able to pull four lines effectively (with my son ). I have two line counter reels currently on 8.5' rods that I was thinking of running planer boards and snap weights off the side. I was then thinking of picking up a couple of short rods and running lead core off the back. So, first off is this stupid? Second, what kind of line do you typically use when running planer boards? Third, how do you know how big of a snap weight you need to get the lure to a specific depth? Does that book Precision Trolling tell you that? Thanks in advance for the help.

You "could" run leadcore on all 4 rods but you'll want to be careful of spacing your baits and watching your turns so you don't tangle.

Another option would be leadcore on the outside rods (your 8.5 footers), stick them straight out the side of the boat to get them as far out as possible. Longer rods would be ideal but you got to work with what you have sometimes. Then run heavier snap weights on your inside rods. Your inside rods can be 6 footers they don't have to be the shorties, just point them straight out the back of the boat. The idea is your snap weight lines will be more straight down and the leadcore will be further out behind the boat, that will keep tangles to a minimum.

If lines get too tight, just go to 3 rods then... 2 on the outside and 1 out the back.

Back to the planer board question, lot of guys run regular mono with their boards. It has stretch and the planer board releases hold mono well. You can run a superline as well for the qualities a superline has. Lets say you need a little more depth out of a particular crankbait without running it on a lot of line for example. With a superline, you'll want to wrap the release with it so it doesn't slip.

[gdog]

I am little intimidated using the planer boards with lead, as it seems that you would have to have multiple reels set up with different lengths of lead depending on how deep you want to run the lure? My understanding is that you connect the lure to the leader, the leader to the lead, and then run out the lead to the backer to connect to the board, or can you connect the lead to the board?

[osok]

Everyone, Thank you for your responses and wealth of knowledge. After weighing out my options and discussing my thoughts with the CFO. Looks like I'll be scaling back my operation. A line counter(reel) and lead core set up will have to suffice for now. But please by all means keeps this thread going, I know some other people have posted questions as well.