Planning boards.

[SCUMFROG]

How do you use planning boards?

Are they better to troll with then just throwing a line off the side of the boat?

How do you know when you have a fish on?

[Surface Tension]

If you and your buddy are out trolling for eyes then your better off without a planner board in most situations.

When to use them. If your on water where you can use 2 or more lines per person you'll want to spread those lines out. Another example where planner boards would be used is say your running stick baits over shallow reefs or tight to a shallow shoreline. You'll know theres a fish on when the boards either starts to drag back, releases and slides down to your stop(swivel) or detachs completely if you want it set up that way.

An other example is the great lakes when your primarily fishing the surface. You want those surface lines out and away from the boat. Although the in-line boards would work in that situation a larger planner board with a mainline that goes to a mast is preferred. On this setup you'd have multiple rods attached to the mainline with a release.

[SCUMFROG]

So it wouldn't be worth using one over a rock flat then?

I really don't like trolling for eyes but my broth-in-law says that's the only way to catch them. I'm not much of a walleye guy, I'd rather beat the banks for bass, But unfortunately there are no bass in the lake we are on so it's walleye or pike.

[Surface Tension]

Quote:

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So it wouldn't be worth using one over a rock flat then?

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If its shallow it sure'd be worth it.

[SCUMFROG]

It's about 8-10 feet. Very big area.

[Jim Hudson]

If trolling is key for these walleyes on this lake and it is this shallow over the rocks, yes use planer boards. Walleyes have been known to be notorious to shy away from motor noise and with employing a spread of boards you should be able to captilize much better when trolling.

Inline boards will probably work best for you, I use church tackle walleye boards but there are other brands that a lot of people use such as Offshore and Yellow Birds. The main thing to remember, is to let just enough line out to get your cranks or spinner rigs to your desired depth, then attach your board where it will then pull your lure away from the boat. This will be especially true around rocks, if you let too much line out for a particular lure, it will dive too deep and get hung up in the rocks. Run lures at different depths until you find a depth/lure/speed that is working for you, the match other set-ups to the same.

If your running cranks, key in on speeds around 2.0MPH up to 2.5MPH but dont be afraid to go a bit faster or slower to see what the fish want. And for spinner rigs, around 1.0MPH (or a bit slower or faster). A good way to see if fish want something faster or slower, is do S patterns while trolling, and if a fish hits on the outside boards (the lure is speeding up while turning in your pattern) speed up a bit, or if the fish hits on the inside (the lure slowing down in your turn) slow down a bit.

And just as Surface Tension stated, you will know a fish is on when a board starts to drag back. But you can set your boards to release too when a fish hits, allowing the board to slide down to a swivel on your line until you get the fish in. Personally, I do not run my boards to release as such, as I like to keep pressure on the line while reeling the board back to the boat.

[SCUMFROG]

Thanks for the info.

Now do I need to use bigger rod, can I hold the rod or should I use a rod holder? What type of line should I use?

Like I said I've never done this before.

[Jim Hudson]

For rod choices, because I troll quite a bit I have rods specific for this type of fishing. Where I use 7'10" rods along with Okuma Line Counter reels. But if you do not want to spend a bunch of money for this trip, you can get away with other rods you might have in your arsenal. I would try to stick with baitcasting rods 7' in length or longer, along with a higher capacity reel. Where on the reel, you can run mono and should work fine with the depths you will be trolling. Where 10lb is the rule of thumb for walleyes on most instances. But if you have a reels spooled with fireline, power pro, or the alike, in 10lb or slighly bigger lb test, even better.

And for the rod holder or holding of the rod, I would apt for a holder, makes it much easier on your arm when employing a board type set-up. If you were just long lining a crank, holding the rod and pumping the bait ever so often can produce strikes, but its a bit harder with a board attached to your line.

And if your in a pinch, with not having a baitcastin set-up, use your heavier action spinning rods that are longer in length.

Hope this helps

[SCUMFROG]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to try them but I need to save up some cash to get all the stuff.

[Rost]

You can pick up a linecounter/rod combo from Cabelas for about $60-$100.

I like my Daiwa Heartland 8.5 ft and my Cabelas Depthmaster 8.5 (down rigger) for running boards. The reason I like them is because they are rather flimsy. When you have a long, flimsy rod, the boards don't jerk erratically in waves. They flex better which gives the boards (and your crank) a smoother action.