Plainer Boards?

[Fairport Fishing]

Are plainer boards that much of an advantage for amatuer fishermen? We can fish 3 lines comforitably off of the boat without any problems of entaglement currently. Probably could fish 4 or 5 if we wanted to get complicated when we turned. Would a set of simple plainer boards help out on trolling up bubba? Or are they more effort than reward? Thanks, Chris

[rlcharters]

Chris, the MD boys have been using boards for years, and for the most part have been outfishing us. Those of us who are using boards are finding that early in both the Spring and Fall seasons, a lot of fish are on the surface, easily spooked by the boat. Instead of being driven deeper (especially if there is not heavy boat traffic), the fish seem to go off to the side, often never being seen on the depth finder. Thus, the value of the boards that are often dragging baits as far as 125' to either side. However, they can be a real pain, especially in rough water, in and around crab pots, and heavy boat traffic. If you have a smaller boat, the large boards take up a lot of space when running. The smaller boards are quite serviceable in calmer seas. I use the Big Jon Otterboats instead of the two or three slat boards. They are easy to pull and easy to store on the boat. I find, however, that they don't pull as hard making it more difficult to send out a large number of lines. I fish three lines per board where others fish as many as eight. As you can see, that number of lines also provides quite an advantage when attempting to catch that elusive fish.

Hope that has been of some help. I'm sure others will add there two cents also.

[NNKjake]

I agree--planers are definitely worth it. they seem like a big hassle at first, but once you figure it out, its not a big deal. they can really make your spread more effective, a buddy of mine in annapolis can run 10 lines off his 19' mako CC with no problem and usually the planer lines are the hottest.

watch out in rough water--if/when one flips, youve got quite a tangle.

[jelkin]

When I went out of Chesapeake beach,Md. 8 days ago Robin had 8 lines on each Planer board.*)% of the fish caught were one those lines and we did not have 1 tangle.I am sold,where can I buy 2 Triples?

[rlcharters]

Call Alfred (Junior) Fisher. He has several sets yet for sale, I believe.

[rocksandblues]

i am a newish believer. only been able to get out twice this spring so far. all fish on planer lines.

[pepsi_man]

If you get the THE FISHERMAN magazine, in the april 14 issue an author gives detailed directions on making one. Not sure what they cost ready to go, but author says" a set can be built in 3-4 hours for a $60 price". If I can help anyone out let me know I have the issue for a project one day when work slows down.
When does the soda business slow down.[grin][grin]

pepsi man

[Mushy]

They're worth it! I would recommend .150 Stihl weedeater line for your lines. Also there are instructions for making them in the book, "Catching Chesapeake Rockfish" by Capt. Rich Novotny. Great reading for fisherman!

Mushy

[done workin]

If you go to www.striperfishingtackle.com there are directions in there to make 2 board planers. I made a set 3-4 years ago and they work fine, except of course in the rougher water when they lag behind a little, but i have fished them in 3' seas without toooo much difficulty. When it's that rough I will only run one line off of them. Ordinarily I will run two off of each and three off the transom for a total of 7 on a 19' boat with NO problems. I have been thinking about adding a third board to mine to see if they would pull a little harder.

Good luck

[daybreak]

Here are more plans, courtesy of Captain Skip...

http://www.daybreakfishing.com/pdf/Skip'sPlanerBoards.pdf

[Fairport Fishing]

Thanks for the information guys, I appreciate it....and already have my order in at the building supply. Can they also be used at higher trolling speeds say for mackeral?

[Fairport Fishing]

Thanks for the information guys, I appreciate it....and already have my order in at the building supply. Can they also be used at higher trolling speeds say for mackeral?

[jwas1]

Lots of plans, but little in the way of hard info on how to rig and deploy planner boards. I guess the best way is to go on a charter that uses them?

[rlcharters]

Very difficult to use at high speeds (pull too hard and have a tendency to jump out of the water when hitting a wave. If they flip, you have to start all over). That's why they are not used for offshore.

[Sea King]

If I were you I'd go from your 3 rods to 5 or 6 first, then if you think you need more add boards in. They definately catch fish but I haven't heard of too many people not catching fish who were really trying this year, with or without boards.

[Sea Gristle]

When fishing more than one line off a board, what kind of lures are you pulling? Is it a high/low setup, such as a shallow and a deep runner, or short and long lines?

[Seahunter]

I'm running 4 lines off each board. On the right side I'm running 120', 100'. 80' and 60' lines and on the other side it's 110', 90',70', and 50' lines. The two longest outside lines are daisy chains with 6oz. of weight and the other 6 rigs are umbrellas with weights varing from 0 -10 oz.

The umbrella rigs back 100' and 90' w/o weights have been the hot ticket this year.