Planer Boards

Share info on fishing Champlain.
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Greenhorn
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Planer Boards

Post by Greenhorn »

I hope Santa was good to all the fisherman on this forum! I have a little Christmas money to spend and I was thinking about a planer board mast and planer boards. I have used the in-line planer boards, but I have never pulled traditional planer boards on my boat. My research has me interested in the Riviera mast with the Kachman auto-retreiving reels and pulling the triple Riviera boards. I fish alone a fair number of days, so I thought the auto-retreiving reels would be a plus. I was planning to mount the mast in the seat post mount in the bow of the boat and using the 7 foot mast. Do any of you more experienced Salmon and Lake Trout fisherman have any opinions on this setup? What are some favorite set ups out there? Thanks in advance for you input!

Greenhorn
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Hairbone
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Hairbone »

I run otter boards with the added half keel. In my opinion they are not needed on Champlain fishing alone.
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Reelax
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Reelax »

2x otters. And I use an 8' adjustable traxtec mast to run both boards. Works great...


Having Pullies on rocket launcher corners is better than a mast in most cases... Better board control results. But not all have that application.
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fishingmachine
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by fishingmachine »

running 2 outboard planer boards while alone can turn into a real chinese fire drill in a hurry,that said if you have nice weather it is doable and can be very productive in the spring and late fall to winter,good luck.electric retrieve will help,the triple boards are fine,IMO, when running boards when the mast is towards the bow we run a light cord with a small snap to allow the planer lines to be pulled in within easy reach to allow the release to be connected
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Greenhorn
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Greenhorn »

Thanks for the replies! I am intrigued by the Otter boards, but they are pretty large for my 17 foot boat. They take up a lot of room on the deck. I am lean towards the traditional boards because they fold down.

I'm not sure I know what "Having Pullies on rocket launcher corners is better than a mast in most cases
" means. I think it means you have two masts mounted just behind the windshield. Is that a correct assumption?

Am I better off running one planer board when fishing alone (assuming rough weather)?

Maybe I should stick to in-line planer boards!!

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Reelax
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Reelax »

I run inlines until it it time to put 4 or 5 lines out in boards then the planer Mast and otter boards do the work... You have it right with what I meant with 2 reels at the windshield... It works good. But the big mast in front works well too.
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by digitroll (ron) »

Running a single mast in the front of a boat can be more challenging than two stand alone masts from the mid point on each side. The boat steers from the rear and having a mast up front mounted in the center at the bow causes and oversteering scenario to correct the boards paths when getting too close to shore, missing a mooring, and avoiding others running boards. The tow lines end up hitting your rods because of the oversteering sometimes needed to make a turn. A lot easier winding your boards when running from each side then having to go up in the bow to put them out or retrieve them at the end of the day or making a move to another location. The boards will turn a lot easier / quicker from masts mounted at the midpoint sides of the boat.

With a crew of 2 or 3 Inline boards are a lot easier to run.

Since I haven't run boards and masts in many years I prefer the mini Offshore OR34 model inlines on my light salmon rods in skinny water with up to two on each side. Later the Offshore OR12's for segmented lead. They are a lot easier to control and run great in a small to moderate chop.

Image
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Bearcat
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Bearcat »

Digitroll (Ron) wrote:Running a single mast in the front of a boat can be more challenging than two stand alone masts from the mid point on each side. The boat steers from the rear and having a mast up front mounted in the center at the bow causes and oversteering scenario to correct the boards paths when getting too close to shore, missing a mooring, and avoiding others running boards. The tow lines end up hitting your rods because of the oversteering sometimes needed to make a turn. A lot easier winding your boards when running from each side then having to go up in the bow to put them out or retrieve them at the end of the day or making a move to another location. The boards will turn a lot easier / quicker from masts mounted at the midpoint sides of the boat.

With a crew of 2 or 3 Inline boards are a lot easier to run.

Since I haven't run boards and masts in many years I prefer the mini Offshore OR34 model inlines on my light salmon rods in skinny water with up to two on each side. Later the Offshore OR12's for segmented lead. They are a lot easier to control and run great in a small to moderate chop.

Image
I like the inlines too, and if it's not too windy, I can run up to 5 and sometimes even 6 colors of lead on the Church Mini's which look to be about the same size as the OR mini's. Legally I think you can only run 3 lines per angler anyway, so a mast with several boards on each side would be a challenge in more ways than one on a solo trip.
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by digitroll (ron) »

In addition, storing the bigger boards in your boat and having masts or a single mast adds to more gear to deal with for storage in smaller boats.
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Greenhorn
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by Greenhorn »

Great points, thanks. I do have an offshore angler OR12 and an OR34. They do work well, but I don't like taking the off the line after hooking up with a salmon. It isn't that bad and is probably better than running boards, at least when I am alone. Do you guys let the in-line boards run down to a stop or do you pull them off after hooking up?

I thought you could only run 2 rods per person on Champlain. Is that still questionable?
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fishingmachine
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by fishingmachine »

2 rods only on LC
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jimbow
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by jimbow »

2 rods only on Champlain....My friend and i use otter boards on a 16 ft boat with a single mast....I think they are the best tracking ones around if you go that route..however we usually have a "bag" off the opposite side the board is running.
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by digitroll (ron) »

I remove them after hook-up. You don't let them slide down to the fish. They release from the side and you fight the fish from the release off the back as the board will drop straight down resulting in no side or board drag pressure of fighting the fish until you remove the board. The rear release has a tab in it to prevent sliding or releasing from the board when fighting a fish or removing out of the water. You reel in the 50 or so feet and remove the board. With the Offshore boards your not fighting the board and the fish like the competitor's inline boards which can result in lost fish.

It takes a little practice like any new delivery system and once you have seen the results it's the best option out there for smaller boats with 1-2 anglers without dealing with mast or masts and the large boards stored in your vessel. Takes a lot less time to put them out and reel in to change lures too!

I have used the big twin ski's and mast for 25 years and then twin masts off each side for 5 more years. And tried the competitors inlines for 4 years. Last season running the Offshore's for the first time an entire season I can really see the advantages of the Offshore inlines over the competitors. Tracking is better with inlines I feel over big boards and having them attached to a rod rather than a tow line attached to a mast.


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ThreeBuoys
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by ThreeBuoys »

I totally agree with Digitroll. The Offshore boards are very easy to deal with even when fishing alone.
Nothing is perfect, but these work very well.
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tamiron
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Re: Planer Boards

Post by tamiron »

Ron:

Great video and that tattle flag looks very, very interesting!
Lures designed by fishermen for fishermen
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