Lake Champlain United - Forums

This is my first attempt at a planer mast and boards, came out good i think. mast cost me $44 and boards $26, didn't have anything i needed so bought it all. here are some pics. reels were made out of wire wheels, with bolts for reels, covered in electrical tape.

Nice
You will be ready for next spring. I made to my own mast and planer boards, ithey look like your's

Very nice work, the mast looks great, now as long as the boards ride well, you made a great fishing masterpiece and saved alot of $$$$$$$$.

Thanks for sharing your project.

nice job they look great

Nice work.
Fish don't care if its home made or buy ready.
If it does the job, its well worth the time you put in it.

Those are beauties! I've dipped homemade handles in that liquid plastic coating you can get at the hardware stores. Sets up fast and is durable. Also have done the soles of worn hip waders that I use for my smaller boat.

clever,very clever

tried them out tonight, tracked very well in the water. went after some pike cought 5 and 2 smallmouth bass. was very suprised the boards didn't jump much. wasn't so much about how much i saved, but it seems alot more interesting when you catch fish with something that you made. i guess that is why i fly fish alot.

And you save probably over $300.. They look great.

They look great. I have a pair that I built over 20 years ago with the same design. They look almost identical. I run the dipsy diver rubber snubs from my planer board line clip to the board which allows them to ride better in rougher water as it adds some "give" to the line. I also added orange flags (old dig safe flags) that stick up above the board (my boards are orange like yours) for better visibility, as some boaters pay little heed to fishermen and dont have a clue about planer boards being used for fishing.

I love homemade stuff- do it all the time. I actually built a nice little setup and never finished adding cranks to the reels. Varnished birdseye maple made up the blocks and I used replacement HMW plastic wheels made for patio doors with roller bearings for the pulleys. Reels were varnished wood as well. I should rig them up and sell them as I bought a used Big Jon planer mast complete that I never used- yet.

My boards are like yours except completely clear straight-grained pine and varnished.

Have fun with them