Planer Boards VS Long Rods - Practical Trolling Applications

Planer boards have been around a long time and questions about how to use them abound. Anglers for the most part have the basic idea that planer boards exist to help spread lures out, or to avoid spooking fish. This is the most popular Application, however, we find other situations where using a planer board will help take your trolling to a new level.
 
The first situation comes with wave action and running spinners. Any time you're trolling bottom bouncers with spinners and the wind is kicked up a bit, be sure to get some spinners out on planer boards. The surging action of the little board compared to the boat will give your spinners a decided fluttering action. This can drive big walleyes absolutely nuts. Use Gulp! Crawlers for the boards so you're not constantly reeling in to check your live crawler. 
 
An easy way to gauge the line length from the board to the spinner is to simply use a one ounce bottom bouncer. Take the depth you want the spinner to run and double it. That's how much line you need from the bouncer to the board at traditional spinner speeds of around 1.3 MPH. 
 
If walleyes show a preference for your steady spinners held in the rod holders then switch to snap weights and longer line lengths from your spinner to the weight. This takes undulation out of the spinner.
 
Another instance occurs when trolling along rocky shorelines with crank baits. Long 10 or 12 foot rods are preferred here, since we can control the baits better or clean off debris quicker. However, in some lakes you need to keep the boat 20 or 30 feet away from shore to saturate that prime first break line while your shallow bait swims along in a couple feet of water up next to the rocks. With this instance you only need 6 to 10 feet out from the board to the crankbait.
 
Another example of using planer boards for maximum success occurs over a developing weed bed. Sometime in late May to late June you get a dynamite walleye bite in developing weed beds. The best weed flats will be large areas and the weeds will come 5 or 6 feet off the bottom in 12 or 15 feet of water. What this means is you'll only need 20 or 30 feet of line out from your crank bait to the planer board to keep your baits above the weeds. Using the long rods in this case can cost you fish, because these waters remain very clear and like I said earlier, the best flats will be large areas. You don't want to spook fish with the boat and your goal is to spread baits out over the flat to find the hotspot. Be sure to experiment with crankbaits and spinners when using planer boards.  Always pay attention to whether long rods or planer boards will be the best way to attack your particular situation.   
 
These programs are just the tip of the iceberg for when planer boards or long rods come into play for walleye fishing. We've written scores of informative walleye wisdom nuggets that you can download off our site.        

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Planer Boards VS Long Rods - Practical Trolling Applications