Using Planer Boards

A new fishing season is underway. Many anglers like to investigate new baits and tactics to employ during the new season. One fishing tool that has stood the test of time but is still a kind of new technique to a good number of anglers is the planer board. Planer boards enable an angler to catch more fish in a variety of ways. Here’s how planer boards can help you put more fish in your boat this year.

Planer boards are about the size of a business envelope: The most popular ones are yellow so they’re easier to see in the water.

They clip to your line with releases, there’s a release on the front and on the back of the board.

Let’s say we’re fishing walleyes, and we think the walleyes are down about ten feet below the surface of the water. We select a bait that runs about seven to nine feet below the surface. We want to make sure our bait isn’t running below the walleyes, as walleyes, and most fish in general, are more likely to go up for a bait than down.

Let your bait out behind the boat until it is running at the depth you want it to run. Then attach the board to your line and put it in the water. By keeping your line just a little tight, the board will begin running out to the side of the boat. The angler determines how far out the board will go. Once the board is at the distance you want it to be from the boat, engage the reel and put the rod in a rod holder. You’re now fishing.

There are several advantages to using planer boards. First, you get the bait out away from the boat, which reduces the odds of spooking the fish. A boat trolling directly overhead will frequently spook the fish.

Using planer boards also enables an angler to get more lines in the water more efficiently. You can get a line out each side of the boat, and a couple more directly behind the boat. You can experiment with different lure colors, shapes, and sizes. You can more effectively determine what lure the fish want on that day.

In the Midwest, planer boards are used a lot for walleyes, but we’re also learning they’re a great tool for crappies and white bass and any other fish that can be found near the surface. Anglers who chase striped bass are also employing planer boards more and more.

Off Shore Tackle is the leader in planer board technology. Off Shore boards are easy to use, and they run great. They have the OR12L and OR12R boards for most applications, but they also have a Mini-Board that is perfect for crappies and for lighter tackle. Off Shore also developed the Tattle Flag system. It used to be that if you wanted to make sure your bait was running clean, you had to reel it in and check. Tattle Flags will tell you immediately if your bait has picked up a piece of grass or if you’re dragging a small fish.

More and more, planer boards are finding their way into angler’s arsenals. Make this the year that you learn just how productive the use of a planer board can be in your fishing.

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