01-13-2021, 01:42 AM
I use planer boards for kokanee quite a bit. I actually developed a system for running them.
I make my own rods so I made some short stubby planer board rods with handles, reel seats, and large tip tops. I put a small line counter reel on them and load them with 20lb fly line backing. I have used the offshore planer boards with a Scotty mini cannonball downrigger release off the back.
I tie the planer to the short stubby planer board rod so I can bring the planer in and out independent of my main line. When I'm fishing, I'll let out 50-100 feet of mainline tied to my kokanee rod and then clip the downrigger release from the planer board on to the mainline. Then I let both of them out and make the planer board take all the tension while letting out. Once it gets out 60-70 feet, I put the planer board reel in gear and put it in a rod holder. Then I put the main line in a rod holder and tighten it down to just the point before the planer board starts to duck walk. The release comes up out of the water or to the side of the planer board when the tension is right.
Then when a fish hits, I pop the main line free of the release and fight this fish in without the planer board. Once the fish is in, I get reset by reeling in the planer board. It's a great system, especially early in the year when the fish are shallow. It's got all the benefits of the mast system without having a permanent mast installed on the boat.
Using the planer board inline is a recipe for losing a lot of fish when you stop to unclip the planer board from the main line. Everyone intuitively knows that stopping and losing control of tension is bad. But, many people feel that's the price to pay for fishing with a planer board. I stopped doing it that way and catch a lot more fish now.
If you want to hang multiple lines of the planer board line, you can do that as well with a planer board rod. You'll just need a heavier planer board with a more aggressive angle that pulls the planer more to the side of the boat than behind it. I prefer to fish with two planer boards and other rods on the downrigger so I can cover a variety of depths at once though.
I make my own rods so I made some short stubby planer board rods with handles, reel seats, and large tip tops. I put a small line counter reel on them and load them with 20lb fly line backing. I have used the offshore planer boards with a Scotty mini cannonball downrigger release off the back.
I tie the planer to the short stubby planer board rod so I can bring the planer in and out independent of my main line. When I'm fishing, I'll let out 50-100 feet of mainline tied to my kokanee rod and then clip the downrigger release from the planer board on to the mainline. Then I let both of them out and make the planer board take all the tension while letting out. Once it gets out 60-70 feet, I put the planer board reel in gear and put it in a rod holder. Then I put the main line in a rod holder and tighten it down to just the point before the planer board starts to duck walk. The release comes up out of the water or to the side of the planer board when the tension is right.
Then when a fish hits, I pop the main line free of the release and fight this fish in without the planer board. Once the fish is in, I get reset by reeling in the planer board. It's a great system, especially early in the year when the fish are shallow. It's got all the benefits of the mast system without having a permanent mast installed on the boat.
Using the planer board inline is a recipe for losing a lot of fish when you stop to unclip the planer board from the main line. Everyone intuitively knows that stopping and losing control of tension is bad. But, many people feel that's the price to pay for fishing with a planer board. I stopped doing it that way and catch a lot more fish now.
If you want to hang multiple lines of the planer board line, you can do that as well with a planer board rod. You'll just need a heavier planer board with a more aggressive angle that pulls the planer more to the side of the boat than behind it. I prefer to fish with two planer boards and other rods on the downrigger so I can cover a variety of depths at once though.