Best Planer Boards?
Anglers who are lucky enough to own or hire a boat for fishing on large UK lakes and reservoirs maybe familiar with the planer board concept, but most fisherman wouldn’t have a scooby what planer boards are, let alone fished with one.
A planer board is a simple piece of kit used to increase catch rates when trolling lures and baits behind, or parallel with a boat. In this blog post well take a look at how planer boards work, where to use them and even how to make your own cheap version. Let’s crack on…
What are the best planer boards?
Whether your looking for offshore, dual, big, small or diver trolling planer setups, you’ll find a wide range of planer board styles on sale. Good modern planer boards need to hydrodynamic, not the old yellow brick design, have a curved drag edge to prevent trolling line tangling and have a wide enough spread to cover the large area of water required.
Stealth trolling is the name of the game, so your planer board needs to cut through the water with as little disturbance as possible.
Think attack submarine!
What is a planer board for fishing?
A planer board is a sea or predator fishing contraption that multiplies how many lures or dead baits you can troll from a boat, thus increasing the area of water (both width and depth) covered and boosting the chance of attracting a fish to bite.
You can pull a planer board over 100ft away from the boat, reducing engine noise spooking fish, and you have precise bait depth control with a planer board. You can use multiple planer boards from both the sides and back of the boat to cover even more area.
How do you attach a fishing planer board?
The planer board is the center component of three sections of fishing tackle connected together. First, attach bait lines to the board at the distance you want to fish, tie fishing lures to the end and be careful of tangles.
Second, attach the other side of planer board to rod and reel with heavy strong line to avoid breakages, or use a planer board mast system as an alternative. Lastly, lower lure rigs and board in to the water and feed out rod/mast line until far enough away to avoid engine noise.
Can you use planer boards with bottom bouncers?
Yes, you can use bottom bouncers, but only on none snaggy waters. Any thick weed or obstacles could catch the lures and break your line, so check beforehand with a plumb line. Also it may be difficult to fish with bottom bouncers at extreme depths, and a 1 once bouncer works better in shallower waters.
The key is to use just enough weight to make contact with the bed of the lake or reservoir, before attaching the planer board, and a slight bounce is always better than dragging the weight alone the bottom.
How deep do planers run?
The depth planer boards run is dictated by the length of the towing line. The greater the distance your towing the planer board behind the boat the deeper It’ll run. An example would be a 10 meter (30ft) towing line, equates to a 5 meter (15ft) dive depth.
However, some more expensive planer boards have adaptive fins, that can be altered to control the dive plane. These hydrodynamic additions force the planer board to either dive deeper, or run closer to the surface, providing more depth control.
How do you make a planer board at home?
Building your own outrigger alternative, a planer board is pretty straight forward if you have a moderate level of DIY skills. Use a sheet of 14″ inch aluminum or perspex main body, and 4 x lengths of 2″ x 4″ x 14″ strip of light weight wood such as balsa.
Glue the balsa strips top and bottom on the edges of the main board, and sand the front edge to a curve to help cut through the water. Drill hole in front edge (center) for trolling line and several at the back for your lure and bait rigs. Simple and effective!
Where to buy planer boards in the UK?
Let me start by saying if your boat sea fishing and need multiple planer board setup your better off going to an outrigger specialist for equipment. However, if your say, pike fishing on inland lakes a more basic planer board rigs maybe appropriate.
You can buy good planer boards from fishing tackle brands like Krazywolf, Cannon and Yellow Bird, but the cheap version found on online retail sites like Amazon and eBay work just as well. Tip: Shop on Amazon US for higher quality planer boards.
Conclusion
To be honest this type of contactless fishing isn’t for me, and view it more as a commercial technique. However, if your looking to catch a number of pike by trolling, using a planer board is well worth a try.
I’d suggest starting out with a cheaper option (under £10) and only buy a more advanced version if required. Lure fishing for predators, for me at least, is all about the touch and feel of the lure movement in the water and anticipation of the aggressive take, using a spinner reel and light rod.
Happy Fishing!
