TOPIC:

I’ve finally been able to get in on some spring salmon fishing this year and have been paying close attention to how “the other guys” are fishing. One thing I’ve seen a fair bit of is on-line planar boards. I’ve tried one and never really liked having such a big piece of hardware on the line. My grandfather had a pair of independent planer boards we fished with on Lake Superior, so I figured I’d give them a shot. Here’s the final product I’ll be testing out this weekend.

Any reason I might not be seeing anyone using this type of board around?

There are a few of us that are fishing the big boards off mast.

I have used both types. They both caught fish for me but the individual boards seemed a little simpler method for my style of fishing and I frequently fish alone.

I use them in the spring when fishing Coho nearshore. It is a lot nicer in my opinion “fighting” the fish versus the in-line planer boards. I switch to individual inlines as the season progresses for leadcore lines.

I use the big boards all season long, 96.7% of the time. They really shine at this time of the year when the cohos are only a few pounds. If you want meat, go to the fish market. If you want fun, use big planer boards. JMNSHO (Just my not so humble opinion.)

Awesome! Thanks for the reply's folks. I'm hoping they'll turn out as fun as I remember them. I have a little boat, so getting the lines even 20' out to either side will help me prevent tangles and cover more water. I tend to fish alone as well, so we'll see how that works out. Definitely won't be deploying them in heavy waves.

I use the big boards on Lake Erie for walleye when I have 3 or 4 people on board to run all the lines. But in the spring for coho it seems easier to just flat line or add the in-lines for a little more spread. The action is so fast at times that you don't really need to mess with big boards. But I agree with the others, big boards with releases and clips work great.

I plan to be on the water tomorrow along with a few hundred other folks I assume. Weather forecast looks great! I'm taking a couple of first timers so it should be fun.