TOPIC:

SteehheadEric: In the summer, the most long lines I use at once is five. I'll put two on each big board and one down the shute. I usually only have 2 or 3 customers so with 5 long lines, 2 divers and four downriggers, I'm pretty well covering the bases. I adhere to the rule the shorter coppers or leadcores go farther out. So lets say I'm running a 300 down the shute, a 250 on the inside of the port side and a 150 on the outside on the port side. if the 150 gets the bite, I move the shute rod to the starboard side and clip it onto a release and slide it 20 feet or so out on the opposite side. (So I now have 3 rods on the starboard side temporarily.) Now I reel in the 250, remove it from the clip and it goes in a rod holder on the starboard side. Then I redeploy the 150 on the port side, put the 250 back on the portside and then return the 300 back down the shute.
Sure, it's a bit more work, but the people are paying me to work for them. They are also paying to have fun catching fish and though catching fish on full cores, 300 coppers and the like isn't like nailing one on a flatline, at least they don't spend the first 10 minutes (when the fish is most feisty) reeling an in-line planer to the boat.
I run three lines off each board in the spring and early summer. All the leads are the same so I just rotate the lures as needed - middle becomes outside, inside becomes middle. Simple process.

Here's a story for Raven. Years ago, I was trolling side by side with a charter boat over at East Chicago for spring coho. Won't mention the name but that's not important. His outside yellow bird was only about 10 feet from my big-board. (I was against the wall so I couldn't turn in to give more separation and like many skippers, he "owns" the lake so he wasn't about to turn out to give more separation. I happened to be looking at his bird and saw it scoot back as a fish bit. The coho jumped once, the board released and started sliding down the line, the fish jumped again and spit the lure. By now the captain was yelling "fish-on" and I watched in awe as the captain encouraged his customer to "keep reeling, keep reeling." As he did, the bird, now dangling a few feet ahead of the lure bounced and splashed as the customer dutifully reeled. The captain even got the net out. Naturally when the bird came within 15 or 20 feet of the stern, it came up out of the water and it became evident there was no fish on the line.
"Oh!" I could hear the captain say. "It just flipped off!"
The point is, even with a Yellow Bird on the line, the customer couldn't tell if there was or wasn't a fish there. I have no idea if the captain could tell if there was or wasn't a fish there.
I know there are teeny-weeny in-line planers made by Offshore, but few people use them. The standard-size Yellow Bird is the "go-to" size. And for 1 to 3 pound cohos, they are too big in my humble opinion.

Surely for any early coho and inline board kills it - no fun. Thats why I mostly cast during coho season unless I cant pinpoint them - then I will put a pair of dipsies and down the chute flatline on each side.

I use the inline boards mostly during the summer offshore.

Jeff or anyone using this setup...if you don't use braid I recommend it as it will be easier to trip the release when wanting to reel the boards in to change baits. I am going to test a couple with mono this season. No matter what line they should release just fine as long as you have the tension set loose on them.

Captain Mike,
thanks for breaking it down. I think I remember that you also have a set of riviera boards. I have a set and will give them a try this year. My question is did you use any counter weighting for the riviera boards? If so were did you place it? How much weight?

Tmik34 wrote:

Jeff or anyone using this setup...if you don't use braid I recommend it as it will be easier to trip the release when wanting to reel the boards in to change baits. I am going to test a couple with mono this season. No matter what line they should release just fine as long as you have the tension set loose on them.

I only use braid. IMO way to much stretch in Mono. I rely on my leader stretch to play the fish properly. The only lines I have mono on are my riggers.

Bn, I agree the best way is the big setup like yours. I fish with guys that use the walleye or offshore boards like what was mentioned on topic and compared to the lighter yb or bj boards there a huge difference. Some one brought up about spending money on more boards just for spring but I told them those are boards I run for summer run steelhead and fall kings, as long as you don't have to run lead or copper they will pull j-plugs and deep diving cranks. Mike

I do run Rivieras because they gave them to me. They work great but no better than the home-made ones I used previously. They fold flat in the boat and my home-jobs didn't. Only difference. I put about 5 or 6 ounces of extra weight on the Rivieras seven or eight years ago on the back end of the boards. One of them still has them. The other fell off a few years ago and I really don't notice much difference. Big boards will flip or dive in really choppy water. Not often but once every couple years the stars will align and you get a boo-boo. Flipping backwards is much better than when they dive. That was the reason I weighted the boards.
As far as a mast goes a big, tall mast (or masts like I use) are handy but not required. My first venture into planer boards, I ran them off my out-down downriggers. I've been on other boats where they just tied them off a cleat amidships on the gunwale. Can't run them out 100 feet but you can get 'em out there 50 or 60 feet on a normal day with waves only a foot or two.
As far as tether cord goes, I just use the bright colored nylon twine available at any hardware store.
Long story short, for the price of a single Yellow Bird, anyone with the DIY ability of a monkey can make a pair of big boards, a dozen releases and boost their enjoyment of catching Lake Michigan's fish....

Here is what the Sams Pro setup with an OR 16 looks like on my Church Boards. Snapped a pic the other day of one.

After using these for a few trips - I would recommend them to anyone currently using in line boards. I have yet to use them offshore but assume they will perform well.