I have read a lot about planer boards lately. I guess they work, who uses them and under what conditions do you use them.

I use them, to get a bigger line of baits spread across my trolling pattern, I have baits inline with the boat, and about 20 foot out from that. If I use the trolling motor, and troll forward, and I can have another set of baits 40 foot out. So, that's 6 baits across 80 foot. Definitely increases your chances of getting the bait in front of more fish.

Well, at the risk of getting yelled at, I'm not a fan. I have always thought they looked clumsy. I was on a guided trip in North Alabama this summer and we used them. I didn't like them. Having to stop and take them off when you are trying to get a fish in the boat just seemed to me like it put you at risk of losing a fish. I agree with the concept of spreading your baits out and fishing a wider path but they just seemed like they were more trouble than they were worth in my opinion. When I drift, I pull 4 rods and sometimes I will suspend 2 more. That, to me is enough to worry about...

On the ones I have, when you have a fish on, the line will pull out of the clip. Then, you just have the slider left on the line. It stops at the sinker slide on the way to the boat. So, I don't take mine off when reeling in a fish.

They are clumsy when you first start using them Tim. I’ve stepped on em and broken em. Had em blow out cuz I didn’t stow em. Lost countless big fish over the last 5 yrs getting em figured out.

Clipping on a set of planer boards is easy but as you continue to add layers it starts to become very technical. Getting 6 boards deployed and spread out with 2 long lines while maintaining boat control and hitting your run is like a symphony. When things go wrong it is total chaos. Everything has to be deployed a certain way or you’ll have everything completely tangled before you even start or you’ll completely miss your drift line. When the symphony is firing on all cylinders it’s a real thing of beauty. I use planer boards a little different than most guys. I-pilot link changed the way I fish 4 yrs ago. I precision drift most of the time now which means I’m scanning my run and pinning the fish and features of the structure that I want to hit on my graph. Then I use my I-pilot link to pull me across my pins. This allows me to stay locked onto whatever structure I’m fishing. I can get over 200 ft spread on my planer boards on a good day which means I can have baits in the channel while also putting baits up on the flats. I can hit a hump or depression that is 100 ft off to the side of the boat with my longest planer. I can hit the inside and outside bends in a channel simultaneously. I can drift a hump and have baits dragging the top, the ledge, and the bottom of it. I can run a shoreline and drag baits at the bottom of the contour while also putting some up shallow and some out deep. Light wind I pull into the wind and I do this to fish points and ledges in the spring. I even use em suspended and also weightless in 5-10 ft of water in some fairly stumpy areas in the spring. They are a very effective tool in the right hands. My trolling motor has been messed up last 2 trips so I been drifting with the wind and I’m not doing very good. I got a new Terrova on order and should be here next week and I can start precision drifting again.

El Gato, I like your analogy. I have a very simple (rookie) set up. my trolling motor is dumb. No I-Pilot. I drift with the wind most of the time which means I go where it tells me. On days where there is no wind, I troll and I do it poorly. If I get a fish on, I can end up tangled. I rarely drift over what I would consider a target. I am hoping to upgrade my boat this spring. The first thing on my list is a trolling motor with I-Pilot. Second is side imaging and a 12" graph. I'm looking forward to plotting a course on the graph and then running that course with precision. Or spot locking over a hole with a pile of fish in it and suspending baits...

When you're running a bunch of boards it really helps that the person that fishes with you knows how to run them as well cuz when you got out four to six to eight planar boards it's a lot of work.... But it's also a high reward

El Gato, I recently got the I-Pilot but it won't find a point that I want to go to on a ledge unless I get closer to it then I want to be. Sounds to me that isn't a problem for you. Is there a setting I am missing? Also when the wind is blowing pretty good how do you keep the boat going where you want without the boat turning on you?

you'll have to get one with Ipilot, and the link feature, to be able to run a preprogrammed course. The spotlock feature, you only need Ipilot.

Thanks for yaws reply’s. I fish alone most of the time I think it my be a under taking that I don’t want do at this time,

Generally, when I fish by myself, which is quite often, I only use one set of planer boards. I pull them, and two other dragging baits, and sometimes two more suspended, but usually just the two planers, and two dragging, on Santee rigs.

I use the I-pilot link so I set my pins on my graph. Pin the spots or fish on my map and side image that I want to go over and hit the “go to” button on my helix. I put out a 52” drift sock out the back to keep the boat straight. If wind is over 15 mph I use a bigger socks and it’s harder to hit your pins but I still use it to stay close to the channel or whatever structure I’m trying to hit. I bought a new Terrova with link that arrives today. I am retiring my 36v ulterra 72” if anybody wants it they can come get it. It is currently broken down and I don’t plan on getting it repaired.

P.S. I also use the co- pilot feature quite a bit to keep me pointed and moving in a certain direction. This works good where precision drifting isn’t quite as important. Let’s say you want to hit a drift line that is oriented south east but the wind is out of the south. You can point the boat in the direction you want to drift and hit the co-pilot. The co-pilot will then keep you pointed and moving in that same direction. This also works great for when you get a monster on and it tries to spin the boat around. The co-pilot will keep the boat pointed straight even when a 50-60 lbr is trying to spin you. Before I learned this trick I would get focused on trying to get a big fish landed that when I looked up I would be so spun around and tangled so bad I would have to call it a day.

I just recently started using them for the first time and I made my own not going to lie they are really ugly but they really spread my baits out and I really think this will be a very good game changer for me.... Honestly I would give them time see if they grow on you and you find your groove in using them .... I am pretty sure I will here's a quick video of mine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUHCgvcIsIs

Great info! While I use the Motorguide Xi5, I do the same thing, it is linked to my Lowrance.