Wesley Mann @ Spread'm planner boards is awesome to deal with on his stuff. Got stuff from him headed my way today, then if the wind ever slows down enough, or not; I will be seeing just how big a knot I can get this sort of fishing into lol.

I got 1- 7" board and 1- 10" board and a couple extra clip releases coming. I am looking forward to all the ventures with these. The way the wind has been lately, I may have to get a surf board and get Wesley Mann to make me planners from it lol.. Either way Rowdy is going to get things spread out and dragging and on the hunt...

I tacked up a few pix of Wesley Mann of Spread'M Planner boards boat and rod racks he made the bases for; on my rod rack thread here. You guys should see his rig and how he made his own bases for the Smack down rod holders he is using. Then there is that 250ss Suzuki on the tail of her. I think Suzuki makes the best in the business and their 250ss is quite the example.

Anyway soon as I get his boards in I will tack up art work here of them. Then I am sure soon as I get on the lake with them it will be no time till I can tack up more art of what not to do with them lol.

Looking forward to seeing the new gear, Rowdy.

I remember using the boards for the first time. Everything (and I mean everything) went to $hit. Getting snagged (fishing timber), boards unclipping, getting in tangles with a fish on etc etc.

You will soon get the hang of it.

Good luck!

You know I bet your exactly right and I expect it too. Now the part about getting a fish on and the fishing braiding all the lines together, that's OK lol, would mean I had to catch one drag'n bait like this lol.

I have been out fishing before and had several lines in the water and had fish twist me all up while fighting the fish down a little. Some of my bigger more memorable tangles was from me flipping bugs on my fly rod and getting into a really nice carp, all the time having other lines as well as other guys out fishing.

Not exactly what I recommend doing is hook up with a 20lb carp on the fly, thinking the whole time you can keep it all apart and just walk that fish to the other end of the boat lol. I laugh about that all now. I do like to mess with the line and knots, guess that is just the version of it where I am untying the knots lol...

I do have this fear of the line with how you drag these baits and all, getting the line all wrapped up in the propshaft. I have pitched artificials off the stern of this boat in some really clear water while just drifting rock bluffs with the wind pushing the boat and the prop just turning in the water with the drift.

Guess if I could remember to put the motor in gear after shutting it off. Here I have all these fears, and some of you guys have more lines in the lake than an octopus. I am sure there is going to be some really stupid stuff I do, the more stupid stuff, you guys may never get to hear about lol, long as I see how not to do that again, I have to ask how you guys do this or that, I will get to fess up lol...

I’ve had, extreme concepts, Zack Royce’s, multiple Parks and multiple spread ems. I gave the extremes away and the Zacks are pretty much junk. I use my 2 sets of spread ems first then the parks if I’m running more than 4 boards. I like the way the spread ems pull personally. If you use the red clip It comes with you’ll get a workout bringing them in but I like it over the Scotty personally.

Dean, I use the Parks boards and I use 4 of the big river boards and 2 of the regulars. I replaced the scotty clips with the red ones. I like the red clips because if you do break off, you still get to keep your board. I have used the SPread Em boards on the Tennessee river with my guide buddy Josh and when the eel grass is thick those things stay on! They are a beast of a board...

Dang, I ordered these Friday and I just got them this morning, unbelievable service from Wesley Mann, thank you sir. Once I play around getting these all tangled and basically doing everything wrong that your not to do, and know more about which ones I need, I will definitely be getting more from him. These things look awesome and don't feel like what I expected them to.

I am also so use to buying things like this, then changing all the swivels, snaps and whatever with stuff I already keep that is much better than the bargin branded junk most manufacturers build things with... No worries here, these boards are decked out to the 9's and ready for the water.

I got a 6' sea anchor on its way now also. I been needing something forever like this, got the link from one of you here on this too. Thanks so much for all the info shared here on a way I have never fished. Now I need to shoot some pix of these planner boards and tack them on here.

I have just about got all the key components to drag baits way better than I have ever been able to before thanks in part to all the help from you guys... I am getting closer to the last few things I am wanting now. New seriously upgraded sonar units (2) and a trolling motor.

These three items are going to hit my budget hard too. Never seem to see deals on them, least those I want. Don't appear even if I was to step up and buy all three at once, effects what they expect us to pay for them either. The marketing guys are killing us on all this stuff, and have been for along time now.

Now here is a shot of a full circle halo around the sun I shot back on Thursday 1.19.2023. I have seen these many times around the moon, just never a full circle halo around the sun. Usually when something like this involving the sun it's just a hash mark on one side of the sun, Northside or Southside. I have seen the hash mark on both a few times, but not so often.

Now I had to use the shade from the house and some of the trees that perimeter my place to get enough filtering involved to actually get this shot. Now I have always been told about these weather events associated with these that were coming in the next few days. Main thing these pointed out was that changing weather was coming.

The ol'e say'n goes as, the halo around the moon, you count all the stars in it, would reflect to how much rain and/or snow was coming... The little hash marks on one side or the other of the sun are called sun dogs. If on the south side of the sun it's going to be a more dry weather event, while on the Northside was pointing toward a wet event. If the sun dogs on both sides I have always figured on a more wet outcome, or at least always hoped for it lol.

Now, as mentioned in the beginning of this, never have I seen a full halo around the sun, more than that, the sun was halo pretty much all day too. I hope this pic I have you guys can see well enough on the forum here. My phone and I can shoot pretty good photos, it's just the upload here is where I suffer lol. Anyway, we will see what we got. I have this all pointed at some wet weather main event coming jimo. Least I hope, we are bad dry and the lake is 10' low, so way over due.

Well, we have 4" of snow and still snowing. It's not that cold out and the wind is not so bad. I have caught large mouth bass in this type of weather. The bad part was just how nasty the hull of the boat and the trailer gets going to and coming back with all that road slush, they took forever to clean that off lol.

The biggest problem going fishing right now though, is getting to the lake and avoid someone running over you on the road. Heck they have all the colleges and schools closed for the day, so all these young people will be out and that added to the mix on the roads makes for really treacherous situations.

So the halo around the sun I shot last Thursday was pointing out a big change in the weather for here. Least I think so and I will gladly take the moisture. We have been so dry, freaking wind 25-50mph and gusts that catch you off guard and almost knock you off your feet, day after day and not slowing much at nite either. So this is a blessing to be certain. How about a cup of coffee guys?

Rowdy, if you are so dry that 4" of snow is a blessing... wow, that's dry! Happy you are seeing some moisture. But... I have a bone to pick with you sir! I may have mentioned that I have the Parks Planer Boards... And that I have used the Spread 'em boards in North Alabama...

Well... yesterday morning at 4:30 between answering RFIs and reviewing shop drawings I was looking at their website...

And, you guessed it, I ordered 3 sets of 'em. By 6:45 I get a call from Wes asking to confirm my zip code. We are in an area where the post office changed our zip code a couple years ago and it still causes problems sometimes. Anyway, Wes calls to confirm it and says Okay! They'll go out today. I get an email before noon that says they will be delivered Thursday!

Rowdy, I hold you personally responsible for this...

That's just awesome...

I don't know many places that run their ship like Wesley does. I know soon as I get a better grip on how this all works, I will be ordering more from him. I basically got a sampling lol...

It is still snowing here and it's falling straight down right now. It keeps this up for very long, we are going to see lots of snow. Bad dry as it's been here, all I can say is let'r rip. I don't have to go anywhere and if I do so be it. We need this badly.

Now, on those new Spread'M Planner boards you got coming, on top of his business as Wesley is, you will see them that soon, unless the usps messes up, and they do here in my area often. They dropped my new Samsung note 20 three doors west of me last year about this time of year too. We like to have never found that, and at that time they were really hard to get. My phone took a dive, and i didn't have anything that worked. Covid is not so bad now and hopefully they will not loose track of them boards.

I am waiting on my 6' driftsock or sea anchor right now myself, another one of those things I just felt like I had to have lol. I keep packing stuff in my boat, it ridiculous actually, I already have more on her than our local Cabela's and Academy stores have in stock. Now I will say that Cabela's does have the new Garmin trolling motor and two new sonar units I think I have to have. So I am trolling but at a distance on those, but my boat is loaded...

So, you blaming me for "having" to buy these boards CT, ok; darn I do feel guilty about that lol. But, I also know you "need" them, so you need to look out of the box, or maybe through the side of the box if your hiding in it and just see how much I helped you here! That next round of those big toads your hauling in for a pic, just think how I added to that bounty dude lol...

Rowdy,

Cool picture of the halo - thanks for sharing. Glad you are getting some moisture.. Have friends out there in Lubbock, and know it has been bad dry.

We are getting some good rain here in DFW today. Hope it keeps doing it! Maybe I will be able to get my boat out before spring hits.

Those boards look nice! While there is a learning curve, it is not as bad as it sounds like. Actually fun learning to make new stuff work... the engineer in me I guess.

Ken

Ken,

Yes I like the learning of stuff and/or fixing if need be. I have a God given ability about me that enables me to build and/or fix things. With the help I have been getting from guys here on this sort of stuff, I do look forward to messing around with them.

My biggest challenge to date is using the sonar units to locate the bait and the fish. My old stuff I have is way old on top of me not knowing what I am looking at. I hope to someday get to rub shoulders with some of you guys to better understand what the sonar is telling me, and in the mean time try to up grade my TM and electronics wouldn't hurt anything either, except my back pocket lol.

Now, far as that pic, it was the wildest thing Ken, I have always been an outside kind of guy, no matter what too. I watch what is going on outside all the time. Never have I seen this around the sun. Could not get a good shot of it without something to help filter the sun off, so had to settle with this pic here, but you can see the ice particles in the air that is throwing off the halo effect.

I have followed your challenge with your boat on a lift and not enough water under it. That is terrible man. So yes let's just hope God blesses us all here with whatever moisture. Thanks for the comments on the pic too.

All this time, I never paid attention you lived in Lubbock. Born there and all my family still lives there. On planer boards I run Zack's. No reason, they just popped up first when I did a google search 5 years ago. I did replace that stupid spring with a over sized clip swivel. But all my guide buddies here in Huntsville use Spread'em boards with no complaints.

Just ordered a pair of the 7' Spread 'ems for kayak drifting. I will report back after I had a chance to use them.