Planer board order....

[mwardncsu]

Ran across something recently that spurred some discussion on the "correct" order or running your planer boards.... that is forward board closest to boat / back back furthest way - or vice-versa. This likely falls into the same area as "over or under" for toilet paper, but curious as to how you all run them and why......

[Gator]

I run my inside board most forward and my bank board further back.

Now that being said.....When I get into a hurry,I have often run the port side board on the starboard side. Or, I clip the line on the wrong side of the rod(remember clip the tip). I have also learned that you CAN NOT run a yellow board with orange boards or any dissimilar combination.

[coheasion]

Dangit mward - I thought you were organizing a group buy of planer boards

[R22]

I have run them both ways and don't see a ton of difference, however, my preference is to run the board closest to the boat in the most forward rod holder for a couple of reasons.

First, I somehow believe that keeping the most forward rod holder at a lesser angle to the water and gradually increasing that angle with each rod holder as I move towards the stern creates less opportunity for tangling lines. By having the rod holders at different angles seems to allow movement in and out of the rod holder to be a little more free. If I am using J-hooks and want to set the hook, then having those rods at different angles again seems to allow better movement without bumping and rattling other rods.

I also have a habit of moving the outside lines inward, and therefore forward which means I am usually baiting the outside lines. By doing this, it allows less attention to be paid to the line I am now deploying when it is always going to become the outside line.

[BentRod]

I know what you're thinking Mward and you're still gonna tangle all your rods in a turn - you just weren't blessed with that skill my friend!

[striperjohn]

Feb 24, 2016 10:08:23 GMT -5 mwardncsu said:

Ran across something recently that spurred some discussion on the "correct" order or running your planer boards.... that is forward board closest to boat / back back furthest way - or vice-versa. This likely falls into the same area as "over or under" for toilet paper, but curious as to how you all run them and why......

I posted a thread with pics on this a while back. Since then experimented a bit. With the inside board closest that allows the far back outside bank board to allow a big fish to run across the back without (hopefully) tangling all the lines. If the bank board was on the front rod a fish headed across the spread will for sure get.a bunch of lines. At least that appears to work for me.

[lund1]

as with most things I've learned I watched Todd carefully when laying out a spread...he's a bow closest guy too. It was also really helpful to just watch how he put the spread out...simple little things like what order he followed when putting out the board....getting the board set up with the hook slightly stuck in the rod handle...what side did he drop the board/bait from...letting the board head out on the clicker while keeping a close eye on it.....I know this is probably elementary to many of you guys....but I discovered there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from going out with a good guide that goes way beyond "where are the fish!!??"
It was remarkable to watch him work 12 rods and dodge the clients....pretty cool stuff.

[hotdog]

Lund, I know just what you mean when you talk about watching Todd work. It is quite amazing. It was pretty windy on one of our first trips with Todd and as I watched him deal with the bait and the planer boards plus having us in his way it was very impressive but when he was done putting out that tangled wind blown mess and went back to navigating the boat and all those lines and planer boards fell into place I knew that I was the best at picking a fishing guide. He makes it look easy. I also run my inside boards most forward and each line away from the boat steps back farther, partly because I figure the geese know what their doing but mostly because that's how I saw Todd do it.
Good fishing.

[Deleted]

Like R22, I like my furthest board to be furthest back in the boat with the highest angle from the water. Both ways work fine on straight pulls but quick turns seem easier to me the way I do it as long as the angles of the rods are increased. More importantly to me, I achieve a wider spread of bait with more control and can often times ride the banks with two boards rather than one..that is.. when I'm feeling really frisky. Other times, I like to send that outer bank board way out there and flirt with disaster while all my other boards are riding along free and easy. Keeping that outer board rod in your hand and bopping it around obstructions from the very back of the boat feels more like fishing to me and the further away it is when it gets hit, the more fun it seems. If this same board was furthest forward, I would not have as much control over it and would have to let out more line to achieve the same distance from the boat.

[smlfishing]

I also run my boards from the bow closest to the boat and work them back to the longest having the highest angle. R22 I really like how you are rotating the baits instead of just bringing one rod in at a time and changing them. I am going to give that a try. Does anyone ever run floats/freelines from the t top to gain more room in the back of the boat to be able to reel in fish and change out planer boards?

[FishON]

Seems like sometimes my boards have a mind of there own.. I usually just want them far apart. So, the way my spread ends up often varies every time.