piper
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Posts: 727 
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 8:45:03 GMT -5
Greetings guys,
Ive decided to give planer board fishing a shot. Ill preface by stating I have 0 experience . Seems straight forward enough but Ive run into a few questions. To start off I ordered a set of "yellow bird originals" and received them. Out of the box they seemed really small..I dug around and these seem to be a decent option for medium gizzards and such. Still not satisfied I found the waterbugz site and ordered a few sets of his double foam. Received them yesterday and same scenario..these are small. I went on his website and noted his discussion about using split shot for weight. I contacted him and indeed he does not recommend using any serious weight behind these. He said 2oz would max these out and in some cases not work. 3oz..no way.
I planned on using my basic downline setup (2oz ) and dropping em to my desires depth (say 25 ft) and sending em out with the planner boards. On his site he said to let out 85 foot of line and a few drop shots to get to the same 25-30ft mark. This seemed like a ton of line to set a hook decently. 85 ft plus the 40-50 from the boat.
Am I ordering the wrong size all together or is my understanding/expectations incorrect? Do you guys use limited weight and a lot of line with these?
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 7, 2014 9:06:55 GMT -5
I have never run planer boards with downlines, though I know at least one guy that does.... my reason for not doing so is when fishing over timber with downlines and hanging up in it, and having a number of downlines at the boat already it becomes that much more hassle to deal with. However, if you're not over timber or setting the depth high enough that you will be sure not to hang up, then maybe.
My typical use for planer boards is with no weight to maybe 3/8 oz and I'll have anywhere from 6-20ish feet from the board to the bait and then however far from the boat to the board that I can get away with given the area I am fishing.
I don't think the Yellowbirds will work well for a down-line application - I may be wrong, but I doubt they will sit up well in the water - they are designed to plane out.... with downlines you will be going slow - 0.5 mph or so, and they won't plane out very far - guess you could speed up to get them to plane out and then slow down - but I would worry about them flopping over - especially in turns with your inside boards
The Waterbugz are OK for alewives and small gizzards - a medium to large gizzard will drag them around however. The Outcast boards sit still in the water and plane out the easiest from what I've seen - the Redneck boards are probably the next best option - the larger board gives more planing surface to pull the board out and the larger foam of the Outcast (and Redneck) lets it sit out there better.
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piper
New Member
Posts: 727
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 9:55:46 GMT -5
Thanks for the prompt and through reply Mike..WOW...was I off. It is def. a misconception on my part. My ASSumption was that I was simply clip a board on my downline setup and away we go.. Seems like Ill have to downsize and learn a bit. I may end up keeping both products to compare. Do you have any experience with the waterbugz double foam or single? Jeff at waterbugz says the doubles can handle a 15" gizzard no problem...damn if I can only find a 15" gizzard in SML  |
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 7, 2014 10:15:08 GMT -5
I've used I guess what are the "single foam" boards - a buddy of mine has a set. He now uses Outcasts  To me the biggest issue is the overall size of the board - there is not near the surface area of the Outcast or Rednecks to plane out, so even when you are pulling ~1 mph a big bait can pull that board left/right - heck, a reallyu big gizzard can even tug around a larger board. A 15" gizzard can do some moving..... Again, I know some guys use planers to get their downlines out away from the boat so they can run more downlines - and as long as you can avoid getting snagged in the trees then it may be manageable. But the board needs to be able to sit up well when you are still or almost still and be able to plane away from the boat at slow speeds. Maybe the double-foam helps this since it would float on both sides? As to finding those 15" gizzards - just wait till about June and they will be in all the shallower lights...... or March in the backs of the creeks..... |
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Post by CorneliaGale on Jan 7, 2014 10:41:51 GMT -5
nice information
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BentRod
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Posts: 2,252
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Post by BentRod on Jan 7, 2014 10:42:37 GMT -5
Do yourself a favor and return all of those boards and buy a couple sets of Outcast planer boards. Life will be much easier.
I don't know how the Waterbugz guy can claim his board will pull 15" baits no problem but can't handle 3oz of weight?!?! I hate the Waterbugz with a passion...You cant actually pull those boards..you just drag em along and hope they end up in the right spot. Even if you use small baits, buy a set of Outcast's smaller boards..so much better.
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piper
New Member
Posts: 727
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 11:13:57 GMT -5
Yes. Great info indeed. I've tried locating those outcast boards online but it seems core fishing was the only vendor and they seemed closed
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 7, 2014 11:17:09 GMT -5
Franklin Outdoors in Rocky Mount usually carries them, but did not have any when I was in there last weekend - or you can call and order them from Toby - I know some guys are waiting on an order as he stays busy with his "real" job and batches them up and builds a bunch at once every so often. The phone # on the boards is 540-354-7869.
Dewayne @ Captains Quarters carries the Redneck boards - he's closed till 1st of March, but sometimes will be available to stop by the shop in the winter....
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piper
New Member
Posts: 727
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 11:28:46 GMT -5
OK...just called Franklins..no go on outcasts..says he hasn't seen em in a long time
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piper
New Member
Posts: 727
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 11:30:42 GMT -5
Do yourself a favor and return all of those boards and buy a couple sets of Outcast planer boards. Life will be much easier. I don't know how the Waterbugz guy can claim his board will pull 15" baits no problem but can't handle 3oz of weight?!?! I hate the Waterbugz with a passion...You cant actually pull those boards..you just drag em along and hope they end up in the right spot. Even if you use small baits, buy a set of Outcast's smaller boards..so much better. These are very small so I have to agree with you. I did order the double foam which I hoped would sit up better but this feedback has me worried |
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BentRod
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Posts: 2,252
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Post by BentRod on Jan 7, 2014 11:32:43 GMT -5
I've never tried the double foam. It may be a little better, but couldn't be much better.
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Post by Pete D. on Jan 7, 2014 12:35:58 GMT -5
I use the single foam waterbugz. Piper, dont get too upset about them. You can easily use them for your inside planer boards with smaller baits. I do a lot of trolling at .5mph, with 2-6inch threadfins, and 6-8inch gizzards with no issue. I agree with Mike about the weight. I tried to use 1.5oz weights with bigger threadfins, and the weight at .5mph, and it literally sunk the boards until I locked the drag, then finally they planed out. I can get about a 60ft. spread with the waterbugz in this fashion. Just get some outcasts for the bigger baits and wider spreads.
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piper
New Member
Posts: 727
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Post by piper on Jan 7, 2014 13:00:16 GMT -5
Thanks sutor...after looking these over as well as outcast examples i think i have enough materials to build my own..will try and take pics as i progress
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Post by Gotcha on Jan 7, 2014 13:58:56 GMT -5
Some how yellow birds got dropped pretty quick! Must be pieces of S---T! J/s. they good for pulling crankbaits/ hard baits at say 2mph!! Water bugs not a bad board! You are just very limited! They pull money makers free lined pretty well! Most of us ain't lucky enough to find jumbo shad No way! Well spring normally brings good #s of big shad! But that's the time of year you want them free lined anyway! Sutor is right and you can deff use them as your inside boards! But like the other guys said, buy the off shore boards(outcast, redneck)! On a side note, you now have a set of boards you can go out and learn with! Waterbugs! You have to play with the bait and weight yourself to learn how "any" board is going to run! Save the release clips on the yellow birds! Trash the rest! Yep, you just give up the artificial! Enjoy! Test what you have first b4 you make your own! |
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Post by Pete D. on Jan 7, 2014 16:45:40 GMT -5
Test what you have first b4 you make your own! +1 Honestly, making a planer board is an art. The guy on stripersoup.com makes his own boards. Trust me you may as well not waste your time with it. Use what ya got until you can buy some outcasts. (I cant seem to find any for sale online.....) |
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To me the biggest issue is the overall size of the board - there is not near the surface area of the Outcast or Rednecks to plane out, so even when you are pulling ~1 mph a big bait can pull that board left/right - heck, a reallyu big gizzard can even tug around a larger board. A 15" gizzard can do some moving.....
