Pulling Planer Boards

By User Ravens16

The easy way out

3 board planers definitely the way to go, you can run them in 3-4' chop. You can run 5 or 6 lines off each board. If you want Skip's number send me a PM. All stainless hardware, quality work. The boards run I think $125, most expensive thing to buy.

For the line, I use weedeater string. Get it at Home Depot cheap, buy 0.105 dia.
I bought 280' for 7 bucks. Alot cheaper than mono and I've been using the same line for 3 years now.

You don't need reels to retrieve them. After you have all your lines clear, say you start with the port side turn the boat sharply to port and just pull the line in by hand and wrap it around the board. If you want to use reels to retrieve them go to Walmart and buy some electric cord wind-on reels, couple bucks a piece and they work great.

You don't need Scotty clips either, I mean they're great but too expensive for my wallet. Go buy about 4-6 dozen plastic shower curtain rings, $1 dozen and a bag of size 32 rubber bands.

Here's the way I run them
Deploy boards, run fishing line out whatever you want, I do 50-70 feet, depends on how long your planer board line is. I run 100' off each side. So the first one deployed is out around 170'.
Double wrap band around you fishing line and hook shower curtain ring to the planer board line. Hook band to the ring, free-spool fishing line and ring down the line. It will automatically run to the end of the board.
Do the same with the rest of your lines, spacing them evenly from the board to the boat.

Say you get a strike on the furthest line out, band breaks and the line comes directly to the center of the boat. None of your other lines will be in the way. To redeploy the line you just caught a fish on, just move the other lines down towards the board, get a new ring and band and follow the steps above. The first line you put out now becomes the one closest to the boat.
Shower curtain rings eventually make their way to the board and you recover them when you recover your boards.
That's why you need a bunch. That's why Scotty's will set you back a little. 50 would be the minimum I would go with if you buy them.

Couple tips
Don't forget to double the band around the fishing line. It will slip if you don't.
Don't buy the "premium" type bands, they don't always break
If you are trolling Umbrella Rigs use either 2 size 32 bands or 1 size 64 band.