Trolling Boards on Erie

[Prchjerker]

What do you guys prefer for boards for trolling Erie?Big boards off a mast or in-lines.Or should a guy bring both and let the water conditions dictate which ones to use?Does the diffent actions the two different ones trigger more bites than the other?

[perchjerker]

I use both. The guys in the bigger boats usually use the big boards since they are running 6 or more lines out.

If its not too rough I would rather use the big boards, but the inlines are sure handy and work real well too. They do impart more action on the lures too like you mention. And its easier to turn around if you are trying to keep on a pack of fish with the little boards also.

[Stormsearch]

I use both. It simply comes down to how many lines I can put in the water. More than 2 a side then we use the big boards. I mainly only have one other bud with me in my boat and prefer the inlines. Fishing by myself and I still prefer the in-lines.

[K Gonefishin]

It depends on the water conditions and wave height, Big boards are better to run small dipseys and jets, for cranks I would rather use in-lines, but that is just me. Let the fish dictate what you use and that might make your decision for you. When fishing open water and you run out of fish or can't find fish and need to pick up and move spots I believe I can crank in 3-6 inlines faster than two big boards along with however many rods you have out then deal with releases. It all depends.

[ETT]

As the others indicate, many have and use both. Here's my take:

Big boards work best at faster speed (over 2.0 mph), little boards are better for super slow stuff (under 1.5 mph), Big boards can do more work like pulling size 0 Dipsys or larger Jets or heavy snap weights (or even drop weights). Little boards are faster to break down if you fish only downwind and will be resetting often. If you're into a bunch of fish (with 6 or more lines) you'll catch fish faster on big boards because there is no need to clear inside lines.

It can all be shortened to big boat = big boards and smaller boat = little boards, but the above give some of the pros and cons of each.

I have and use both depending on the situation, but in the last couple years, you see fewer and fewer masts on the touring pros boats, which makes sense beacause they fish 2 guys and 4 lines max.

Just my take...for whatever it's worth.