Anyone use 12'-14' Trolling rods over Planner Boards

[jignpig]

Been looking at the 12' and 14' foot rods from bass pro and Jason Mitchell for trolling... Kinda like the idea of a longer rod rather than planners, but seems like it might not get baits out far enough. Any of you out there made the switch or use them in addition to planners???
Thanks,
Todd

[Gotfish]

I have 12 footers and I think they are great. I have a couple of buddy's, one with custom 14 footers and the other with the Jason Mitchell rods and they wouldn't crank without them. They are great to get the baits away from the boat but there are still some applications where planer boards make sense.

[orchard frank]

We often run 9' rods off the corners, inside of the planer board set. Not unusual for these rods to produce well. I tend to make these my deeper presentation, I believe that fish near the bottom are less likely to be spooked by the boat. Another advantage is that you can make quick depth adjustments without bringing in a board and re-setting. I usually use either a bottom bouncer/harness or a lead core/crank on these rods. Longer rods would probably work great. Good Luck

[Raybob]

I'm a big fan of boat control for lure placement w/flatlines away from the boat. However in the early morn' & again in the eve if you keep the sun on the sides of the boat - your boat will 'not cast a bottom shadow for straight-line pulls for the lure track...

[Ziert]

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I know you will) planer boards are used to get the bait out to the side of the boat "some" distance so as to not cause boat shyness. My experience is that at 15-20 feet down the ETM or the big motor (even less) makes no diff to fish. Couple that with the line angle of the dangle in back of the boat and you have a presentation - both out and down - that is a good distance from boat shyness. Now, couple that a second time with 15 foot rods, and you have still further insurance that your stealth pattern/approach is secure. Planer boards use on the other hand adds even more angle to the formulas, and are to be used for those days when super stealth is needed, or in conjunction with all baits down, when you want a greater spread.

And you - at the time - thought you'd never use that dumb old Geometry they taught you in 10th grade - 8th grade if you were really being picked on. :>)

Rich

[powerdive UL]

Todd, for contour trolling I believe these rods could replace the boards (we run the boards within 15' of the boat on the sharper drops anyway) and make managing a tight spread easier without losing coverage.

For open water, you'll probably want to stay with the boards and run wider spreads, especially if you're dealing with high fish.

[jignpig]

Thanks guys I was thinking about them for a couple lakes that get pounded by skiers in the summertime. Little tough and dangerous for the goof balls who will come ripping up too close to planners... Just wonder if they will be far enough out when I'm running baits 6-8 feet down?
Thanks,
Todd

[powerdive UL]

Try bringing your boards in to where those rod tips would be and run them there. Then you'll know if it's worth spending the bucks on the long rods!

[jignpig]

10-4 Powerdrive... That kinda makes sense! Wish I had thought of it!

[Modog]

I've been experimenting this past year with a 12' rod. I love it for trolling harnesses but it's a little too soft for deep diving cranks.
One thing I've noticed if you fish alone alot. It can be a little tougher getting the net under a decent sized fish with the long 'noodle' rods.

[REW]

Modog,
One tip for netting fish with long rods.

You don't need to keep your hand on the handle of rods when netting fish.

After you get the fish to within about 6-8 feet of the rod tip, drop the butt of the rod on the floor of the boat, and grab the rod about 6 feet up the blank.

You can still lower the rod tip if needed for an agressive fish, but you will be able to more easily control the fish into the net. If necessary, you can drop the rod entirely and simply grab the line and lead the fish to the net.

Thousands of fish are netted every year in the winter time, using hand lines. You can always use your arms and fingers to feed or retreive line.

You don't need to keep a 12-15 feet rod in the other end of the boat, trying to back far enough away from the net to get the fish to the boat.

Take care
REW

[WARRIOR]

I do not run planer boards any more when contour trolling. The 12 ft Pro Tackle Rods give me a spread of 30 ft on my 97 inch beam boat. I run the 5 ft Scheel's rods on the inside. We caught fish from 8-14 lbs at Tobin on these rods and they worked great.

[WAZ]

Had a couple of 16 footers custom made from rods bought off the rack at BPS. Placed a cork handle and reel seat on the front section where the two peices come together. To set up for trolling you only use the front section with the reel on. After the bait is released to the preferred depth reassemble the rod and place in the holder, you have a 16ft rod out there now. When fish hits pull rod dis-assemble and reel it in as a normal 8 foot rod. You need a heavy duty rod holder to handle the weight. I used it in a similar situation on the Fox Chain in Illinois lots of boat traffic. Hope it makes sense.

[Bassbuster]

Correct me if I'm wrong (and I know you will) planer boards are used to get the bait out to the side of the boat "some" distance so as to not cause boat shyness. My experience is that at 15-20 feet down the ETM or the big motor (even less) makes no diff to fish. Couple that with the line angle of the dangle in back of the boat and you have a presentation - both out and down - that is a good distance from boat shyness. Now, couple that a second time with 15 foot rods, and you have still further insurance that your stealth pattern/approach is secure. Planer boards use on the other hand adds even more angle to the formulas, and are to be used for those days when super stealth is needed, or in conjunction with all baits down, when you want a greater spread.

And you - at the time - thought you'd never use that dumb old Geometry they taught you in 10th grade - 8th grade if you were really being picked on. :>)

Rich

I use planer boards to cover more area while I am trolling in order to find the fish and then target them. I tend to run my boards wide when the situation allows.