Planerboard Position

[romertrain]

I've seen two things going when I observe other boats trolling planer boards. Some have them way back - 50-70 feet behind the boat, other boats have them going right out to the sides.

Which is better or does it depend on the situation? Also, how can you get your boards to go right out to the sides, let's say 60 ft away from the boat or thereabouts.

thanks

[Juls_OH]

Speed plays a role in whether or not the boards run out to the sides, or more behind and to the sides. The slower the speed, the more straight out the sides they go. The faster the speed, the farther back, diagonally, they will go. As to how far out a person wants to run them is up to them. Rule of thumb though, is in clearer waters, you should run them further away from the boat. In murky waters you can run them pretty close, because the fish are less spooky.

Angle of the boat plays a role too:
Next time you run boards or watch someone else run them, take note of how the boards plane out in a turn. The boards on the slow side (inside of the turn) will look as if they are running more out to the sides than the boards that are going faster on the outside of the turn.

This is kind of hard to explain without being able to actually show you, so I hope this made some sense, and answered your question.

Juls

[SUPERTROLLER]

It also depends on the lure pulled behind the board. If you're dragging a spinner, it will pull far less than a deep diving crankbait. This will allow the board to stay more even with the boat.(Juls is correct too.)

[marcbodi]

Hi,
You did not state if you were talking about Big Boards or Inline Boards.On Big Boards it depends alot on the hookup at the board.I think also that the Boards that are offset tend to pull harder and run back more than the boards that are Parallel.