new to planer boards; input welcomed

[steiny93]

last couple weekends i've been experimenting with planer boards
fishing in a west central MN lake with about 20 feet of visibility (insanely clear)

boards have been working great, using the yellow bird brand
been dragging rapala's

any tips or tricks around lure / speed / depth selection?

to date I've been keeping the speed in the 2mph space and switching lures every 25 minutes or so, any other rules of thumb I should consider?

I've been considering going with 3 way swivels and snap weights to better control depth, any thoughts?

[teamlund]

on the winnebago system here in WI we go by the rule of bright days, bright lures.....dark days, dark colors......but being able to see 6-8 ft down on winnebago is super clear for us but you might want to give it a try on your lake....?....

[jayem]

Hi, just got back from Ten Mile in Cass Co. That lake is also exremely clear (sechi disc readings to 25'). Found I didn't have to use them this year and got most of my fish only 45' back (12' deep with cranks I was using) and was catching fish at 3.1-3.2 mph. Most fish came on the outside crank as I was zig-zagging the boat.

However, in previous years (@ same time of year) I sometimes had to use boards unless I was trolling a really long flat line (175-200 foot back).

Jay

[Walleye0182]

I like using snap wieghts which clip right on the line. It is to me easier and less of a mess than using three way swivels.

[steiny93]

thanks for the input
sounds like I need to change up my speed more often and keep switching out the lures till I find something that starts popping

absolutely loving the trollmaster; only wish i installed it sooner

In water that clear I would definately try faster speeds especially this time of year.

Also If you find a color that seems to be working better than the rest as is usaully the case in ultra clear water stick with it rather than switching out colors that are working. Assuming you can use two lines per angler its usually pretty easy to see a pattern emerge when it comes to color. If I do see a strong color preference I'll usually switch three lines to that color and leave one for experimenting if I have two people in the boat. Color preference can also change through out the day.

Also in ultra clear water don't be afraid of running your lures a little higher than you normally would.