Planer board fishing

[Reel Tune]

Not to answer for TK, but almost every striper I caught with planers were off a tree, pile of submerged rocks, or point.

I would plan my pass beforehand. I would put my bait in the water and get my boards running 10-15' out from any structure that I would encounter. The planers would allow you to stay off the bank and away from the fish so you wouldn't spook them while making the pass. I would watch the bank and keep the bait close to the bank and structure but not in it. Once your bait starts getting nervous you know a predator is close by so I would slow down a little. Sometimes you would see a wake from the predator coming in for the kill.

[tkwalker]

Originally Posted by TNBronzeback

i dont wanna speak for somebody with TK's knowledge, but the idea behind fishing the bank, is there are features that create ambush points. Downed trees, logs, rocks, ect that they hide in and around to ambush prey, so the closer you can get your bait to those holding area's, the more it increases your chances at a hook-up.

That is the point ... Structure ... Especially in a river environment where you have multiple bank slides with trees ... <'TK><

[tkwalker]

There seems to be some confusion about fishing with the current and keeping your boat off of the bank/structure... That is the whole reason for using the Planer boards ... The boat is out off the bank 50 to 75 feet or more ... You have two inline planers working the structure ...

The reason you don't run Starboard boards in the river is one ...You need to be near the structure and ambush points ... trees, wing walls that are 20 feet from the bank and you want to run your bait between the wing wall and the bank ... Also usually your troll coarse is in line with navigational buoys so with swift current you have to plant the port gunnel of the boat right next to the buoy ... let your port side rods arch over the buoy ... If you were running starboard boards you have a good chance for the Bait ... especially large Skippies, Gizzard shade or trout to swim across the buoy anchor line and tangle ... ... Reverse engines !!! And get multiple lines in ... Believe me folks until you know exactly where your structure is (and 50% of that changes every Spring) You are going to get hung up ...

Remember when you are guiding or until even novices get a handle on this ... Most people who hired you have never fished for trophy Stripers ...

So you are fishing a bank 1 or more Generators on and you have pretty swift current ... The reason you don't run starboard boards is if you get hung up The Guide has to start and reverse the big engine ... Start taking up line and try to talk the guide party person who is not hung to get his rig in ... So the Captain is reversing with swift current and trying to maneuver the boat ...Take up the hung line reel ... .maneuver past the hang up and try to get free ... And also try to keep the client from releasing the spool that is hung and bird nesting your reel spooled with 50# big game trilene.

Now Eddy currents and back eddies (always in outside bends of the river) ... A totally different ball game I've trolled places on a regular basis .. It was part of my daily fishing routine (70 miles round trip everyday) that the boat would go totally side ways and your bait would be water skiing across the top of the water because you had to power up with the trolling motor just to keep control (23 foot bay boat with 6 batteries on board ..4 dedicated to the trolling motor ) ... So you say why fish that section of river ... Because in this particular spot, as soon as you come off the Eddy there is a hump and rock shelf under a bluff ... That always produces ... So you have to fight the eddies to get to the honey hole ...

Now what I have just told you are just some of the reasons ... But remember I fished primarily the Upper Cumberland where the river is swift and narrow ...

Now if I was on the upper side of the Cordell Hull Dam In some of the large creeks ... I would fish 7 lines ... 6 boards and one free line ...

This is just the tip of the iceberg on fishing for these beautiful fish ... Trial and error ... Hope this helps .... <'TK><

[bd-]

I think he was being funny and asking why all the fish were on the left side of the river.

Obviously, you could fish the other river bank and run starboard side planers and nothing on the port side, depending on where you are. The point is, if you have planers on one side skimming along the bank structure and planers on the other side out in the channel, you're going to have too many lines to keep track of, and only rare fish are going to hit the channel side baits.

bd

[Catch & Release]

Originally Posted by bd-

I think he was being funny and asking why all the fish were on the left side of the river.

Obviously, you could fish the other river bank and run starboard side planers and nothing on the port side, depending on where you are. The point is, if you have planers on one side skimming along the bank structure and planers on the other side out in the channel, you're going to have too many lines to keep track of, and only rare fish are going to hit the channel side baits.

bd

Finally lol, I thought I was going to have to throw all my starboard boards away....