New to board & to trolling

Hello all. My dad and I are going to be taking a few trips this summer to Port Clinton and we'll be targeting the walleye. We've got some of the essentials, port & starboard inline planer boards, line counter reels on trolling rods & I tie my own harnesses. We used to make 4-5 trips per year, but always just casting crawler harnesses. Seems like then and even more now that trolling is a lot more effective way to catch fish, so we're going to give it a shot.

My question is, for first-time trollers, having never used planer boards, what are some pointers to get us started? Would you recommend divers or inlines? Which of each is a good one to invest in (it seems most prefer Tru-Trips). Also, I'm up in the air on whether or not to spend twice as much to go with braided line, or if most still prefer mono and what test to run.

I can provide any info that will help to answer any further questions, right now I feel like I've got a fair understanding of how to rig and run a spread, I just am unsure about how to complete our presentation. It's been a few years since we've even been up to the lake, so any insight into everything from blade & diver/sinker colors and which brands to buy to lead length on our harnesses would be greatly appreciated.

Right now we're a lock for late July and hoping to make it up in a couple of weeks as well.

Make it simple...I use 2 oz wgts with 4 ft. leader. I run 25 ft to 35 ft back. using worm harnesses. Speed is 2 mph. constantly check your baits as a nipped off crawler will not produce fish.

The choice for braid is yours, I used to use it but since I do not run big dipsies any more I run #17 mono. Learning to read boards takes time, and only running one per side will be even more difficult since you won't be able to tell when one is running out of position. I don't run harnesses above about 1.8 mph, mostly in the 1.2 to 1.8 with an average in late summer of 1.5 mph. Inlines would be easier to use IMHO. There are some articles here that you can read thru that should help you. If you have more questions just ask.

http://www.dwfonline.org/articles.htm

Sorry, but what is IHMO?

I meant IMHO?

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Originally Posted by Bggeary

I meant IMHO?

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In My humble Opinion

Thank you ebijack. lol

Thanks to everyone for their answers. I was leaning towards inlines as it was, now I think we'll definitely stick to those for at least the first couple of trips.

Also, this may sound dumb, but has anyone ever considered running a Rat-L-Trap as their inline sinker? I only ask because the Rednek Outfitters inlines look so similar to a rat-l-trap. I dunno, may be crazy, but looking at those and the TTs the same night gave me the idea.

Also wondering if anyone has any preference on which inlines to use. I saw an article addressing this on the website Ebijack linked, but that article is 5 years old and I didn't know if there were any updates.

Thanks again to all for the info.

I like trutrips because they float if you have to stop. With all the boat traffic you have to constantly adjust speed to avoid other boats, stop with inlines and you drag bottom and risk losing tackle. Also, why I prefer braid, much stronger if you snag up and it last much longer than mono. I switched to braid and have never looked back. JMHO.....lol

If you are going to run inline planer boards then run 10 or 12 pound mono. I run 12 pound Trilene XT. The mono hold better in the clips, is less expensive, and the stretch will help keep you from losing fish.

Tru trip divers cannot be pulled behind inlines as they pull too hard. For running harnesses and spoons All you need are some 2oz. And 3oz. Inline weights. Run them 4 to 6 feet in front of your harness or spoon. Make up your leaders from 20lb fluorocarbon with a snap swivel at each end. Use this chart to give you the depth setting desired.
http://www.rednekoutfitters.com/inli...ght_chart.html
The key is to target the bait about 3 to 5 feet above the fish. Walleye always hit up not down. So if you are marking fish at 20 feet, try to make your bait run around 15 to 17 feet deep. So if in this case you were running 2oz weights, you would run them about 40 to 45 feet back and 3oz about 25 to 30 back.
Crank baits such as Reef Runners and Husk Jerks can be run right off the end of the main line with no weights.
Hope that helps.

My program is trutrips 40's with church inlines.........no problem pulling them.

I second what Wes said. Mono is much easier for inlines. I caught many limits last year on mono, inlines, 2 ounce weights, and harnesses. Seriously, you can get as technical as you want, but you can catch many many fish on that basic set up. In my opinion, mono will be much better to start with for the stretch it adds. If you've never trolled before, you'll need to be careful with those fish at the back of the boat. Back the drag off, keep the rod low, and never pump. braid just complicates matters for the beginner adding in the no stretch factor. Good luck out there!

Greg

My most used inlines are just the rounded bead chain ones that I paint black. I started painting my inlines black a few years ago due to when I run mini disks, the black ones for me really out produce the other colors I have, so I started with just a couple painting them black, now I have over a dozen I have painted black. Same thing I used to do with the dipies, all were painted black.

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Originally Posted by Eyezcrazy

My program is trutrips 40's with church inlines.........no problem pulling them.

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Welcome aboard Hoytman86:

Exactly Eyezcrazy, and at spoon speeds, I also run certain harnesses in the same spread with the spoons. I have ran the hatchet blades as high as 2.5 GPS with no apparent problems. I run mostly T-T 40's behind the church TX-22 boards and if I need a couple of more boards I run my Church walleye boards in the same spread, I have encountered no problems with either. I also have a set of the TX-44 boards but they pull way to hard for my liking so they set most of the time. I have been running braid for the last 9 or 10 years and have had little if any trouble with it.

"WARNING" Braid is dangerous if it becomes snagged on the bottom and will cut you to the bone if taken into an unprotected hand to try and free it. It could even cut a finger off if it was to get into the joint area under this type of circumstance.

The main reason that I have lost fish is because of Eyes being pulled to the top by a jet and then surfing and flopping around on the surface with the water entering their open mouth putting extra weight on the hook up point. If that happens I stop reeling and keeping pressure on the fish lower the rod tip as low as I can get it to the water to pull the Jet and fish back under the surface, most fish keep their mouth closed under the conditions being retrieved creates. Sometimes this is caused by horsing the fish back to the boat so a slow steady retrieve is better than a speed demon landing attempt. Any fish that is solidly hooked will stay that way unless the fisherman does something wrong. A lot of the lightly hooked fish get off by being horsed in and the hook pulls out. Once mono has stretched to its max (planer board wt. and water resistance, fish weight and water resistance, diver or inline wt. plus water resistance, it is no different than braid with the exception that if a fish dashes toward the boat for an instant the mono will take up some of the slack that would be created, in braid there would be no elastic effect to compensate for this slack. That is the reason to keep a tight line on the fish with at least some bend in the rod so the rod can absorb some of the boat ward surges a hooked fish take.

Thanks again to all for the answers.

Here's what we've got so any further input can be more precise:

Church Walleye boards w/tattle flags (1 per side)

Abu Garcia Ambassador 6500 line counters on Cabela's Depthmaster 9' trolling rods

I will be making my own harnesses, both spoon and traditional crawler harnesses

We will be using an electric trolling motor and GPS to dial in the speed

Leaning towards the inline sinkers - the bead sinkers that Ebijack suggested

17lb mono for now - most likely Trilene XL because I've used it for years on my catfishing rigs and never had a problem.

I will most likely be putting a few of our batcasters off the corners of the boat. These will have to be a guess at the line I let out because I can't afford to buy more line counters right now. I'll run these on inline sinkers as well.

Also, thanks for the warning on the braided line. I've used it for largemouth fishing in the past. We always wrapped in around a Leatherman and pulled when we were hung. It'd straighten a hook before it'd break. I just don't want to invest double the money in spooling two new reels.

Now if anyone can figure out what the difference (besides the price) is in these two listings, I'd be happy to hear it:

Church Tackle Pro Pack 1

Church Tackle Pro Pack 2

If your finances are tight, the only thing I would do different is buy 1 more board and run 2 on 1 side and not run the other side until you have another board to go with it. you will have great difficulty knowing what is going on with just one board per side. With 2 boards on a side you will be able to compare how they are running and know if you have a fish on. I read though you have tattle flags so maybe it will work with one per side.

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Originally Posted by walleye2go

If your finances are tight, the only thing I would do different is buy 1 more board and run 2 on 1 side and not run the other side until you have another board to go with it. you will have great difficulty knowing what is going on with just one board per side. With 2 boards on a side you will be able to compare how they are running and know if you have a fish on. I read though you have take flags so maybe it will work.

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I'm considering buying another pair of boards. I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between those two items at Cabela's, the descriptions are word for word, with the exception the cheaper one says "a Double-Action flag system" while the more expensive says "two Double-Action flag systems". I just can't figure why they would sell a pair of boards with only one flag. Both say "Port & Starboard Church Walleye boards" and have the same board dimensions as "The Walleye" planer board.

Edit: We will also have 3 pairs of eyes on the boat, so we should be able to keep an eye on the boards to watch them lag if they get hit. The rods off the corners both have clickers, and with the amount of catfishing I've done in rivers I've learned to set the drag so that any click is a fish. I'm less worried about those than I am the boards. The only reason for the financial constraints is that we're buying all of this gear in one go. I think I mentioned in my original post that we've fished walleye on Lake Erie for years casting crawler harnesses, it just seems that trollers wind up bringing in more fish and if we're going to spend the money to go up, we may as well make sure we do everything we can to catch all the fish we can.

Last question I've got is, do we need to buy spare clips for the boards? If so, is it due to them breaking or do they just wear out after continued use? Which do most people prefer, and is the brand & model of board the determining factor to which clips to use?

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Originally Posted by Hoytman86

Now if anyone can figure out what the difference (besides the price) is in these two listings, I'd be happy to hear it:

Church Tackle Pro Pack 1

Church Tackle Pro Pack 2

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They should both be identical! Just checked the Cabela's site and they are one and the same. But the higher priced set is in the price range for the TX-22 boards with the double action flags which cost a little bit more. Not sure what their thoughts are on the two different adds, Church only makes one Double action flag system which works on both the Walleye Board series and the TX-22 Board series. They also market a pro pack for both models with the advertised double action flag systems. The black clips pictured attach to the double action flag system slide wire and they do not work with braid very well if at all. I converted a set for the TX-44 boards by just using a longer wire but the black clip would not hold the braid. That clips only purpose is to allow the flag to be pulled down or released when there is a fish on.

Hoytman.....to answer your question about the clips. They wear out pretty fast, I do not keep buying clips, I just wrap the line around the clip once to keep it from slipping. It takes a little longer to release the board but we don't have to worry about the board slipping or constantly replacing clips. I'm sure others will have different opinions on that, but it works great for me.

BTW.....I shoot hoyt too! carbon element and ultraelite

Quote "Last question I've got is, do we need to buy spare clips for the boards?"Unquote


There is no back release clip on the Church Boards, the board is held on the line with a pin in the back of the board. The front clip is the one and only clip that holds the line in the proper set depth position. You should not have any problems with those front clips as long as you adjust them tight enough so the line does not slip thru it, it is adjusted for tightness with a small Phillips screw driver. If you fail to adjust it tight enough (pull on the line after it is inserted into the clip to check for slippage there should be absolutly none!) under the actual fishing use the slippage of the line thru the clip will cut the rubber gripping surface and render that clip useless as the board will slide all the way down to your bait. In 10 years I have replaced 4 clips due to me failing to check for slippage those are the only 4 clips that I have replaced out of 6 boards. Check the clip for slippage with both dry and wet line, the same line that is going to be on your fishing rods. It is much easier to check it while still at home when you assemble your new boards.

Thanks Wakina. Don't the tattle flags add another clip to the rear of the board? I've seen videos showing ways to rig the Church boards that the front clip pulls off and the pin and rear clip hold the board in place, keeping the board from fighting you and the board from sliding down to the sinker/bait.

I will just bring a bucket along when I'm setting these up in the garage and try to get the tension set right. I'll remember to wrap the line should the clips begin to wear out.

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I'll try to put it into practice and get some good reports for everyone soon. I'm going to order an additional set of boards to help determine when a board is getting hit. Hopefully that link leads some of you to a good deal!

Good luck and stay dry.

Quote " Don't the tattle flags add another clip to the rear of the board?" Unquote

Yes they do add that black clip that is pictured in those Cabela's adds. It attaches to the slider wire that goes to the flag!

One more thing those flags are designed to tell you if there is a fish on your line or if you have picked up weeds or some other foreign object causing the flag to release or go down. In order for the flags to operate properly you have to have enough slack in the line running from the front clip to the clip for the flag so when a fish hits the bait and becomes hooked the wire attached to the flag can slide back, if there is no slack in the line between the 2 clips the flag cannot move as the line will stop the flag from moving.

I prefer to keep the board from coming off of the line clip and to retrieve the board to the boat still attached to the front clip, then remove the board before continuing to reel in the fish, once you learn this method it is easy as the boards come off quickly, just remember to keep tension on the fish while you are leaving go of the line after the board has been removed and you should have no problems. So if you are removing the board you would have to release the front clip , the flag clip and pull the pin to remove the board.

For me in over 12 yrs of running inline boards, I use off shore boards. Church adjustable super clips http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/a...ip-436675.html I've replaced all of the clips once but use those for snap weights. I used braid for around half of those years, I fished walleye tourney's so there is a lot of hours on those. They hold braid without wrapping, are very easy to use compared to other clips. If you have to wrap your line for the clips you have, ( if your right handed) wrap your line around your left hands first two fingers with them spread apart about 1/2 an inch, now stick that double wrap into your clip, and your double wrapped.
For your non-linecounter reels, point your rod towards the rear of the boat with your thumb lightly on the spool/lure in the water, swing your rod forward till your pointing at the front of the boat, that is pretty close to 20ft, do that 3 times, 60 ft. Get it? Works good.
Some of these articles need to be updated, which I have but they stopped posting my articles awhile back so I stopped writing them and sending them.
http://www.dwfonline.org/articles.htm

Another good deal on boards

http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/o...combo-bag.html

Another away to tell how much line is out for a non line counter is to measure how much line comes off of the spool from one side to the other. Let's say the line spooling out from one to the other is 10 feet. Just count how many times from side to side to get to your depth. It is not exact but will put you in the ballpark. I used this method before I could afford line counters and it still caught fish.

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Originally Posted by ChinnAgain

Another away to tell how much line is out for a non line counter is to measure how much line comes off of the spool from one side to the other. Let's say the line spooling out from one to the other is 10 feet. Just count how many times from side to side to get to your depth. It is not exact but will put you in the ballpark. I used this method before I could afford line counters and it still caught fish.

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I saw a guy doing that on a Youtube video. Only problem is Dad's gonna be peeved he bought line counters when/if I tell him about it. I'm going to do this on my two reels without line counters once I spool them this weekend. Thanks for the info.