New member in search of advice

[Rick Reed]

I am new to the site and need any advice I can receive about fishing on the lake. I have fished in the Maumee River every year for the walleye run. I couldn’t wait to get away from the river crowd and start fishing the lake. *I recently drove to New York and bought a Crestliner sabre hardtop. I would like to mostly troll and maybe do some jigging. *I have a couple downriggers and a big john planner mast mounted on the front of the boat. I just built a set of planer boards from plans. I changed the width 13" to 24" i thought this would make them less prone to tipping over and i used wing nuts so i could take them apart for storage. I also cut four metal strips in case i need to add them for weight or stability. Any advice about lures/bait, techniques, location, and the planner boards I built would be appreciated.

[ebijack]

I'd suggest you take a teaching charter, or fish with someone who runs big boards using their equipment/boat. Ask alot of questions. Take alot of notes! You will learn more in one day fishing with someone who knows the programs and reasons why to run those programs. That typically ups your learning curve by a couple years worth of trying to learn doing it yourself and second guessing your choices. There are so many things that get done everytime folks troll. Skipper9's boats would be just one of the good ones to go with.
Then when you do have questions, you can get them answered here when you have them. If that makes sense.
Using big boards, most troll with cranks in the beginning and end of the season. Spoons with jets/dipsey's when the water warms.

[wajski]

welcome, I agree with ebijack do a charter I run big boards let us know how the width change works

[Greatwhitehunter]

Looks to me your boards are on the small size not saying they won't work but mine are 48inches long. The bigger the harder they pull.

[West Basin]

Rick Reed,

Just left you a private message. Willing to help you out, mostly with jig / drift fishing and Lake knowledge.

West Basin

[Rick Reed]

Thank you for the advice. Definitely would be nice to get a charter.

[Rick Reed]

I will keep you all updated about the width changes. In the mean time i will make a larger set of boards so i can switch the hardware out if needed.

[BtweenShots]

Most of those here usually use cranks such as the Rapal's DDH 12 Down Deep Husky Jerks, Bandits Deep Walleye along with Reef Runners, Smithwick's P10's and Perfect 20's. Thru the summer pull divers like Luhr Jensen Jet Diver #40 and Dipsey Divers #1 with
spoons most popular are Michigan Stingers Scorpion along with Warriors and many others and to pull worm harnesses in a configuring one to three hooks and stretch the worm out. Further down the road probably a spoon/ harness combo called a worm
burner. So that's probably just a start. Have your questions ready after some research on the above items post them here there will
be many to offer help.

Gene

[Rick Reed]

Thank you for the detailed info.

[Bordy]

Rick,
I agree with the other about learning from a charter or experienced person that might have a spot open in their boat. Here are a few comments I have. I have about 10 years experience trolling Lake Erie western basin with big boards, in-lines, dipsies, and drifting.

My boards are about the same size as yours and work okay for running 3 lines per side. I would want bigger boards if I were trying to run them "way out" for 4 or more lines per side. Plus, by line will drag water if I try to go out too far. I've added weights to my boards this year. Big boards pull hard and keep the line tight. That makes releases much easier.

I run almost exclusively TripZ 40s or 30s with crawler harnesses, Stinger spoons, etc in late May. There are a number of good releases sold locally in tackle shops made from a simple plastic clip and shower curtain ring. I prefer the Laurvik releases with the orange or yellow float. They are easy to snap on the line one-handed. But more expensive.

Learn how to install rubber band releases so they don't slide up/down your line, which is a problem with braided line. Roll the line around your fingers and loop the rubber band through the line loop and tighten. They stay in place that way. You do not get a knot in your line.

Do you have a kicker motor on your boat? If not, you'll need trolling bags to slow your speed. Amish Outfitters sells good quality bags.

Hope this helps and good luck out there. This site has some of the most helpful sportsman I've ever met. Keep asking questions and you'll get honest answers.
Bordy