?s for the trollers

Hi, I am still a new at the trolling game and i would like to have some questions answered. I am looking at buying a big jon mast, should i get the normal double planer boards or the otter boat? besides how they look whats the differences.
 
I am also getting new rods, what should i spool them with. I will get two for dispys, and two for plugs. Mono? Fluro? Braid? how many pound test is one brand better than an other. I will be doing mostly walleye and some steelhead if that makes a difference. Thanks

FishUSA sells diawa 9'6" heartland rods...I have 6 of them and 6 of the 8'6" heartlands for boards.
 
All okuma Convector and Catalina 30's spooled with 30lb Braid...
 
30lb braid is good for trolling with any application.
 
As far as planer boards are concerned.  Amish Outfitters are among the best..

Boards are always personal preference.  I fish with skis, I know a couple guys that fish w/ otter boards and swear by them. 
 
As for the new rigs?  Well, I'd do 30# braid on them.  Braid is tough, will get a similar dive curve to wire (less line out, deeper dive) and transmits strikes VERY well.  I also prefer braid on my planer rigs because it has little give, lines tend to "pop" out of the releases better, whereas mono's stretch will not "show" as many strikes.  I would definitely get some fluoro (love it on my rigger rods) and also for leader sections for both dipsys and flatlines/boardlines, it is virtually invisible underwater and is pretty abrasion resistant.  I would invest in decent linecounter reels.  Okuma Convectors, Shimano Tekotas (the best, but very pricey), Daiwa Accudepths, and Cabela's Depthmasters have all seen time on the Storm and are all fairly dependable. 

Storymaker i just emailed you

I keep hearing boards are a pain, why is that if you are against then.
 
 

I like Dipsy's BUT there are days boards work WELL! I run boards earlier in the year in Port Clintin where the water is shallow and I run them in PA early when the fish are shallow. They really aren't a pain if you get use to using them. I run cedar planer boards that collapse, we use shower curtain metal clips and rubber bands. as far as making turns you can make about the same turn with boards as you can with dipsys. If you turn to quick with dipsy's they drop to the bottom and you can snag or pick up zebra mussels on your hooks which then you catch nothing. I would not buy boards if you are fishing 8 or less rods. I fish 4 downriggers and 4 dipsy's most of the time when the fish are deep and don't forget about 2 lead core rods! We can fish 10 rods no tangles with no boards but you have to really pay attention to whats going on. If you steelhead fishing in the fall close to shore I would think boards would be a lifesaver when you get a fish! When your fishing with boards all your lines are away from the boat out and out both sides. When you get a fish and it breaks off or you break the band from the clip you wait until the lines goes back for a little while so the fish ends up behind the boat and you have a large area to wind in with no other lines interferring with the fish your bringing in.

So the theme i am getting is alot of people have them but only use them when conditions are right, or necessary . I want to thank every one that has replyed, everyone has help me just by giving me your two cents. If there are any other tips or set up trick you would like to share i would like to hear them.

 

Somedays it doesnt matter, dipsys are great but when there is tougher fishing dipsys  arent as effective as planer boards.

 
That is a perfect statement! There are days dipsy guys cant catch a spooked fish when the boards WHACK THEM!

ORIGINAL: Big Fathead

Somedays it doesnt matter, dipsys are great but when there is tougher fishing dipsys  arent as effective as planer boards.

That is a perfect statement! There are days dipsy guys cant catch a spooked fish when the boards WHACK THEM!

What's a spooked fish...you know guys in Ohio dont even know what a medium dipsy is.  They run big dipsys back 45' in the early season.

Only thing boards allow you to do is cover a wider spread with more rods...dont give me this BS walleye are boat shy....
 
Early in the season we have less fish...so you need to run more rods to cover more area...to catch more fish....thus boards work and seem to work better...
 
When you have a large number of fish under you there is no better way to load up the cooler than dipsys...

Why do you run dipsys off your riggers?  That's a lot of crashin' and bangin' that would have to take place for that fish to clear the rigger release.

I would personal if given the choice to take one or the other I would take my boards, the only guy I know that fishes port clinton is a Capt down there and is owner of gloutdoors.com tells me he runs up to 6-7 lines per side  all year round. He said he runs cookies off his boards when he goes to meat.

ORIGINAL: Big Fathead

Bagger you nutz! I fished Port Clinton for a couple years all summer and very few use dipsys there! There are days that boards are a must. Let me ask this question: Before the "03" hatch hit legal size how many days in a summer did you limit on dipsy's Bagger? Have you fished with Boards? I run 10 rods no boards and some days 10 rods with boards. Everyone has there own way of fishing and we know Bagger is the great as we all are as he has said in the past. In all seriosness you can't possibly believe that there are days walleye or any fish don't spook. I would have boards on my boat year round so when you need to try something different you can. Hey bagger lets go surf fishing tomorrow up in Erie the flooring and painting can wait till Thursday!

 
Before the 03 hatch how many days did i limit?  ALOT.  Did you fish erie in the 90's?  Yep we used to fish boards alot, Wire line and Bomber Long A's we used to use limit all the time with them.  Sometimes you could catch 2 at one time on a 3 way rig....then snap weights and spoons or snap weights and harnesses all off boards...PAIN IN THE****WHEN THERES ANY CHOP.  Maybe if you owned Lake Erie and no1 was around you they would be nice to fish...
 
We started to use Dipsys in the mid 90s and havent stopped.  First it was Dipsys and NK 28's now its dipsys and Harnesses...I cant tell you how many fish I caught off NK28s in Black, Purple, Firetiger, Trout...I have 4 boxes them with war wounds...
 
I have limited out alot of times prior to this 03 hatch with dipsys.  Alot more times than i care to count...Or care to defend about.
 
Dipsys divers are a faster much more simple method of fishing that work better in all conditions....and best of all you can run them off boards if you want!!
 
Walleyes are not boat shy.  In 2002 we had a cluster of them that stayed in the shallow depths off racoon creek almost all summer.  We were pulling them on big dipsys back 40-50ft no problem.
 
If you talk with charters all of em run boards...simply because if they pull 5-10 out of their 24-36 fish off the boards their day is that much shorter.  Its a numbers game...
 
For the average die-hard having 2-3 guys aboard why would you want to put out boards?...Boards are never a must....They only help you with scattered fish allowing you to cover more area with more rods... like port clinton in the summer...PERFECT EXAMPLE!....ERIE PA IN THE SPRING...I dunno about you but i have problems keeping 6 rods dipsy rods in the water most days.  Between the Junk and the Walleye i dont see how you could effectivly run 10-14 rods before everything clogs up...Keeping 6 well maintained rods in the water (even if you have 4guys) that u can clean off the junk and get in your fish is a simpler much more effective method.
 
If fish are scattered i can see using boards, infact i use them myself from time to time, but they are not a must.  You get a big group of fish under you NOTHING will put them in as fast as dipsys.
 
Im not good...Im consistent...and thats all I care to be.
 
Im not nuts im logical...I fish this lake alot and try to put forth the most logical and simple information I can to help people out.  I try not to overload people with information...I try not to over analyze how stupid a fish is...

What size boat do you have? If you are fishing in close in the spring and are in a 25+ ft. boat, on a flat sunny day you can not tell me that fish do not spook.   

Bank I fish in tight in the spring...we even night fished a few nights this year.  I have a 22' Hardtop When we troll in close i run medium dipsys back 90ft or flatline plugs and have always had success...I OCCASIONALLY DO RUN BOARDS...im not against them, they are just a pain in the butt and i cannot see 2 guys onboard a boat needing them to catch their fish...
 
I run a 9.9 honda that is quiet...im not sure if that helps, but we used to troll with the big motor for years and still had success...
 
The PA Water of lake erie have been and probaly will always be my stomping grounds...I did make a trip to Port Clinton last year and had a blast i am going to keep my boat there may-june then come down here late june...
 
 

Heres some flat sunny days in 25-35ft in Early June this year....

 
 

 

 
 

 
 
NO BOARDS!