Hey, Zen-- I've used two types of planer boards for trout. One was the kind you run off a mast and then clip your fishing lines on a slider that runs down the mast line. We did this for Lake Pend Oreille rainbows in winter. We were fishing HUGE flies right on top with that rig.

I've also used those clip-on planer boards the walleye guys use-- the ones that clip onto your line.

Both work OK... but both are kind of a pain. The mast routine is fine if you're fishing the middle of big water and don't have to do a lot of maneuvering. The charter skipper we were with was the top rod on the lake, and he seemed to be pretty adept at what he was doing. Once you hooked a fish, you were on a light line/rod, and it was pretty sporty.

With the in-line planers, you need to use a rod that can withstand the pull of the planer itself. You need a decent-sized trout to really make it fun. However, the in-line planer was a lot easier to use and a lot more flexible in where you used it since you had the ability to quickly reel line in or let it out to adjust to the shoreline or rip or whatever you're trolling along.

To get the most out of the in-line planer, you really need to have one that falls off your line at the strike; otherwise you have to reel that puppy in while the fish is on... kind of like bringing in a trash bag, only not as much fun.

Having said that, I think if you could run the planer off one rod (with no lure or anything attached obviously) and then use something like a downrigger release for a second line that has the lure, you'd have the best of both worlds. It might be something to try for silvers and humpies this year.

Fishing in Roosevelt, I used the in-lines for a season and then never went back to them for some reason, probably because I didn't like trolling that much, or maybe because I started using lightweight leadcore instead. The boards did work pretty well... and I have some memories of pretty nice fish hooked while using them.