I remember reading Mike's (editor) story on fishing for trout with one of the guide services. The article said they trolled long lines (150' or so) to get some separation from the boat and the lure.. and they did S curves to get more separation.

Got me to wondering..... how about walleye planer boards for this??

Anyone ever play with them? Also any thoughts on if this would help for trout that didn't like boats driven over them?

Mind you, this is a purely academic discussion for me as I still have 70 jillion fly rods.....

I think it would work just fine. I believe this is how they fish in the Great Lakes. It may just be a regional variation that they aren't used here. I've not been too interested as I have enough "stuff" to fiddle with. Plus, I wonder how many boaters are not going to be expecting planer boards and may run them over?

I think a planer board 40' to the side is less likely to get motored over than an unweighted fly that is 50-60 yards behind the boat. In addition, unless some of the new superline is used, that length of monofilament would have lots of stretch in it.

Years ago I had a thing for trying to catch big trout on 2 lb test over in eastern WA. The line I picked had so much stretch in it that I had to resort to punching down the barb on the hook, sharpening it until it was like a needle and then holding on to the line and striking the fish 4 or 5 times just to make sure the hook was sunk in.

So... thought line length would really enter into being able to hook those trout.

Another thing that might be possible with a board is it would be easier to ensure that a lure went directly over any spot you wanted it to. With a long line you'd only be guessing where it was in relation to the back of the boat.

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.

Wonder if the Luhr Jensen side planer would have the same problems as the walleye ones. I see where they're supposed to straighten out when a fish is hooked. Which ones were you using Keith?

Zen-- I was using the Wille boards as well as the Mr. Walleye boards. When a fish hits, they are designed to pop off the line, but because of where we fished, we had to rig them to pop free and then slide down to the swivel. It was OK on big fish, but if you caught anything under 16 inches, it wasn't much fun.

I don't know how well the LJ sideplaner would do... it might be all right for a light bait close to the surface. It does handle a 35 Hotshot pretty good in a river though, so it might be what you're looking for.

Another option might be to make your own board in a smaller size of lighter material. You could make a five-incher to troll Carey Specials close to the surface off one of your many surplus fly rods....

Keith

Keith,

I never said my rods were "surplus", only that I had a coupla jillion of them. Sorta like golf clubs, they all have their specific use. I have one that's dedicated to just indicator chironimid fishing.

Speaking of trolling carey specials, one old tip I had for fishing them was one I heard about in the mid-70's (back when I wasn't pure). This one called for fishing a carey special about 18 inches back of either a 3/0 or a 4/0 dodger. It called for a green carey special tied short on a long shank hook, where the fly covered only the first half of the hook. Said to tip the fly with a worm and it was reputed to have the highest catch rate of any trout combo available at that time.

It was real hard to let out line to fish it at the same time as rowing. Guess a casting rod would have made it easier back then, but all I had were spinning rods at that time.

I was fishing Blue Lake (Soap Lake area) with some relatives this last August and I turned my brother-in-law onto using a small dodger ahead of any lure. He was surprised how well he did. I had him using flies, spinners, various spoons and whatever else he wanted to tie on.

The dodger thing is an effective technique, no doubt about it. About 10 years ago, when the Roosevelt kokanee fishery was just heating up, we used small dodgers (the smaller two sizes made by Worden's Lures and not Luhr Jensen) off a flat line with whatever lure you wanted. No weight as we were fishing in winter and the kokes, rainbows and chinook were all right on the surface or close to it.

For the old timers on Roosevelt, the Carey Special was a standby and may still be. The guys would troll it behind leadcore with no attractor of any kind and usually tip it with a piece of nightcrawler. Never did hear about the long-shank/short-body tie, but I was into using small Spin N Glos and the Rooster Tail Lite spinners behind the dodger.

After a bit, people started adding stinger hooks to the Carey Special, and they adapted the fly a bit.

I can't help but think that the same method might not work here on some of the larger lakes that have fairly big trout in them. I should have tried it for chums in the salt this year... but it's awfully hard to do everything. Once I discovered chums on fly gear, the world changed.

Keith

Keith,

You ever play around with that teeny little flasher that I find in sporting good stores every so often. Last fall I saw some in John's sporting goods in Everett. Hadn't seen them for a few years. It's about 4 inches long and doesn't look quite an inch across.

Boy,Zen when you go over to the dark side you go all out. Do you really eat all of them little fish that you drag around behind your boat.

Up to about the mid-80's I kept everything I caught. Somewhere around then I started tapering off and now.... I might keep one limit a year. I did that once last spring on an eary trip to the seep lakes. Other than that only ones I kept were on a salmon trip to Sekiu.

The walleye I caught in Sprague lake weren't so lucky. They all came home with me. The big catfish got to nibble another day. Showed that one to my wife and then turned it loose. Biggest one I ever caught, it was about 30 inches long.

signed,

Darth flyfisherman

While I practice catch and release, I also believe in eating fish. I'm just selective in what I eat. Zen-- if you thought those walleyes in Sprague were edible, head to Roosevelt and keep the small fish. The walleyes that are in the 15-16 inch size range are absolutely wonderful eating. Just thinking about them makes me drool... about the only fish better is a bluegill taken from under the ice. I've got to find a good panfish lake around here!

Anyway, to your question about the tiny flasher-- in all likelihood, it is the one made by Worden's Lures. And yes, I have played with it. That's the one I mentioned in a previoius post. I used to fish it for kokanee in Roosevelt. I used a 9-foot, fairly light steelhead rod with a light tip. Tied the flasher to the mainline and then a fly or little Spin N Glo to a leader of the appropriate length. Add a piece of white corn and a couple of maggots and that was a kokanee killer.

During the winter and early spring we wouldn't use weight-- just that small flasher or the one the next size up, and troll slow with only enough speed to work the flasher. It worked great on those big kokanee.

I think the largest I caught was about four or five pounds. And that is a fish that I definitely don't release. Those fillets would come off looking square the fish were so deep. They were about like eating spring chinook. Mmmmm. All this talk about eating fish ---I better go out and whack a blackmouth or two pretty soon....

Keith

I have spent a lot of time using hot shot side planners trolled from my boat for trout. the hot shot is in my opion the one to use if you modifiy it a little. The main problem with the other board systems to me are the cost and the trouble. the big boards that run off of towers are expensive and not suited to small boat and small lakes. At the time I started to play around with side planners I was running a 12 ft delhi with a 25evenrude and a electric trolling motor on small serria lakes. there is not enoght room on the smaller lakes to run big boards with all the skiers and other fishermen who are not looking for side boards. even with hot shots I have had a few ran over.( high vis line helps)
So here is what I have came up with and it works pretty good. I use the hot shot side planners for afew reasons. thier cheap and they attach to your line. they also run even with the back of your boat not behind and to the side. In a small boat or if you are not side planning every day its much easier to just add the side planner to your line when you need to. the best rod and line to use is fire line in about the 5/20 lbs on a long light bait caster or a mediuen spinning out fit of 7 ft. I like a light casting rod the most. the fire line is thin enought not to catch the wind and heavy enought to put up with the abuse of the side planner. I have been using the same spool of line for 5 years with out any truoble. now Iam waiting to see how long the line will last. also the higher you can get the rod tip from the water the better. I put my rod in a holder so it points striaght up. this keep the line off the water. The next most important trick is to always use a good swivel above your leader so when you get a strike the side planner will not slide all the way in to the fish.
Also do not use a leader after the swivel that is longer then your rod. It makes landing the fish easier when by your self.The other problen with the side planners by hot shot are the horrid release springs. they will not release when a fish hits and if you adjust them down to light then they pop off all the time. what i have done is to remove the spring and AB weld a downrigger type release on the board. Iam still playing with this alittle but it works pretty good.
Where and when to use this set up. In the winter for browns and in the early spring for rainbows. i target shallow water next to dropoffs for the rainbows and stump and rocky areas for the browns really close to shore. iam talking 2 to 10 ft from shore. the side planner will allow you to fish 5ft of water for 60 ft away and never have to drive over that water. also you can weave in and out of stump fields by raising the line over a stump so you lure goes behind it. I troll large flies, spoons, and broken back rapalas. the rapalas are the best.
My best brown was taken the day before chrismass on sly park lake. I was using this set up close to shore in 3ft of water . when my planner went by a stump I saw a swirl and 5 seconds later when my rapala went by I got hit by a 6lbs brown that was laying next to the stump. the shallow water left the brown with no where to go but up. he cleared water about 10 times. it took about 15 minutes to land that fish.( would have been better if i had used a shorter leader) . Any how its a great method to use that few if any do use. give me a call is you have any questions about how I rig. I rig better then I type.

starcraft tom,

That sounds like an excellent setup. Any chance you can take a picture of it sometime to post? This would make a good addition to the Fishing Techniques section.

Hey mike I just checked the garage for that sideplanner and can,t find it . I have not seen it since the move here last march. I will have to make a new one and take pictures of it . Do you want me to write up a article on this methiod? if I do you have to correct my spelling. Side question. do you know any thing about the boat in camp spots on lake chelan? who do i call about reservations? and I under stand that one of the guides there wrote a book just about that lake . any Idea the name of the book and where I can get a copy? Tom

Starcraft tom:

It would be great if you would write up an article for this web site. And I will put it through the old spell checker so no one can critisee youor spelllingg.

I am not familar with boat in camp spots on lake Chelan. The lake has very little safe moorage that I know about, except maybe the City of Chelan end. Because of it's shape Chelan can get rough quick.

The book is Graybill's Guide to Catching Lake Chelan Chinook and Lake Trout. He is no longer guiding the lake and I don't know if the booklet is still available. The address I have is:

Graybill's Guides
PO Box 2877
Chelan, WA 98816

Now for a shameless plug. We have Anton Jones of Darrell and Dad's Guide Service as a sponsor on our site. If you e-mail him I'm sure he will be happy to answer questions for you. He is a great guy, knows the lake as well as anyone, and is always willing to help. If you go to the Seattle Sportsman's Show he will be there (as will I, at his booth). Meanwhile, go to the lake Chelan reports section on this web site. I have two articles I've written from past trips with him. There is also a banner that links to his web site and e-mail address. Anton may be able to help you with the boat camping question as well.

Good luck, lake Chelan is one of this state's HOT lakes for potential TROPHY trout.

His book is still available as of last May. I called down to the Ace Hardware store and sent them a money order and they shipped it to me. They also have a map of the lake available to. I would give them a call and see if they still have them. I also called the lake chelan chamber of commerce for info and they were very helpful, I'd give them a call to. I believe they also have a website. Here I found a couple.
http://www.lakechelan.com/

http://www.nps.gov/lach/

http://www.cityofchelan.com/

http://www.chelanvalley.com/boatcamp.htm


http://www.visitlakechelan.com/activities/fishing_lake_chelan.html

I hope these might help you out.