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Posted

Any advice about trying to run 2 coppers down the chute? Fear it may be problematic as its a lot of line out and not sure we can drive straight enough.

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Posted

I won't even run one down the chute. Wrong turn or hairy current and you Got spaghetti. I run double keels on My otters and they pull 600 coppers Just fine....away from the boat is the safest way

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Posted

1 down the chute is great but 2 sounds like trouble. Put them on the boards and get them away from the boat.

Posted

I run my coppers out to the side, the chute gets busy when you get into the fish and even though the board lines wind up in the chute w/ a fish on they aren't in the way for every rigger or diver hit. I'm very happy w/ my Auroralite boards -they really pull. I use Otters in the winter on the Fingers w/ my 16' but they just don't pull as good. http://www.auroralitestackle.com/planerboards.html

I've got the 'Original' size and they are all you will ever need!

Posted

can you post a picture of your boards w/ 2 keels. i love running my big boards but they don't pull hard enough w/ 500 or 600 copper

Posted

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i would highly suggest the big fender washers like iv added on mine... and the heavier white tow line as the powerpro (250lb) and dbl keel upgrade will make a huge difference on how they tow... theres no lag in the board towing a 500 and 600 copper off the same side!

Posted

How hard are they to bring in with the double keel? I've been thinking of trying the Otters, Amish, or Aurora's but my homemade boards are a bear to pull in already. On the other hand, mine don't pull too bad right now.

Has anyone used and compared two or three of the above-mentioned makers? I know everyone likes what they have over homemade but has anyone compared board for board of these three?

Posted

Hey Chromeslayer, Have you had any problems with those wingnuts coming loose? I replaced mine with Teflon nuts. Mine used to come loose all the time.

Posted

If you decide not to follow others advice and want to run 2 down the shoot save yourself some time on the water ...in your driveway let out 100ft from each rod gather it all up in a ball and then untangle..you might need to do this several times to perfect the art of untangling copper before you try it in 3 ft water... Hope this helps..

Posted

I used to pull 2 600 foot leadcore lines in Keuka lake using 9 foot Eagle rods.on on each side of the boat.As long as the wave action was slow and the captain did not make any stupid short turns it worked fine.When catching a laker I would take care to not play but haul the fish up and in,while making sure that the boat would stay on a straight course. Even so I remember spending plenty of time unknotting spectacular foul ups.

In Cape Cod Bay on my 35 footer (an old lobster boat I was given and fixed up with my brother in law) the stern is wide enough to have 2 300 foot wire lines out while jigging for stripers over 40 feet of water,but this goes with 5 ounce jigs and 300 is not 600.

However,Ontario is not Keuka and Chinook are not lakers.

Cornelis

Posted
How hard are they to bring in with the double keel? I've been thinking of trying the Otters, Amish, or Aurora's but my homemade boards are a bear to pull in already. On the other hand, mine don't pull too bad right now.

Has anyone used and compared two or three of the above-mentioned makers? I know everyone likes what they have over homemade but has anyone compared board for board of these three?

Have used Amish outfitters plastic boards and the otter boats on my boat but not with a double keel. The amish boards pull harder on my boat by far no issues with multiple cores or coppers. I have used the Auroras on anothers boat and they are the hardest pulling boards I have personally seen. I have to turn towards the amish and put er in neutral to get em in.

Posted

For whatever it's worth EVERYONE on Ohio waters Erie pulls either Aurolites or Frank's Amish boards. I think in my 2-5 days of fishing PER week down here over the past 10 years of serious walleye/steelhead fishing I can count on one hand how many times I've seen Otter boats if that tells you anything. Guys are pulling 4-6 40 or 50 jets PER side. No way no how that is less pull than 1 or 2 coppers out in deep water guys will add 2-3 oz in front of a 40 jet 200 back on these lines as well. Aurolites or Frank's Amish boards are the way to go and they run right out of the box.....IMO of course.

  • 1 month later...
Posted

I called Big Jon directly and ordered them just last week. $25 a piece plus shipping. So far I was not very pleased at all on Saturday with the Otter boat with one keel. My homemades pull better so far. I really hope the second keel is an improvement. I followed the directions and measured the lengths for the knot and it would barely pull the 300 copper out of the chute in 2 footers.

Posted

Once you guys who run regular boards have one of them flip over in bumpy conditions and have them torpedo and tear all of your gear off the back of your boat before it snaps your tow line, you'll absolutely switch to Otter Boats! They're the best running boats in rough water bar none. That being said, regular boards do pull nice in flat water.

Andy,

You might want to mess with the length of your ropes on your Otters - mine pull very well with only one keel but we'll be adding a second keel so that we can pull two coppers per side next season.

Posted

Your other problem is using the lengths in the directions that come with the boards. Im sure those settings work fine with leadcore and flat lines, but not with copper. 9.5" from the front hole to the knot, and 11.5" from the back hole to the knot.

Posted

Bill,

Any chance you can draw a diagram of how the rope should look? I followed the instructions, but I'm not sure how to know if mine is correct or not? It seems to pull ok, but with a 500 copper it tends to fall behind the boat a bit. Also, when the water is reallllllly flat it tends not to pull well and comes in close to the boat.

Nick

*** Whooops Yankee just posted while I was... that clears it up a bit!*****

Posted

Rick, That's probably my problem. I did the 9 and 14 that the directions stated. I was really hoping that these run better after changing some things.

Bill, I think the homemade board did flip and the towline got in the prop. I heard the motor bog down and Todd said "hey, the board is behind the boat". I didn't really put 2 and 2 together until I pulled the grabline to retrieve the board because it wasn't running good. We circled and looked for it but never saw it again. I was planning on upgrading for next season but this moved things faster.

Posted

The additional keels come half the weight of the initial keel according to Big Jon. Does the extra weight cause them to dive? Does anyone else do this? Keep the advice coming, I appreciate it.

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