what's your favorite type of planer board?

[dremarquis]

i'm going to upgrade from inline boards to a planer board mast. I have heard great things about Otter Boards, but before i lay down the money, i'm curious what you all think are the best planer boards.

thanks,

dre

[MikeyP]

We use the otter boats. They don't call them boats for nothing. Lol. Easy to retrieve and can take the waves with ease. Disadvantages are large size and they are non collapsible for storage. I'll take those trade offs, but that's me.

[FSNmachine]

I like my Otter boats as well. Some don't like them as they will not hold up numerous lines with large heavy musky baits but for trolling for Salmon Walleye and trout they are great. Yes they take up more space than a collapsable but they run up closer beside the boat, don't pull as hard or lag behind.

[Gator]

Here's a third vote for Otters.

Last year we bought a pair of Walker plastic collapsible boards, but they were diving on us a couple times a trip. In flat water, too. After much back and forth, I finally got a replacement from Walker.

A single board

Better than Silver Fox, though, who docks next to us. They had an identical pair that did the same thing and last I'd heard Hans couldn't even get a reply.

At one point during the fiasco I finally said screw this and ponied up for a pair of Otter Boats. I ordered the "keel and a half" to run coppers from and they seem to do their job. My only concern is that it's hard to stow them...not just size, but in terms of how to actually lay them down. There's so much weight on the keels that I'm concerned they might bounce and break the board itself. Thus far, though, it's been fine.

[chowder]

There's nothing wrong with Otters, I have a pair I use for winter fishing in my 165 Alumacraft but if you want a really awesome pair of boards check out the Auroralites regular size boards. For pulling copper ,core and multiple flat lines for browns these boards cannot be beat. They make the Otters look sick in comparison. http://www.auroralitestackle.com/planerboards.html

Make sure you go down the page and look at the "regular original size boards".

[rolmops]

I have tried three different types over the past 2 years.

Double cedar wooden boards These don't fold but if left unpainted they absorb water fast and they lay deep in the water thereby increasing the effectiveness. If you use wooden ones do not paint them because that will seal the wood and they will be higher up in the water. You can make them yourself or buy them of e-bay for $40 to $60.

Riviera triple boards. Because of the way the riviera is designed you can use them on whatever side of the boat you want.The others are exclusively right or left. They are a bit too light and too high in the water for my taste. If you add a good amount of lead to the rear end and the middle of the outer board they become very hard pulling boards. Again, the trick is to get them to lay deep in the water so they have maximum contact with water which makes them pull harder. A set is $180 plus shipping

Otter boats They lay very deep in the water and track very good,probably the best of the three that I tried. I have yet to see an otter board flip over in high waves.The 2 other types will do that and it is a terrible mess to deal with. In turns the otter boats perform best. a set is about $200.

Overall in my experience the otter boat is the best.

I tried to answer your other post,but there seems to be a hitch in the system,anyway, that setup is fine.

Cornelis.

[Mower]

Otter boats. Play with your knot location on the boards tether and it will harder or easier. Personally I run up to 600 copper and a 10 color off the same board and they run great. Also the visibility is awesome. The only draw back is they will not take the abuse of bouncing them off the the docks.

[MikeyP]

There's nothing wrong with Otters, I have a pair I use for winter fishing in my 165 Alumacraft but if you want a really awesome pair of boards check out the Auroralites regular size boards. For pulling copper ,core and multiple flat lines for browns these boards cannot be beat. They make the Otters look sick in comparison. http://www.auroralitestackle.com/planerboards.html

Make sure you go down the page and look at the "regular original size boards".

Damn, those are some expensive boards! I would hope they would hold up.

[chowder]

There's nothing wrong with Otters, I have a pair I use for winter fishing in my 165 Alumacraft but if you want a really awesome pair of boards check out the Auroralites regular size boards. For pulling copper ,core and multiple flat lines for browns these boards cannot be beat. They make the Otters look sick in comparison. http://www.auroralitestackle.com/planerboards.html

Make sure you go down the page and look at the "regular original size boards".

Damn, those are some expensive boards! I would hope they would hold up.

Not sure how the regular originals are priced now but I paid about $250 for mine 3 years ago. I use them pretty much every time I fish out of my Islander except when things get crowded on the staging Kings. Like all things in life it's the value you get for the money you spend that counts. The Auroralites have been completely issue free boards for both multiple flat lines as well as copper & core. They stay much further ahead and in line with the boat than my Otters which enables me to get flat lines redeployed quickly and when a fish hits a junk line the hook up is solid and the release is crisp and they stow very easy folded up. -Andy

[fish-on]

Made my own out of cedar, Clear coated them, have'nt had any problems, Total cost, including everything ,28 bucks Been using them for five years. fish-on!