Planer Boards on a Center Console

[Steelz19]

I bought my boat 4 months ago and I'm just about set up the way I want. I'm looking to add planer boards for wire and don't know if I should go with a mast or go off the T-Top. Thoughts from guys who have fished off something similar. Thanks.

 

[skipper19]

Some pics of my center console with the planer setup. A little crude, but works great. Rail mounted reels, and 2 foot masts that are from my old proos manual riggers. The masts are held by hose clamps tight to the upright on the bow rails. The proos arm works great to guide the tow line out and back in. I thought about ways to go on the t top, but then you would have the tow line going out over your head. Not that that is a problem, but if you are running dipsey rods that are long and you have the dipsey and leader problem of walking the dipsey forward with a fish on to get it to the net. The tow line will hinder that process. Hard to explain, but if you sit in the boat in the driveway and visualize this stuff I think you will understand.

The center console design is nice, but the room to manage netting long lead fish on a diver is a bit compromised, therefore necessarily, you would walk the diver fish forward pass the console to do your netting at the side of the boat. Unless you have a really long handle net for the netting at the back.

Mark

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[Chas0218]

You could run a mast off the floor just below your casting deck and would still give you the possibility of walking the fish.

Sent from the awesomeness of Chas!

[shadrapper]

Put a mast up front and get it out of your way. I've fished in a buddy's center console and it works great that way. IMO

[Steelz19]

Thanks for the ideas... I have a couple old riggers that I could modify like you did skipper. I was leaning towards a mast and thinking that's my best bet now I just got to start making one or find a good used one.