Planner Boards/ Browns

[jth21usa]

Planner Boards/ Browns

What do you guys usually run off of your planner boards for Browns in April? My usually set up ins spoons on the Downriggers and stick baits on the boards, but I had almost zero results last year on the boards. Any suggestions?

[FishinIsLife]

Following

[final flight]

Only my opinion but I believe it would be speed related, unless you are running flutter spoons, your running too fast for most sticks, exception would be the bay rats, I rarely run a mixed spread for spring browns , start with spoons at 2.4-2.8 if this isn't taking fish I'll slow down and run the sticks, I start fast to cover more water and get a feel for temps. There are a lot better fishermen on this site that will have input, but this is how I roll......


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[RD9]

I believe the number one factor on why people struggle to catch browns especially when others are catching in the same area is the lb test of there leader. Everyone wants to catch browns in tight, not everyone wants to use/buy a light lb test flouro leader and a small snap swivel or rapala knot. Most folks concentrate so hard on color choices and brand of lures and then connect it to a rod with 20lb test and a big swivel.

 

I have buddies whom will buy $100 upon $100 worth of new baits and then buy cheap swivels that are over kill and buy one spool of 25 lb flour carbon to use on everything during the year. Understanding how you're main line effects you're baits is really important (heavier line = higher in the water column). Keeping all you're rods the same is really important on duplicating a pattern.   That should include the baits to a certain extent, they all dive at different depths. 

[RD9]

This new app which has pro member on the top makes me feel real important after chiming in. 

 

FYI I have only one sponsor/pro staff affiliation "Wild Blossom Hollow".  It's my sisters wedding bouquet company. We still have to pay for our own tournament shirts. 

[Silver Fox]

I disagree with the flourocarbon. Sure you don't wanna use 20#. It's about finding colored water and colored water you can get away with some things. The last time I hammered the browns in clean water was NEVER.
Location location location.
FYI, I use 15# flourocarbon leaders and do just fine.

Lake Ontario salmon fishing charters

[drag&snag1985]

Last yr was my first yr and had great results . I bought some offshore boards ,okuma madga #20 reels lined with 15 lb main to 10 fluorocarbon leader ,8ft Shimano tdr trolling rods med light. I ran mostly spoons 125-150 then attach the board and on the next board 100ft then board and 75 on the 3rd and one flat line down the chute that took a ton of fish . Usually 2.2-2.5 but all depends whether your running sticks or spoons . Hope this helps I'm no expert but any means but we caught fish!!!

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[Jakob5pennies]

With the sticks your speed needs to be slow 1.1 to 1.8 mph this works for us . we land plenty of Browns . still searching for a fix for the salmon 

[rdebadts]

With the sticks your speed needs to be slow 1.1 to 1.8 mph this works for us . we land plenty of Browns . still searching for a fix for the salmon 

You are about 1 mph too slow for salmon...


The Fishin' Physician Assistant
Fishsodusbay.com

[Jakob5pennies]

so 2.1 to  3/0 for salmon i just puched a fish hawk depth and speed so will this be at the ball, also i read on here just off the bottom ?

Thank you 

[Xxx]

Jako, that's for lakers just off the bottoms and there you need to be slow, like for walleyes, 1.8 - 1.5 at the ball. With the salmon, 2.3 and up to 3mph. One thing to keep in mind!! Salmon can't see down, I'd rather be 15' above them than 2'below them. If you see marks I usually tell guys to fish the mark. Because say the fish is 90FT below the surface and you fish the marks 99% of the time your above the fish, considering blow back and currants, but if your fishing a 16# torpedo or a bikini shark, and using a fish hawk then you'll be pulling right through them. But the guys guessing at the amount of cable out to compensate the blowback are usually fishing below the fish, they won't get bit, but the guys fishing 10+ above will have a better chance, then those fishing 5ft below the fish.  Hope this helps ya. Good this year!!

Edited February 1, 2017 by pap

[Sk8man]

You'll notice the diversity of replies here and it suggests that there is no one strategy that always works for browns. They can be very easy to catch at some tiimes of the year (e.g. Spring) in the shallows in the early hours, in the summer near drop offs and at other times seemingly gone but it also depends on where you are fishing for them. For example, Lake O doesn't have the rapid steep drop offs near shore in most places but the Finger Lakes do so you need to exploit the underwater terrain as well as  the edges of colored water. On Lake O much of the brown fishing can be found in the shallow water aong the shoreline sometimes running boards right into just a few feet of water can produce. In the summer where you find about 58 degrees intersecting the bottom can produce or on the Finger Lakes where that temp intersects bottom near a drop off. Browns are often active night feeders so the early morning hours can produce some good ones right near shore sometimes surprisingly close even right around docks etc..  Silver Fox made an excellent point about the colored water and in the Spring trolling in and out of the edges of the colored water especially around creeks or the outside edges of flowing water can produce nice browns. Sometimes even a couple degrees of elevated water temperature can attract them in the Spring.  Browns can be quite line shy and this becomes important in the clear water which now days covers a lot of areas but sometimes folks run way too fast for them and use too short distances both away from the boat and in back of it. I've run floating jointed Rapalas 100 yards off my outriggers before and had the browns hammer them and you'd think the sticks wouldn't run right that far back but browns aren't as fond of the turbulance from prop wash and motor noise as steelies or cohos can be

A potentially deadly way to troll specifically for them is with lures that go back and forth like a flatfish or quickfish, jointed Rapalas etc. way back behind the boat off boards trolled VERY slow with brief increases in speed and then slowing back down and then turn. It can be easier without boards in this case so I use outriggers and straight toplines here. Often it is the outside line on the turn that will be hit as it speeds up a little. It helps to specifically target them with your setups and trolling tactics rather than running mixed stuff hoping for anything to hit thinking it could be a brown. The main thought here is that all your stuff will be running at a similar speed with minor fluctuations. I use 8 to 10 lb. fluoro leaders with small black good quality ball bearing swivels or use a Spro #8 a few feet up the leader from a small duolock snap or Fast Snap depending on where I fish (e.g. Fingers or Lake O).

Edited February 1, 2017 by Sk8man

[on the lam]

80% of catching browns is finding them. 

[whaler1]

80% of catching browns is finding them. 

Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Doesn't matter what you run if they aren't there.


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[rdebadts]

80% of catching browns is finding them. 

So true. Water color and water temp are the keys. Speed and lures all matter, but not nearly as much as water color and temp


The Fishin' Physician Assistant
Fishsodusbay.com

[jth21usa]

so I shouldn't run spoons and stickbaits at the same time?

 

[AnglingAddict]

You absolutely can run both at the same time.  Let the fish tell you what they want on any given day and then adjust from there. 

[final flight]

Try this and make up your own mind , place a Northern King spoon two feet off the ball, place a Rapala stick bait two feet off the ball , send both riggers down to 1' and set your speed at 1 mph, increase to 1.5 then 2, then 2.8 (salmon speed) I am sure you will see my point of not running certain spoons with certain sticks.


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[AnglingAddict]

point well taken -  Try the same thing with a stinger, superslim, or flutter spoon - you just have to run things together that are speed tolerant with each other... I run spoons on my riggers and a mix of sticks and spoons on boards with no issues.  You have to understand how all play together with regard to speed.  The guy was simply asking if it was possible to mix spoons and sticks into a spring BT spread....

[rdebadts]

I mix them all the time. Some spoons are much more tolerant of temp variations. I do find that some days they want spoons and sometimes sticks. I usually start out with both and adjust as they dictatw


The Fishin' Physician Assistant
Fishsodusbay.com