Trolling Boards

The use of trolling or planer boards is to bring the flies or lures off to the side of the boat and to allow you to cover a larger area of water out to either side of the boat. When fish are to close to the surface the noise of the motor can spook them. As the fish move off to the side of the boat, the boards will bring your lines through the path of the fish. We troll the Frisky Jenny Boards 150 to 300 feet out from the boat most of the time. If the water is calm, we will have the boards out as far as we can. If the water is choppy you can run the boards closer to the boat. Depending on the height of the chop, the desired action can be achieved by adjusting the towing point on the board, the distance of the board from the boat, and various trolling speeds. On each board there is a chain onto which you clip your planer cord. The chain is also used to adjust the action of the board. We usually clip the planer cord to the first or second front link of the chain. The further back you put your towline on the chain, the more action you will have. With the screw in its lowest position you will get a very surging motion with the board. We seldom use this position and prefer the screw in the top hole for a smoother pull. You will have to experiment and see what action works best for you. We found that we do better with less action.

The distance the fly or lure is trolled behind the board determines the action of the fly also. Short distances of 50 to 100 feet will result in a quicker and jerkier action. Longer distances of 125 to 250 feet behind the board will produce a slower action. Sometimes you can have too much action on the fly and end up catching only small fish, or no fish at all. We prefer less action, and most of the time our experience indicates the big fish do too. Most common trolling speeds are from 2.5 m.p.h. to 3.0 m.p.h.. This too, you will have to experiment with to see what works best for you.