Does it seem like there are more anglers fishing the banks on your local lake? Does every cove, point, or creek channel have a boat parked on it? Sure they are catching little bank-runners, but that big fish just seem to elude them. You could go join them catching little fish; however there are schools of untapped fish swimming out away from the bank. The question is can you catch them? You have no shoreline or cover to cast your lure towards. The answer is to troll for them. Trolling helps the angler find schools of fish and indentify what specific structure they are located on. It’s common for anglers to troll with one or maybe two rods, but that is not effective as trolling multiple rods all at once. That’s where Church Tackle TX-22 Special side planer boards excel. The TX-22 Special was designed to pull a lure away from the boat on either the port or starboard side moving the lure or live bait away from the boat and allowing the angler to use multiple rods at once.

Side planer boards come in a number of sizes. While smaller side planer boards may function properly with smaller, light weight lures it takes a larger board to handle bigger, heavier lures or run upright in rough water without rolling or diving. These boards are commonly referred to as in line side planer boards because they attach to the line from the fishing pole to the lure by clips or releases. Each of these in line side planer boards has their own design. The Church Tackle TX-22 Special side planner board (http://www.churchtackle.com/) is a double action board meaning that it can be assembled to run on either the port or starboard side of the boat. It is a large side planer board measuring 3 ½”x 9 ¼”. The TX-22 Special was built to set upright in the water even at extremely slow trolling speeds, but can handle faster speeds without any problems. It has a patient clip and rear pin design that can be rigged 2 ways for it to release once a fish is on the lure. Anglers can use monofilament, fluorocarbon, super braids, or lead core fishing line with the TX-22 Special.

One expert at fishing with in line side planer boards is Mark Martin. Martin (http://www.markmartins.net/) is a fishing guide, Captain, full time professional walleye fishermen, and author with over $400,000 total tournament winnings he uses side planer boards year round. “From ice off to ice on, the side planer boards can be used when trolling. They give the angler an advantage over other anglers because it allows them to cover more water faster,” said Martin. Martin likes using the TX-22 Special because of it design and the ability to pull a lot of weight out to the side of the boat. “The TX-22 Special can pull big deep diving lures like Husky Jerks or Thunder Sticks; it can also handle lead core fishing line with no problem or a #1 Dipsy Diver with a ring without going under,” said Martin. The benefits of using a side planer board are innumerable according to Martin. “It can catch suspending fish no matter where they are located in the water column or roaming fish that maybe following school of shad. The number one reason I use side planer boards is to cover more water; for example, I can cover 500 feet with side planers staggered out. They also let me find where the fish are located especially in open water,” explained Martin. Other benefits Martin pointed out was side planer boards keep the lures or live bait away from the boat’s path and scaring them, they can be used for fishing with spinners, crawler harness, or crankbaits, and can be slow trolled or trolling fast.
 
There is more to using side planner board than just hooking them on the line and sticking the fishing rod in a holder. The angler steering the boat has to watch the graph for fish and GPS for likely areas where fish will be holding; in addition to adjusting the speed of the boat to present the lures or live bait correctly. “I like to follow the contour lines in open water because that’s where I catch fish. Once I find a school of fish or catch a fish, I will mark the area with a waypoint on my GPS unit and go over that area dissecting it to catch other fish,” said Martin. Martin also pointed out that these are untapped fish that rarely see lures making them easier to catch once an angler locates them.

Are you tired of being a bank beater and only catching little fish? Then it’s time for you to move off the bank and start using side planer boards. They are easy to use and most can be assembled in a matter of minutes. Just hook one on between your lure or live bait and your pole and start trolling for that untapped school of fish.