Presentation matters when you are trolling to catch fish. Too slow and they won’t bite your lure; however trolling too fast can also result in not catching any fish. Of course you can increase your odds of catching fish when trolling by having more rods out. The only effective way to do that is by using planer boards. Planer boards come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Each one performs differently. Knowing this fact, Church’s Tackle Co. designed five different model planer boards including the TX-44 Super Planer Board, Walleye Board, TX-22 Special Planer Board, TX-12 Mini Planer Board, and TX-6 Magnum Mini Planer Board.

The Walleye Board by Church Tackle Co. (www.churchtackle.com) is unique because of the adjustable keel weight. The adjustable keel weight can be moved forward or backwards depending on what lure or rig the angler is trolling. Professional walleye guide, Charter Captain, and professional walleye angler Mark Martin (www.markmartins.net) fishing with Church Tackle Co. Walleye Boards to control where his lures are running. “The Walleye Boards are infinitely adjustable and can pull a lot of weight; in fact you can put up to 4-ounces of weight on it without pulling it down,” Martin continued, “this board takes less line to get farther away from the boat. That means you will have less bow in your line and get better hook-ups.” Martin also noted that the Walleye Boards were used not just for catching walleyes, but salmon, trout, or even stripers.

How a planer board runs is important. Planer boards that don’t operate correctly will jump over other planer boards lines or not present the lure right. To adjust Church Tackle Co. planer boards move the lead weight towards the front of the board when you have a heavy weight, or using lead core line, or trolling with a big spoonbill or big lipped crankbait. For light lures or live bait rigs, the lead weight should be slid towards the backend of the board. “Every lure, weight, or live bait rig is different so it’s great to be able to adjust the board to what the lure weighs,” said Martin.

The Walleye Boards can be trolled behind the boat with a trolling motor or with the outboard engine. “Speed does matter when trolling and you have to be able to adjust your boards to compensate accordingly for that,” said Martin. Some of the lures that Martin commonly fishes with when using the Walleye Board is crawler harness, bottom bouncers, and spoons with lead core line.

The features of Church Tackle Co. Walleye Boards include a rear spring loaded retaining pin, adjustable keel weight, adjustable flex clip and come in a bright fluorescent red color pattern. The rear spring loaded retaining pin and adjustable flex clip allows an angler to release the line quickly from the board so the angler can fish the fish. Each Walleye Board measures 10-inches in length by 3½-inches in width.  

Large planer boards can handle a lot of weight, lead core line, or even big lipped crankbaits. When they are used correctly planer boards will help anglers catch more fish by putting out more lures.