Planer Boards – To Trip, Or Not To Trip?

Question for all you seasoned trollers out there. I really want to get into board fishing this year, so I’ve been studying up on it quite a bit. I’ve noticed that in some of the videos I’ve seen of them being used, guys will “trip” the board, i.e. jerk on the rod softly to pull the line out of the first clip on the board. That way they can slowly work the fish directly behind the boat, getting it out of the path of other boards, and not having to fight the board as much. However in plenty (maybe even the majority) of other videos I’ve seen of them being used, the guys don’t “trip” the board, they just reel it in to the boat and then manually remove the line from both clips. I’m just curious why some guys prefer to leave the line attached to both clips, and some prefer to trip it? To me (a guy who has fished boards a total of one time, with a total of one board, and caught a total of zero fish), the tripping method seems like it would be the logical preference, because you’re not fighting the board and you’re bringing the fish in straight behind the boat. Just another ‘cabin fever’ question I guess, thanks guys!

I used to trip them when I had the church boards. I have switched to offshore boards and I have the red front clips now that won’t allow the line to pull out. I like this system better. The church boards would flip and then dive too often for my liking.

Are you focusing on walleye, or trout/salmon? Lead/copper or long line? My opinion is with a 30-50 dollar Off shore board I’m not letting it fall of one clip to rely on just the back red one. With 300 ft of copper I don’t think a fish will pop off when I unhook. I do run some of the super old school red boards with the swing arm for flat lines, but mostly for fun.

They do float. But its a pain to turn around and retrieve a board.

True they float, but with 9 lines out turning on a dime isn’t an option!!

Been running offshore boards for over ten years now and never heard of tripping to get the from board to pop loose. I fish for walleye mostly and some time for spring coho salmon. Never had a problem fighing fish. Yes the board impacts the fight depending on the size of fish but my experience is that for the cost of the board and tattle flags I would rather not loose the rig. I have turned around many times to get boards when a salmon are a big channel cat rips the line out of the boards but that happens vary rare since I upgraded the clips. Even when there is a nice bago chop the line stays put.

I really don’t see a need to trip the lines but that is just my opinion.

D

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How and what you are fishing for could adjust answer…

I use offshore boards for walleye, trout and salmon and most of the time in Lake Michigan or a rare trip to Erie. I actually changed the front clips to a heavy adjustable black clip that is nearly impossible to slip or rip off. If using braid, it is even more helpful.

The big rough water, having a board pulled under and possibly off sucks and they can be lost pretty easy.

Having it hold the fish out can actually help keep multiple lines clean vs having it release, dive or pull across other lines.

I have never cared for boards being on my line at all and is why I went to mast system for my boards. When I release from the clip it’s just me and the fish, no messing with a board that can potentially lose you a fish.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I can definitely see where having boards that pop off your line would be annoying, and I sort of figured it would be situational/species-specific. I was watching some of Fishing 411’s videos when I came across the technique, and I figured if it was good enough for Mark Romanack, I better look into it!