I just got a lot of opinions myself from many on the board and I am assembling my own planer fishing set up. You can certainly fish planers alone but its just like anything else when fishing alone---location, other boats and water conditions will all be factors in how easy it is to fish alone. You need a bit more room -- if you ran planers to either side, they each can be as much as 150-ft from the boat, so thats covering a lot of water. Guys here report planers to be very effective if not the most effective technique with leadcore, especially in the fall and early spring after ice out. Fishlessman caught a 7-lb salmon in august at 3-colors on a planer in August! Planer fishing is a weapon for sure.
I researched this and I am now myself putting together the "cadilac" of planer set ups (at least as manual set ups go). If you can afford it, what I did was go with Fishlander dual maner planer mast ($209) and Big Jon otter boats (about $95 each). (A less expensive but good option is the Big Jon planer "combo" where they offer both the Big Jon dual manual planer mast and two Otter Boats in a package deal for about $220-$250). The Fishlander mast uses a mounting plate system where when you remove the top part of the mast the only thing on the boat is a flat plate on the gunwale or deck. The Big Jon can also be removed but I'm not familiar with the mounting system. It seems like the Fishlander is a bit better quality mast than the Big Jon, but the Big Jon is probably No. 2. Many here on the board rave about Big Jon Otter Boats, so that was what I went for. They are supposed to be the best there are, but they are a bit pricey at over $90 each. I'm also getting dual removable / adjustable rod holders for both sides of the boat (also Fishlander) that use the same type of flat mounting-plate system (these were another 2 x $149). Next are the planer line releases -- I'm getting "Offshore" OR-10 (light duty, yellow color) planer releases at the recommendation of Adrien and others. If you go visit the thread I started from a week or so ago Grey Ghost (and Adrien?) posted links to getting these releases on line. Basically you want to have a dozen or so such that when you get a strike / fish you just send another release down the line and retrieve them all when you're done fishing (or at least a lot less frequently).
Hope this helps, but definitely check out the last few threads on Planer fishing below.
i find that using the planer makes fishing easier. the lines are out away from the boat and when you get a hit, you fight off the back of the boat, no need to get other lines out of the way to avoid tangles because they are already away from where most of the action will take place.
1. It's alot easier to run just one planar board if you are alone. I run the left side one so I don't have to keep turning neck around.
2. Big Jon's manual mast's with otter boats, is the way to go, they come with 2 reels but if fishing alone all you need is 1 Otter boat. You can buy Otter Boat "seconds" at Big Jon site an save a few bucks.
3. Mount the mast as far front and as high as possible an still be able to reach the tow line so you can slip releases on line. Mounting high and forward will make Otter boats go further to the sides. You only need Otter Boats out to the side 25 - 75 ft. See Big Jon site for mounting info or call them and ask for best mounting position for you type boat. If you have an open floor plan, like I do, mount the plate on the bow. Big Jon has a rugged mounting plate base / bolt.
Stick with Big Jon there the best.
