Hello all, Man cabin fever is setting in and now that salmon fishing on the merry meeting has closed I have to wait till april 1 like all of us do. And I'm just thinking of how I can be better prepared for salmon fishing next year. I've been looking around and thinking of getting planner boards for the boat. I was looking at bigjon otter boats. Does anyone fish with these and how do you like them. Also looking at getting a mask for the bow of the boat with reels for the planer boards. Is this the way to go for planner boards?
Dan
i'll agree w/Adrien, the person you want to talk to at big jons is john williams, he can set you up w/ 2nds on otter boats, downriggers, rod holders and planer reels. i got all my stuff through him, they were factory 2nds.
Dan,
consider another option, one we use a lot when skinny on people to fish, or fishing alone.
A mast in my experience requires 2/3 people for rigging, without an autopilot if mounted up front.
Big John "Sideliner" portable boards are very nice, universal and a fraction of the cost ($22.00 ea). They are weighted to rattle and to track in a salmon chop. Very durable devices. Yellow bird boards work well but are not universal and much lighter. Big John sent me replaceement arms for no $ after a fishing partner sat on one of the arms. They have great tech support and this is not the first time they have helped out.
I have most mfgs and use the portable boards 10:1. They track well in skinney water where the big ones feed. The secret is tension on the releases (for and aft)so the board stay on until you get the board to the boat. Very few fish lost taking boards. Otter Boards are large, heavy, expensive, and a pain in the butt for this lake. For $22.00 each you can't go wrong. Just use alligator releases for and aft. Oh ya Pike like to eat Yellow Bird boards.
