The Birds: Rigging Inline Planer Boards

Adapted from Capt. John King's article "Steelhead Are for the Birds: How to Modify Offshore Side Planers," written in 2000 on MichiganSportsman.com. Read the original (with photos of each modification).

"Birds" is John's name for inline side planers, the small boards that clip onto your line and carry a lure out to the side. The first ones were Yellow Birds, with the slogan "we fly to the side." They spread surface lines far from the boat without big dual planer boards, and stay on the line after a strike, sliding down to a stopper about 5' above the lure.

John used them for the surface fishery in April, May and June, or anytime the surface is 38–54°F. They've also produced in 65°F water when colder water was just below the surface.

Why inline planers instead of big boards

• They give the lure a surging, jigging action.
• They run in rougher water than standard boards, which can flip and dive.
• You're tight to the fish immediately for a better hook set, and the constant drag keeps hooks in jumping Steelhead.

John helped field-test the Off Shore Side Planer on Lake Huron in the early 1990s and used it from then on for its rough-water stability.

John's six modifications

1. Mount the release on a split ring so it can move. It hooks better and the board drags less when you pull it in.
2. Move the rear tow point to the lowest point at the back of the board, in the middle.
3. Trim about 1" of lead off the front of the keel so the board rides higher and gives the lure more skipping action.
4. Remove the flag. A thrashing Steelhead will tangle in it.
5. Use a bead and swivel about 5' above the lure as a stopper.
6. Use 15 lb mono for more hits, or 20 lb to guard against break-offs.

Credit: John thanked Capt. Bill Bale of Best Chance Charters for figuring out most of these changes.

Attaching the board (very important)

1. Let out your lead. In a light chop 80' is fine; when flat calm, go back 100–125'.
2. Roll the mono between your thumb and finger to put 4–5 twists in it.
3. Put the line in the release with the twists facing the front of the board. The twists lock the board in place, help it trip, and help hook the fish.
4. Put the line in the tow clip at the back of the board. That keeps the board on your line after a strike.

Lead lengths

About 80' back is John's normal setting and cuts down on tangles. In flat calm, 120' isn't out of the question. In seas of 4' or more, he caught fish on 25' leads.

Pro tips

1. When the surface is hot, run 4 planers per side. Keep the same weights and lures on each side so you can read the boards.
2. The boards should fly in a V like geese. If one side lags, adjust your course for wind or current.
3. A board out of formation is dragging a small fish or debris. Check it right away.
4. To retrieve, snap the rod hard to trip the board, then let it drift back behind the boat before reeling, to avoid tangles.
5. Start with 1/2 oz weights on one side and 1 oz on the other, then match the side that produces. Weight sets lines faster and tightens spoon action.
6. Line counter reels help you repeat exact distances. Any medium-action downrigger rod works.
7. Watch the boards, not the rod tips, for strikes: look for a hard yank backward. Keep the drag loose.

Lures, then and now

In 2000, John favored small-profile spoons and stickbaits off the birds (orange or red Bombers and black-and-silver Rapalas early in spring), because the baitfish in fish stomachs were small. In his later years he ran his own Salmon Buster spoons off planers with bead chain keel weights. See Surface Trolling with Salmon Buster Spoons.

Shop: Salmon Buster spoons · Trolling supplies and keel weights