side planers for steel

The Bankies’ Best Friend

 

 

If you’ve ever fished for steelhead, salmon or trout  from the bank of a large river, then you‘ve been frustrated. The reason for the frustration usually has to do with being unable to fish that run that’s maybe 10 yards farther than you can cast.

 

You’ll know the right run to fish because it’s always farther out than you cast, and it’s where you can see fish rising. That’s why it’s frustrating.  If you were in a boat, hitting that run wouldn’t be difficult, but from the bank, well, it’s frustrating, right?

 

There’s a way to get your lure to that run easily enough, and you don’t even have to get your feet wet. You can do it using a side planer, a device that skates across the surface of the water, dragging your lure with it as it moves across the current.

 

Side planers come in several different forms and are made by a number of companies. The ones used for steelhead and salmon in rivers are a downsized form of in-line planer board used by Great Lakes fishermen.

 

The river planers are a bit different in that they generally float better, are a bit less complicated and require less current to plane across the river.  They’re also intended for lighter-duty use than in-line planer boards.

 

Arguably, a side planer is the best way for a bank angler to fish a plug or crankbait in a river. Sure, you can cast across stream and down, letting your lure swing in the current. You’ll catch fish that way, but you’ll also be fishing a lot of empty water as you have to cast across the run and let the current swing the bait downstream as you retrieve.

 

With a side planer, you can run the plug or crankbait out to the run you want to fish and hold it there or slowly slide it downstream, covering the entire stretch of holding water.

 

It’s just what any drift boat fisherman knows-- that you get more steelhead and salmon by slowly slipping and sliding your lures downstream in holding water than you do by casting across that same water.  It’s a matter of putting your offering in the fish’s path for more time—all the time—rather than just for a few seconds per cast.

 

That’s why the River Rocker brigade appreciates the family of side planers. It’s kind of like having a drift boat without having one, if you follow my, er, drift.

 

Do they work better than simply casting?  Well on a trip testing the then-new Lindy River Rocker on Oregon’s Deschutes River, they worked quite well. (Anglers on the Deschutes are not allowed to fish from any floating device, even if it is at anchor.)

 

Fishing with ace guide Grant Putnam (www.grantputnamoutdoors.com or call 503-784-1217) three fishermen spent a morning casting River Rockers from the bank  and then bringing them back, cutting through all kinds of holding water.

 

But when Putnam set up a Lindy staffer with a side planer and River Rocker, it was just a short matter of time before two steelhead hit the beach—in the same runs that had been pounded for several hours.  That kind of result makes a believer out of anyone.

 

Side planers aren’t magic, and it’s important to realize that all they do is position your lure, much the same way you might from a boat.  You still have to fish them correctly, and you have to be using the right lures in the right water. And of course, it helps if the fish are there.

 

While it’s tempting to say that the all-time best lures to use are the Lindy River Rocker (all sizes) and the Lindy Shadling, side planers work with most floating lures such as plugs and crankbaits.  Since the side planer works by dragging the lure with it as it skates across the current, a floating lure is essential.

 

Rigging a side planer is simply following the manufacturer’s directions by running the main line through the planer or its attachments. However, you do need to use a leader with a swivel and bead to keep the side planer-- after it’s tripped by the fish-- from hitting the fish on the nose. 

 

Once you have the planer and plug set up properly, you hit the top of the run you’re fishing, and send the plug merrily on its way downstream. The length of line you let out depends upon the depth of the current and the diving depth of the lure. Twenty to thirty feet is usually enough on shallower streams, and forty to fifty is the usual for most rivers. If you work a run and get hung up, your plug is diving too deep; either change the plug to a shallower-running version or shorten the line you have out.

 

While you can launch a sideplaner from the bank wearing slippers, it is much easier if you wade in a bit, say knee deep. 

 

So you wade out, drop the River Rocker in the water and strip out X feet of line, running it through the side planer.  The next step is to engage the side planer by fixing the line in place (different side planers do this differently). Then you lower the planer in the water and start releasing line.

 

If everything is working properly, the side planer will start pulling away from you, heading at an angle across the stream.

 

Look for current seams, deeper runs, the edges of current, small pockets and other resting places for steelhead and slower, deeper water for salmon.

 

Once the planer is where you want it, it’s a matter of slowly wading downstream as the planer and lure work down through the run. You can get the planer to cover different runs simply by releasing more line or reeling some in. 

 

Unlike casting, you can fish a side planer and plug all day long without reeling it in, although most anglers fish down to the bottom of the run, reel in and walk back to the top for another shot—or move to a different run.

 

Using a side planer requires a rod that is heavier than you might normally use.  The planer is heavy compared to a lure, and it offers resistance when you’re fighting a fish.  Look to a medium-heavy to heavy-action rod, and the longer the better. 

 

Rod length is important because you want to keep the line from the rod to the planer off the water. You can get by with a shorter rod on smaller streams, but for big water, long is good.

 

Likewise, because of the possibility of abrasion from side planers and the added resistance while fighting a fish, you should use a relatively heavy, abrasion-resistant line.

 

As for reels, while it’s possible to fish a side planer with a spinning reel, a baitcaster is better since you can readily free-spool line to catch that last bit of the run. 

 

But all this is delivery-system stuff.  What really catches the fish is the lure.  As mentioned before, the lure needs to float to keep it from hanging up on the bottom.  While in theory you could make a floating spinner work behind a side planer, plugs or crankbaits are ideal and what the side planer was originally intended to fish.

 

 What you need in a crankbait is one that runs true and needs no tuning.  Anything less will create trouble and, more importantly, not catch fish.

 

The Lindy River Rocker is an ideal side-planer lure.  It has the wide wobble that attracts steelhead and salmon. It runs true to over six miles per hour, a speed greater than you’ll find in holding water. It has bang-up colors, great big, three-dimensional eyes (trigger points) and a shape long proven to be deadly on steelhead and salmon.

 

Considering that it has a very stable action, it’s possible to add a sardine wrap to the River Rocker or even a tuna ball should the need for scent arise.  It will dive deep into the steelhead zone but not so deep as to be a source of hang-ups.  In other words, it’s a good bet for side-planer duty.

 

The Lindy Shadling is another option.  This crankbait is a hard charger with a tight wiggle that dives deeper than the Rocker in the larger size, making it a cinch for plumbing deeper holes and slower water. Its big eyes and bright, holographic finishes put it in the running behind the River Rocker. 

 

The Shadling also runs true right out of the box and can be pulled up to six miles per hour.  The smaller size, with its natural baitfish patterns, is a good choice for summerrun steelhead.

 

Using a side planer is the next best thing to a drift boat.  And like fishing from a boat, this technique is one that needs a lot of room; you can’t fish it in a crowd with out getting eggs thrown at you, so it’s best to pick a run with no one fishing or with a lot of room to spread out. This is especially the case when you first give it a try.

 

When you get the hang of using a side planer, then you’ll see why knowledgeable fisherman tag them as “the poor man’s drift boat.”

 

But unlike a drift boat, a side planer doesn’t require a trailer, tow vehicle or license tabs.