Lake Ontario Fishing Forum Trout Salmon Sport Fishing Charter

Well the time is growing shorter till spring arrives. Soon we all will have our boats shoveled out and in the water. Time for spring Browns.

You send out your planer boards and start to set lines. 3 rods set off the starboard planer and you start to send out the second rod off the port board. “Fish On!” you yell as you grab the rod from one of the starboard rod holders. No sooner did the words come out of your mouth and another rod fires from the starboard planer. As your buddy is anxiously waiting with the net, he sees a third rod take off. TRILPLED UP! This is not uncommon when fishing for spring brown trout. The action can be fast and furious with multiple hook ups and numbers of fish.

First, stealth is the key. Browns are, by nature, spooky. So some fine tuning must be made to be consistent in catching them. Fluorocarbon leaders are a must. An 8 to 10 lb. leader about 8 feet long should always be attached to your mainline. I simply tie a very small barrel swivel to my mainline (12lb -15lb. clear Big Game Trilene) and attach the fluorocarbon at the other end. For fluorocarbon I recommend Seagur.
Terminal tackle. I run a tiny size 1 snap at the lure. The barrel swivel between my mainline and the leader keeps the twist out of the line so no need for a snap swivel at the lure.

Planer boards are a priceless item for these shallow, weary spring browns. Mast style boards such as the dual wooden ones or the Big Jon otter boat are the most commonly used. They are readily available at local shops or via mail order thru Cabelas. If these are not practical for your boat then in-line boards such as “Offshore side planer” or “Yellow Birds” will work. For this discussion we will concentrate setting up with mast style planer boards.

Setting up planer boards. Planer boards were designed to carry your lures off to the side and away from the boat, so make sure you use them to their potential. Typically I side them out 100’ to each side of the boat. I run 6 rods – 3 off each planer board.

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