How to Use Diving Planers
Diving planers are devices used anglers to increase the depth a lure will move through the water during trolling, according to the website gofishn.com. Trolling is defined as dragging a fishing lure behind a boat operated at a low rate of speed. In this type of fishing the lure mimics the movement of a bait fish through the water. The diving planer acts as a wing to push the lure deeper into the water. Without a diving planer or downrigger, a heavy weight attached to a separate line with a quick release connection to the fishing line, the lure will run at a shallow depth behind the boat.
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Instructions
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Attach the diving planer to the fishing line about six feet ahead of the lure. Use swivels and snaps to connect the planer to the fishing line from the reel. A prepared leader, a commercially prepared line with snaps and swivels at each end, can be used to attach the lure to the planer or the angler can make his own short piece of line.
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Make adjustments, if available, to the diving planer. Some planers offer adjustments to push the diver and lure laterally as well as deeper into the water, according to the website straitlineanglers.com. This is used to setup the lure to track to the left or right of the boat instead of directly behind. This creates a larger bait presentation.
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Adjust the release pin. This controls the point at which the wing like diving planer releases and becomes a flat surface in relationship to the fishing line. The release occurs at the time of the fish strike. A lighter release is used in areas where smaller fish are anticipated. Follow manufacturer's instructions for setting the tension release.
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Lower the lure and diving planer over the side of the moving boat. Pay out enough line for the diving planer and lure to reach the desired depth. Most diving planer manufacturers include charts or graphs that estimate the depth the planer will reach for the amount of line released. This is an estimate because the speed of the boat also plays a part in the actual depth achieved.
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Tips & Warnings
When a fish strikes the lure, the release activates and the angle of the diving planer changes and becomes parallel with the fishing line. The planer then has little effect on how the fish is played and ultimately boated. Still the smallest diving planer that will do the job will offer the least resistance and have the least impact on the fishing experience.
Don't use too long a line between the diving planer and the lure. You can only reel in line to the point the planer is at the top of the rod. The line between the planer and the lure will have to be hand retrieved.
