Planer Fishing Rods and Reels

This In The Spread video covers basic rod and reel setups for planer fishing. Big game tackle shop owner and long time commercial fisherman RJ Boyle is going to share his thoughts on setups that work well for beginners or long time anglers. We know that a lot of fishermen struggle with what tackle to use for planer fishing. We some answers for you.

The premise for this video is that you have no tackle and you want to go planer fishing. You probably want to know what will you need? The answers depend on how much fishing experience you have and what else, if anything, are you going to want to do with the rods and reels. The idea here is to get you situated with tackle that you can use for multiple purposes, not just planer fishing. So, that is the context of RJ's demonstration.

When we talk about fishing tackle in our videos, it is always with the understanding that there are a multitude of good rod and reel manufacturers out there. What we recommend or use are the products we have used and know work well. We are not trying to push anything rods or reels. You are more than welcome to use whatever you like or take our recommendations. Our goal is just to point you in the right direction.

For the fishing rods that work well for planer fishing, our suggestion is to use a stick with flexibility in the tip. Nothing is uniform and the action is different in every rod. So, a medium action rod (30-50 lb) with a flexible upper half is ideal. You don't want a rod that is too stiff. Uhhh. If you can't see the bite, you will have problems. You will see in the video precisely that type of action your tip should have. The rod should be able to pull from size 3-8 planers. Ideal length is 6-7 feet. It is strongly suggested that your reel seats be metal. With the amount of pressure generated on the reel seat from cranking on a reel in the gunnel, plastic reel seats can fail. Just sayin'.

There is an incredible variety of reels that you can use for planer fishing. The reel we feel makes a nice addition to any anglers arsenal is the old school classic Penn Senator. This reel is super reliable, durable and heavy duty enough to handle a wide variety of different game fish. It is really good for planer fishing. It may have a slow retrieve, but that is good for this type of fishing. Whatever reel you decide to use, make sure it is taken care of. Clean and lube it, so that it will last a lifetime. The Senator certainly will last that log, if cared for.

You will see a few different rods and reels in the video. What we highlight are basic setup recommendations. Take the information we share and assimilate the bits that you find helpful into your fishing program. If you want to watch of planer fishing video, check out our Saltwater Fishing Techniques library.

Total time: 13:36
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