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Does anyone know how this weekends tourney ended up on Ottertail?
I was out late in the week and had mixed success running raps. I actually found larger fish on live bait rigs in 30 feet of water late morning. Late evening bite on raps was good one day, bad the next.
How do you guys know when you get hits on planer boards without using the tattle flags?
Maybe I cannot tell since I have not had a hit on one yet.

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Don't have any info about the tourney, but I can tell you that Otter Tail Lake is my favorite lake for trolling with planer boards.
You'll know when you have a fish on when using a board. It will either obviously drag and lose its course completely, or the release will snap (like mine). I use cheap yellow birds and I like them for the most part. Keep practicing and trying different lures/depths/amount of line behind the board until you feel comfortable using them. They can be difficult to master....I'm far from feeling comfortable using them all the time.

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CD, thanks for the input. I have been using the manual release method. How do you let line out if the board is attached? Do you run a swivel a couple of feet up from the lure? I have been using #5 shad raps and a special taildancer that goes 6-9 feet. Color has not made much of a difference. Any other suggestions for crankbaits to try?

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My method is simple. Let the lure out as far as you think it will take to hit the targeted area, and snap on the board. I then let the board out as far as I need it to go (10-15+ yards) and start trolling. Thats it!

Every lure is different, and all structure varies. I can let out 20 feet of line behind the board or 150 feet of line. Depends on what lure if it's a diver or floater and the depth of the target area.

I would highly recommend the Taildancers as you stated. Blue and white has worked well on OT. Also gold lures do very well on all lakes in this area too.

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You can find the results of the MWT Otter Tail Lake Qualifier on www.polebender.com

------------------
Tom Miller
Tournament Director
Minnesota Walleye Trail
www.polebender.com

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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