Ive never fished lake Erie for walleyes, but when I lived in
PA I did a considerable amount of fishing for trout and
salmon on lake Ontario. There, especially in the spring for trout, we used side planners. They are like 2 planer boards parallel to each other 6 to 8 inches apart. The inner
board would be a few inches back from the outer one, meaning
there were port and starbard setups same as planer boards.
They are attached to the boat by a separate tow line just for the planer boards. They can be placed as far from the boat as you like by letting out more tow line. Then shower curtain rings with a release clip attached can be snapped onto the planer board tow line with the rod/fishing line attached to the release clip.
Depending on the distance from the boat the planner is, dictates the amount of rods via the shower curtain clips you can use. When a fish hits and the rod line is released from the release clip, you only have the fish on the line of whatever rod you choose to use including lite spinners. After the rod line is pulled from the release clip by the fish,the shower ring just slides down the tow line and dosent interrupt the remaining rod lines in use. So you just make adjustments to the remaing rod line locations and install another clip without stopping. I made my own planner boards using 1x8x3/4" cedar, fastened together and spaced with stainless allthread.
I used the teaser reels attached to my outriggers for the
tow line but there would be numerous other options for that.
For me, trolling is a means to an end which is locating fish. Once located, id rather catch them by casting or jigging. Which is why I gave up on lake Ontario.
