I am just wondering how most of you are rigging your planners. I tried the briddle rig - but I must not be doing it right. Do you keep one or two out in your spread? Thanks for your help. John

We don't use the bridle. We use a much simpler approach- One we learned at the Canyon Runner seminar.
We caught wahoo, yellowfin and a white marlin - last year doing as follows:

-Put the planer on whatever rod you are using for a planer rod and put the planer down as deep as you can. When the line is 45 degrees to the water -that is it -she ain't going any deeper.

- Select - from you regular spread - any rod or bait you want to run deep behind the planer. Let it back as far as you want -we run it 200 to 300 feet behind the boat.

- Now here's the trick - take a steel shower curtain ring or a DOUBLE SNAP (two snaps hooked together). hook one snap or the shower curtain ring around the planer line that is already down -wrap three number 64 rubber bands around the main line to your bait and insert the rubber bands in the shower curtain ring or the other snap if you are using the douleb snap.

It is amazing - your main bait line will slide right down to the planer. When you get a strike - the rubber bands will break and you will be hooked up on the rod just like any other in your spread - no muss - no fuss - no fooling with the planer or bridles - except you may want to pick up the planer when you are fighting the fish -planers are notoroius for fouling death circling tunas.

Other things to watch for
--REMEMBER which rod is on the planer--last year we had a white grab the planer bait - swim around jumpimg in the spread --hooked up - and we could not identify which rod for a few minutes because there was 300 feet of slack in the line. If the fish come to the boat fast - wahoo's also do it - you have got to be paying attention or you will not rrealize he is on the rod because of the slack. It all of a sudden the rod behind he planer stands straight up you better check it right quick.

DO NOT fall in love with the planer. They definitly work - but they can also spook fish. If you hear charter boats talking about catching on a "deep rig" - go to your planer. When the water gets real clear -you need to paint them flat black -because otherwise the will reflect the sun - even 50 feet down.

If you get get too much grass on it - it will also hum and spook fish - so be careful about running them on weedlines or heavy scattered grass.

Try this approach -it works well - if you have trouble rigging it - get up with me and I'll show you how - it's really simple.

Hope it helps

Kent

Do you wrap 3 No. 64 rubber bands around the line once each or one rubber band wrapped 3 times around the line for this rig?

I would suggest magic marker for the plainer or powdercoating them black from the get go ... MR. Mako loves to eat shiny planers

Wrap 3 rubber bands. 1 will not hold the bait it is not strong enough

I think this is a good idea - I have never lost on to a shark but I hear the OI and Hatteras charter guys talking about getting planers bit off quite a bit.

Thanks, Good advice!