From Shore

Buzz Ramsey

Because I worked for GI Joe’s selling tackle when in high school, I was aware of the method of backtrolling plugs. To gain river fishing access, I bought my first drift boat in 1968 – used, it cost me $125. Although we primarily employed the drift fishing method in those days, it didn’t take long for us to add plug pulling to our arsenal.

One of my tasks when later working for Luhr-Jensen was to promote products in the Great Lakes salmon market, where small side planers were popular when trolling the big lake. It was in 1977 on the Wilson River that I first tried back-trolling a plug from shore using a Yellow Bird side planer. The Yellow Bird was designed to be fished in-line and trip much like a Pink Lady or Delta diving planer. So that I could position my plug 30 feet away from my Yellow Bird, I added a downrigger line-release to the planer. What I failed to do when rigging up that very first time was to position a swivel 3 feet up the line from my plug.

I remember getting the Yellow Bird out midstream with my Hot Shot plug trailing behind, which is when I started backing my planer and plug downriver by slowly walking along the river bank. The trip mechanism worked great when the steelhead hit, but the fish went totally bonkers when the planer slid down the line all the way to the plug, drilling that steelhead between its eyes, which caused me to lose both the fish and the planer. That was the first and last time I rigged up a side planer and plug combo without first rigging a swivel several feet up the line from my plug.

While the Yellow Bird worked, it was really bigger than needed for plugs sized for steelhead. In addition, at 8 inches long, the side planer pulled hard after sliding down the line to the swivel, which spoiled the fish fight. Years later I ran across an already marketed product called a Hydro Kite that measured 5 inches. With my encouragement, Luhr-Jensen ended up buying the product, which is when we renamed it the Hot Shot Side Planer and marketed it for river use.

LIKE SOME OTHER side-planing devices, the Hot Shot Side Planer is designed to be rigged onto your main line and can be locked in place, allowing for your lure to be positioned any distance away. Once the built-in trip mechanism is triggered, the planer will slide down your line. In addition, this product allows for right- or left-handed (port or starboard) trolling; it just depends on which side of the buoyant planer body you assemble the side-planing strut and rudder on. The tripper arm should be swung toward you, opposite the rudder. Twenty to 30 feet from planer to plug is the right distance for most places steelhead hold. In shallow water a short distance from planer to plug is right, while a longer letout will help your plug dive near bottom where the water is deeper. Realize too that the right distance

When fishing from shore, Ramsey will often take along a couple of prerigged outfits which, given the right place and conditions, might include his dedicated side planer rod, which he has rigged with 50-pound braid (monofilament works too) in combination with a 15-pound-test leader. If you decide to use mono as your main line, consider using 20-pound test in combination with a 12-pound-test leader. Since plugs can hang bottom, using a heavier test than normal in combination with a lighter leader will likely prevent you from losing your side planer should your plug hang up. (BUZZ when using a side planer is shorter as compared to when fishing from a boat, as your planer is riding on the surface of the water.

Just like when plugging plugs from a boat, I usually start plugging from shore at the upper end of a drift and work my plug all the way to the tailout. Wearing hip boots or waders will go a long way in getting your plug to float downstream from your planer before locking in the distance from planer to lure – not to mention being able to work your way downstream as you back-troll your plug down the river.

Three or four wraps around the fin tab should be all that’s needed to lock in the distance from planer to plug. If your main line is braid, it will likely stay in place after