In-line boards are ideal when targeting brown trout. Brown trout naturally gravitate toward the shallower nearshore water early in the spring because it is warmer and that's where baitfish are likely to congregate. The trout will get into the troughs that parallel the shoreline and then herd schools of baitfish. The browns will be in as little as 3 or 4 feet of water. They are very spooky in the shallows, but using in-line boards to get lures away from the boat and into the shallow waters is a deadly technique.

Mini-boards also excel when searching for steelhead and other salmonids far off shore over deep water during summer. The nomadic rainbows are known for searching out scumlines created by temperature breaks over deep water. The trout are usually within a fathom of the surface though, and are extremely skittish in the ultraclear water. In-line boards make it possible to get lures in front of the edgy rainbows without spooking them and help increase your coverage area when searching for active trout in the vast expanses.

An ideal in-line board for shallow-water applications is Tru Tac Industries' Tru Tracker side-planer. The Tru Tracker has several features that make it the preferred board for trout and salmon. The Tru Tracker is constructed of hard durable plastic, is reversible so you don't have to buy separate boards for starboard and port applications, they're lightweight and their bright red color makes them highly visible. The Tru Tracker comes equipped with a Big Jon Jettison Release, which is quick and easy to set, produces consistent releases that result in good, solid hooksets, and the release doesn't wear out like pinch-pad releases. The sharp, beveled front edge of the Tru Tracker also helps it cut through the waves, which helps it track way out to the sides and makes it fishable in up to 5-footers. For more information on Tru Tracker in-line boards, contact Tru Trac Industries at (231) 845-7844 or online at www.ttii.com.

Deploying a board spread is easy. Captains put out a spread of four or five in-line boards on each side of the boat. Simply let out 50 to 100 feet of line behind the boat, attach the line to the snap swivel at rear of the board and then up to the release. Drop the board over the side and make sure the planer begins to angle away from the boat. The first board you let out should be the farthest from the craft and should be placed in the rod holder closest to the bow. When running multiple boards, place the rod holder farthest forward almost straight up and then angle each rod holder slightly outward as you move back toward the stern. The angle of the holder will help keep rods from getting tangled and allow you to clear a rod without catching an adjacent rod and flipping it overboard.

Once the outside board is set, you can set a second board to run just inside your farthest board. It's a good practice to keep the boards approximately 10 to 15 feet apart. Once you get three or four boards out, they should all be tracking in a relatively straight line or formation. This of course depends on the types of lures you're running on each rod. Body baits or crankbaits will dive harder and deeper than spoons and will pull the board back slightly farther. If you catch a fish or miss a strike, it's a simple matter to let the inside board out to take the place of the tripped board and then rotate them.

In-line boards don't work just for shallow salmonids or when trout and salmon are near the surface. Later in the summer, in-line boards can be useful when pulling heavy lengths of lead core to reach fish positioned near the thermocline. For my money, the Church Tackle TX-24 side-planer is the only in-line board that will effectively pull lead-core line. The TX-24 planer features an adjustable clip that holds superlines and monofilament securely and releases with one hand, a spring-loaded rear pin that makes setting lines easy and prevents you from losing your board, an adjustable keel weight that allows you to adjust the attitude of the boards when pulling heavy lead core and weights, and its catamaran-style minimizes the chances of the board diving or flying out of the water. To get more information on Church Tackle's TX-24 planers, call (269) 934-8528 or 1-800-990-8528, or go to www.churchtackle.com.

Varying the amount of lead core you pull behind in-line boards can help target salmonids when they go deeper. Adding various lead weights using Church Super Clips will even enable you to reach trout and salmon when the thermocline drops to 80 or 90 feet during late summer. Lead core pulled behind boards is especially effective on jittery kings.