Planer boards allow the baits to be spread wider than the boat. With two planers on each side, the water covered can be as much as 100 feet to each side of the boat. I chose this planer because it is large and works for the application. Eels can be huge and swim to the bottom with lots of vigor. It's necessary for striper fishng success to run with the tide/wind (drift) sometimes at 2 mph. This puts a lot of pressure on the blade and buoyant material of the planer. Small planers will SINK!
With this planer, the rod has a clip in the end that the line is sandwiched into. Before doing this, the line is looped and twisted, then the clip is pressed. This holds the line firmly most of the time. The loop/twist allows the pull of a fish to drop the line out of the clip. The lead to the bait is fastened in the clip. It's critical that a bead large enough to be held by the swivel snap be ahead of the ball bearing swivel. Nothing is worse than loosing a fish because the planer slid to the hook. I like the signal orange planers. I understand that Core Tackle has a great planer that is large and functions well. The closed pin like clip can be replaced with a plastic tube and plastic stopper like used in the cork set-up. Really, a supply of golf "Ts" does the job. I'll drill a small hole through the length of the golf "T" if it isn't already there. The plug must stay on the line unless ya want to take a bucket full of golf "Ts" on the boat. Just be sure the clip or tube hold the line securely for the weight of the eel and waves. You can waste a lot of time retrieving the planer and resetting it.
Again, there are as many variations of planers as there are fishermen.
