planer boards for a canoe

[smokey]

I spend a lot of time trolling for brook trout in back country ponds from a canoe. Because of the size of a canoe, and how it maneuvers, I can only pull two lines at a time without worrying about them getting tangled up.

I just want to use planer boards so I can run four lines at a time. And I don't need to go too far out with them, maybe 25 feet at the very most. So I'm not going to worry about a mast or anything like that. I'm gonna build a rig at gunwale level. I don't think line dragging in the water should be a problem with the boards being such a short distance from the boat. And I'm gonna need something small enough to fit in a backpack, because there are no roads where I'm going. And 99% of the ponds I'll be fishing are pretty much wave-free. Theres not a lot of wind where I'm going.

So now that I've explained my situation, I've got a few questions:
-Are any of the differences between how a planer board would work 100' from the boat on Lake Ontario, and how it would function 25' from a canoe on smooth, calm waters?
-Are there any planer boards that are designed to be used like this? I'd hate to waste my time and money on something that won't work the way I want it.
-I've found plenty of plans on how to make planer boards on my own. It seems pretty straight forward, and I am thinking about doing it to save money, but the plans seem like any other ones that I've seen for sale online. How would I go about making them more suitable for my own needs?
-If I settle on buying these, instead of building them, what would you suggest I buy? I'd prefer to actually hold them in my hand before buying them, so I would get them from Fish307. Here is the link to their planer boards. http://www.fish307.com/planerboards.aspx They're a seven minute drive from me, so it would be the best option.

Whether I buy or build, I just want to make sure that I have something that is specialized for what I want to do.

Sorry for the long winded post. I just want to make sure I've explained myself enough to avoid all the questions and get right down to the answers. Even though I know I didn't explain myself enough to begin with. So ask away! And I'll try to be more specific. Anything you guys can do to help would be great. I know nothing about planer boards, and I've never even seen them in action, but I've got the basic idea.

[fishermantim4]

offshore makes a mini inline planer that i have seen work very well.  i believe that they would work for trolling out of a canoe. we used them trolling from shore    we walk against the current and they get our stick baits out away from shore very nice. i dont know how far you actually could get your baits away from the boat.  you wouldnt have to worry about creating any kind of lines or masts to  run the rigs clip right on the line.

[BigTippyPlugger]

I would like to think that those Big jon mini boards would be perfect (the 5 in. ones). I don't know how big the brookies are that your catching but the only problem i can see is them tripping the clip. An inline planer board is simple and easy to use. Just thread your line through the snapswivel on the one end, let out however much line you want behind the boat (say 50 ft. behind the boat), clip it and then let out the desired distanceout to the side of the canoe. When a fish hits it should pull the line off of the clip and send the board down to the fish. If the fish is too small you may just drag it and not know its there until you check them. (note. you may be able to by adjustable tension clips)

[smokey]

Thanks for the advice. As soon as the ice is gone, I'm gonna go pick some up. It will probably be cheaper to buy those ones than to make my own anyway.

I'm really not sure what size brookies I'll be targeting. Most of them will probably be about a foot to eighteen inches at the most. But I'll also be going after lakers during the smelt run. So I could be getting much bigger too. I'll test it out before I use them though. If the smaller brookies aren't big enough to trigger the release, I'll improvise.

[steelheader]

I have use both the mini church boards and the offshore Minni's in a cane , both work great not much difference in quality , and they are in line boards . We were using them for trolling for 8 to 12'' trout and they worked great , I also used them in the big water also , the only thing is you can't use deep divers due to the drag , but flat runners worked great , and steamers and spoons worked great with them .