Schooled walleyes roaming open water, either suspending or lying over open basins, are the reason an angler would switch from a jigging approach to a bait delivery system that would include planer boards, snap weights, and crankbaits or spinners.
Trolling boards arose out of the Great Lakes where they were used for lake trout and salmon.  Walleye anglers were quick to use this application for big water walleyes as well.  Boards spread multiple lines wide to the sides of the boat, to minimize spooking and to present a spread of lures at multiple depths.  No longer are you limited to trolling a narrow path behind the boat.  Instead you can now troll a path 150 feet wide, simultaneously experimenting with depth, lure size and action, color patterns, speed and more.
This presentation is effective for eliminating unproductive water and zeroing in on walleyes, particularly at the 1 to 3 mph quick trolling range, which is productive in cool to cold water, and during summer as well.  It’s simple in principle, complex in execution, in order to minimize tangles, maximize catches, and achieve desired results.  But a properly run set of lines proceeds through open water like a giant rake, showing fish suspended at the target depth.
Board presentations evolved from traditional mast and ski systems popular on large Great Lakes boats, to small in-line planers easy to use in smaller craft.  Planer boards clip onto line via simple friction releases, sending lines out to the sides of the boat while trolling. When a fish strikes, bobbing or dragging the board backward, reel in, detach the board release with a quick twist of thumb and forefinger, drop the board in the boat, and fight the fish unhindered by excess hardware. Planer boards are small and light enough to use on traditional walleye gear.  Typically that would mean that you could use line as light as 10
pound test monofilament which maintains good lure action and diving
depth, and promotes a good fight on light tackle.  Anglers generally use
long trolling rods about 7 to 8 footers to hold lines off the surface of the water while trolling, reducing drag and maximizing the spread.  Long handled rods fit in rod holders until a fish strikes.  A well placed spread of four lines effectively covers open water options.  Crankbaits run at specific depths depending on size, diving lip, line length and trolling speed.  Within the natural diving range of each lure, depth is fine tuned by adjusting line length.  Trolling reels wit line length indicators have become popular for exact replication of productive depth and pinpoint control.  Many manufacturers offer line counting reels now so anglers don’t have to count the number of throws a reel goes through to set a specific depth. Few crankbaits dive deeper than 25 feet, even on a long line. 

Walleyes Inc. promotional team member  Mark Brumbaugh

To reach depths exceeding the natural diving ability of crankbaits, weight must be added to the line to drop lures down into the fish zone.  This is just as true for presenting spinner-crawler combos.  Walleye anglers have several solutions for increasing running depth while maintaining control. Traditional deep water trolling was once accomplished with leadcore line.  This leadcore line is braided dacron with a thin lead core, creating a sinker running the entire length of the line.  Leadcore was used to troll deep water for walleyes or trout.  The answer to the solution of depth was to simply let more line out and the lure went deeper.

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