Trolling suggestions with a planer board or down rigger with a weight

What is your target fish

Well, I fish at Buggs from time to time for Striper. I use to use depth colored lead core line with white buck tails or gold spoons...big crank baits. Im starting to do some inshore also at the coast so I would like to buy the most versatile tackle if there is such a thing. Leaning towards a down rigger, with steel line and counter, metal planer.....

I would look at a downrigger.

Very versatile in salt and freshwater

You can run a metal planer right off the main line if you are running decent sized reels and main line.
Just depends on how deep you want to go. The shallow planers aren't bad. I've always tied the larger deep planers directly to the boat and hand line those.
Those type planers work real well for spanish dragging a clark spoon fast trolling. It just takes the fun out of fishing to a degree.
The planer does all the work.

I understand the deep water stripers but why would you need a downrigger or planer inshore?

The dolphin come pretty close in the heat of the summer. Kings aren't out far at all. Also in December we've caught blue fin only a mile or so out. Inshore I'm saying, a couple miles out. Offshore, I'm speaking of blue water.

Ohh okay. To me inshore means inside the inlet. I would consider that nearshore. Ha. Tons of use for that like you said.

Yeah, I gotcha. Id like to buy a nice down rigger but was wondering what I could get the most use out of. I guess a nice heavy rod and reel with a counter could work too. Then tie a breakaway line from another lighter weight rod and reel to the planer on that rod?? What do you think? I've never used the planers on the line I'm fishing with. There's lots of planers out there. Is it cost that determines uses? may work fine. What about all the drag from the planer when reeling in a fatty?

Depends on what you are fishing for. Dragging around a clark spoon for some spanish, the planers are the economical way to go and catch fish trolling

I wound up ordering two sea striker high speed planer kits with handline. They can plane 12-40feet I believe it said.