When I started out I didn't have the poles so I used two of my old bass rods and pulled one out each side of the boat. Nowdays It depends on the lake.... some times I just pull six out the back....sometimes I push six or 8 off the front, and sometimes I pull 4 and push 4 at the sametime.

When you can get some B'n'M pro trollers they are great get lengths where you can keep 4 ft. separation when you are pulling. I use a 14 and a 10 out each side at the back and 2 8 footers straight out the back most of the time. Pushing off the front you can fan them out and use all the same length