Fishing with planer boards

[Green jig]

By the way congrats on the masters win, I've just purchased some boards and can't wait to try them. Thanks for sharing your info

[Tommy Skarlis]

Thanks Green Jig! Don't be afraid to holler at me if you have any questions on them. Just for reference - we were using the Off Shore OR-12's with the Tattle flag kit. I have had a chance to fish the smaller OR-34's and for panfish I am really starting to see the benefits of using the smaller Off Shore as well. My suggestion now for the ideal trolling set-up is to run 6 rods:

OR-12L OR-34 Flat line with long rod (BOAT) Flat line with long rod OR-34 OR-12R

Best of luck!

[jeepguyjames]

May 2014 issue of in fisherman has an article on planer board crappie.....

[CliffordN]

Had to revive this old thread, and ask this question... Every comment I see has the board attached to your fishing line. Why is isn't anyone running the board on a dedicated line, and just clipping the fishing line in, so that you don't have to fight the board, or risk knocking the fish off?

[wicklundrh]

Most inland lakes Don't have the size necessary to run fixed mast planers. They work for big lakes such as Erie, Huron, and lake Michigan were long trolling passes are the norm. Smaller bodies of water simply don't setup well. You get everything setup and it is time to pull it up and start again. Another issue is adjustability. With in lines, you can adjust your setup quickly to accommodate other boaters or adjust distance from the boat to quickly get on weed edges. Most smaller crappie style boats simply don't setup well for mast style planer boards.

Even on bigger bodies of water, most of us run in line boards. More versatile, quicker to setup, and easier to adjust on the fly. Also maneuverability is much better.

To answer some questions from this old thread:

On OR-12 boards, we run tattle flags and the settings allow us to indicate the smallest bites. We run an orange OR-19 clip on the front which allows us to release the board with the jerk of the rod. We run a red OR-16 clip in the back. It has a pin that doesn't allow the board to come off and the pads keep it from sliding. We pull the board up, release it, and fight the fish. No one that I know runs them direct on the like. We run these down to .8mph but not any slower.

For smaller lakes and quicker setups, we run the OR-38 boards with a yellow OR-10 on the front and an red OR-16 on the back. We can run these boards down to .4mph, the stay upright due to the channel on the top (even when stopped). They can be ran in a river from shore and even casted. They are much smaller than the OR-12 boards and don't have a tattle flag.

Here is a link to an article I wrote last year. Click on 2019 and find page six "Mixed bag trolling". This article was written during the 2018 Michigan crappie camp and features my daughter Abby.
Off Shore Tackle | Official Web Site Articles

[wicklundrh]

Older boards and some less than quality designs still run there boards directly to their main line. When you release the front clip, the board slides down the line and can potentially unhook the fish. You were left with reeling in a board and fish and it wasn't much fun. To combat the issue, many anglers tied a bead and swivel about 3 feet above the bait to act as a stopper. With the advancement in clips and the ability to remove the board, many people with the higher quality boards elect to remove the board, enjoy fighting the fish, and not risk losing it. Plus, setting those boards were a pain.

Now we run the line out and clip the board on. On many days, I'm running 12 inline boards at one time. In tournaments, time is fish, fish are pounds, and pounds are money!

[CliffordN]

Older boards and some less than quality designs still run there boards directly to their main line. When you release the front clip, the board slides down the line and can potentially unhook the fish. You were left with reeling in a board and fish and it wasn't much fun. To combat the issue, many anglers tied a bead and swivel about 3 feet above the bait to act as a stopper. With the advancement in clips and the ability to remove the board, many people with the higher quality boards elect to remove the board, enjoy fighting the fish, and not risk losing it. Plus, setting those boards were a pain.

Now we run the line out and clip the board on. On many days, I'm running 12 inline boards at one time. In tournaments, time is fish, fish are pounds, and pounds are money!

Got a pic of that?

[wicklundrh]

A picture of?

[CliffordN]

I'm also wanting to run some much larger deep runners, for Stripers... Will the smaller boards handle those too?

[CliffordN]

A picture of?

The twelve board spread?