Tips For Off Shore Tackle Planer Board Fishing For Crappie
BY DAN DANNENMUELLER
After pulling the Off Shore Tackle boards for several years now, I have found that it’s the little things that matter when using them to catch crappie. I thought I would share some tips to improve your experience using them. First and foremost is the equipment I have selected to pull the boards for crappie. I have been changing the boat setup, rod and reels, line and terminal tackle to fine-tune my presentations and improve my catch rates.
Off Shore Tackle Planer Boards And Tadpoles
We like to pull four planer boards on each side of the boat. The spacing between boards is truly a personal preference but, I have found that 25 feet is a good distance for turning purposes. For open water, I will go up to 100 feet for the furthest board out from the boat and then 25-foot intervals towards the boat.
I use the OR12 Side Planers equipped with Tattle Flag’s™ for my furthest boards and the Off Shore Tackle OR38 Awesome Crappie Boards for the closer boards. When attaching them to my line, I attach the OR16 (red) clip first and place the line behind the pin inside of the clip. This will keep the board from releasing from my line when catching a crappie. When attaching the front (OR10 yellow or OR19 orange) release that is attached to the bracket of the boards, I clip it on the line towards the rod tip. Leave the line a little loose between the release and clip. When I attach the bracket release onto the fishing line, I make sure to place the line near the tip of the release so the line will release easier when reeling in a fish. Here are some tips from my lessons learned:

Tip 1 – If you use your boards alot, the gritty material inside the clip will wear and allow the line to slip out of the clip inadvertently. It’s a good idea to have replacement pads on hand for the clips and replace them when needed.
Tip 2 – When using the OR12 equipped with Tattle Flag™, check on the ease of pull on the flag by pulling on the red OR16 clip. Make sure the wire slides freely through the screw eye. The wire can become bent after heavy use and can be straightened out if needed. Extra wires and springs can be bought from Off Shore Tackle’s website. I always keep a bag of extra components on the boat and in the truck.
Tip 3 – Some small crappie when caught on the boards are not strong enough to pull the flag down or even move the board back from its normal running position on the water. I recommend checking the boards often by reeling them in to ensure one is not on there and taking a ride. It happens to me alot.
Tip 4 – I recommend not using braided line. I like to use 10 lb. Gamma Hi Vis. It is extremely strong and will not hurt your clips.
Tip 5 – Use the Off Shore Tackle OR36 series size 1 Tadpoles when fishing over 1 to 2 feet down. If under 1 to 2 feet down, like I do in Florida shallow lakes, I fish jigs on the main line without Tadpoles.
Tip 6 – When using Tadpoles, I will either use one bait per board or two. If one bait, I like to use a 3-to-4-foot leader off the end of the Tadpole and tie 00 or 01 Thundermist clips on each end for ease of leader or bait replacement. When using two baits, I use a two-foot leader with clips from the Tadpole to a Thundermist 30 lb. three-way. From the upper T of this three-way, I use a two-foot leader with clips for one bait and a 3-to-4-foot leader with clips from the back of the threeway. This creates bait separation which will catch crappie from two different depths.
Rod Holders
I use side mounted trolling racks with double tier rod holders. These are mounted on the front deck sides of my bass boat. The style I use have 12 inch risers so we can sit and reach each rod and reel easily and quickly. Having them off the front deck makes it very ergonomic as we can see our electronics, trolling motor and control all easily.
Tip 7 – It is important to vary the rod angles to create a rod angle variance with the highest angle in back and the lowest in front of a set of four rods on one side. This allows the lines going to the boards to clear each other in between the rod tip and the boards. It also allows, when catching a fish, to keep the lines and boards from running over one another.
Rods And Reels
Starting in late 2021 and into 2022, I transitioned into the use of the Okuma Cold Water Line Counter Reels teamed up with the BnM Sam’s Super Salt 75C rods. The reels are smooth, light and quick on retrievals and the rods are light, yet strong, and are perfectly balanced with the reels.
Tip 8 – Use X Wrap Heat Shrink Wrap for the rod handles. It helps to protect the rods in the rod holders.
Tip 9 – Use pocket wraps for crankbaits while stored on the rods as this will minimize entanglements, inadvertent interlocking hook ups as well as protection for hands and feet.
When And How
Having the equipment to target slab crappie is only part of the process. Knowing when and how to use it is extremely important. Below are a few tips to get you started on pulling Off Shore Tackle planer boards for crappie:
Tricks For Getting Inactive Or Unsuspended Crappie
Tip 10 – Run the baits just above the bottom. During the summertime and wintertime crappie will sit on the bottom but will come up on a bait just above them.
Bait Choice
Tip 11 – Run varying baits and colors on separate rods and reels. It then becomes an elimination process of what works and what does not.
Tip 12 – Always try to match the hatch which means matching bait sizes to the crappie’s prey in that waterway and time of year.
Tip 13 – Vary bait types even within a category of bait. For example, crankbaits come in various actions, sounds and sizes. Figure 8 and other action baits include brands I believe in to include Pico, Bandit, Pure Fishing, etc. Then there are minnow crankbaits that run without a wobble such as Flicker Shads. I catch more white crappie on Figure 8’s and black crappie on minnow crankbaits.
Tip 14 – Pulling jigs and plastics can also be very effective. My go to baits are Roadrunners matched to Bobby Garland Crappie Baits, specifically strollers.
Using The Ptd App For Crappie Baits
Tip 15 – Always use this app after determining the crappie’s depths in the water column. Run your baits 1-2 feet above the fish.
Tip 16 – If using an Off Shore Tadpole, I always use a size 1 and in the PTD use its recommended settings. The app will tell you the amount of line between the tadpole and the board for a specified depth as well as the speed.
Tip 17 – New updates will better defined settings when using a tadpole.
Speed Variance
Tip 18 – Speed up in turns and make them wide to keep boards from overrunning each other.
Summing It Up
Try the above tips the next time you go to pulling Off Shore Tackle planer boards for crappie. I think your catch rate will go up!