BY LEE GOULD
One thing that drives people to the sport of fishing is the simple fact that anyone can do it and there is an abundance of water available to do it in. People from all walks of life, income level, or social class can get out and fish somewhere and that helps make it such a universally popular sport and pass time.
After heavy use, the pads can become worn and as a result, I was replacing the line releases and clips on my Off Shore Tackle planer boards. What I have started doing is instead replacing the rubber pads in the releases and clips. This is a very easy and very inexpensive way to get another year out of them.
Replacing your pads is really a quick and easy process. I’ve played around over the years on how best to replace the rubber pads on Off Shore Tackle line releases. I use either a small hobby vise or a Quick Grip wood clamp to hold the clip open. This step is not necessary when replacing the pads on the OR18 Snapper Release.
Next thing is getting a small flat blade screwdriver and start peeling and lifting that pad from the jaw. The pads are glued but usually once it starts coming up it goes easily. Use your screwdriver to clean around the pocket where the rubber pad sits on both the top and bottom jaws. After the old rubber pad is removed, I grab a new rubber pad with a pair of tweezers and put a small dab of super glue on the pad and then lay the new pad in place. I prefer the gel type super glue because it’s less likely to run and make a mess.
After the pads are installed, I usually clip them on to a piece of wax paper to be sure I didn’t get too much glue on the pads. Replacing the rubber pads on my line releases and clips only takes a few minutes of my time and replacement pads are sold in packs of 8 to 16. They are available online under Replacement Parts, or at most of your favorite Off Shore Tackle Dealers! It’s an easy way to freshen up your boards every year and save some money in the process!
