A CRITICAL LOOK AT IN-LINE PLANER BOARDS
BY MARK ROMANACK
Historically, in-line planer boards have held what might best be described as a niche in the trolling world. These days, in-line boards have evolved a great deal. Designed to be affordable, easy to transport and store, in-line boards are also highly functional at spreading out trolling lines and covering massive amounts of water. In short, in-line boards do the heavy lifting these days and I don’t mean maybe.
OR38 MINI BOARD
The OR38 Mini Board (aka Awesome Crappie Board) was designed with the tournament crappie anglers in mind. The perfect size for pulling a host of baits designed for crappie and other panfish species, the Mini Board may be small, but it performs like a much bigger board.
The ideal board for going after suspended crappie, with jigs, jig spinners, crankbaits and live bait rigs, the OR38 pairs up perfectly with traditional trolling rods or light action spinning tackle.
The OR38 also doubles as a walleye board when pulling spinner rigs or small crankbaits through weed flats. Small enough to toss in a tackle box, but big enough to turn any rod into a trolling stick, the Mini Board is one of the most versatile side planers on the market.
Besides traditional trolling chores, the Mini Board is also handy for river anglers who fish from the bank. Simply cast a wobbling plug or spinner out into the current, clip the OR38 onto the line and let the board present baits to places it would be impossible to cast to.
OR12 SIDE PLANER
The OR12 Side Planer is the in-line board that all others are compared to. Originally designed for walleye trolling, the OR12 has evolved into a board that not only dominates the world of walleye trolling, but it is also comfortable targeting brown trout, lakers, steelhead, coho, chinook, kokanee and just about anything else that swims in fresh water!
The OR12 is capable of pulling crankbaits, live bait rigs, crankbaits with Snap Weights, Tadpole Divers, Mini Disks and even lead core line. “We use the OR12 Side Planer to pull just about everything,” says Jake Romanack of Fishing 411 TV. “Virtually everywhere we troll for walleye, the Side Planer gets the job done day in and day out. The same goes for trout and salmon trolling. Contrary to popular belief, the OR12 easily handles lead core set ups up to and including 10 colors of lead core!”
The OR12 comes factory standard equipped with the OR19 (orange) line release on the bracket and the OR16 (red) Pro Clip mounted to the tail of the board. This set up is ideal for anglers who troll using monofilament, co-polymer and fluorocarbon lines.
For anglers who prefer to troll with super braids, simply swapping out the OR19 for the OR18 Snapper Release or the OR39 Sam’s Pro Release solves that problem. That’s perhaps the biggest advantage of all Off Shore Tackle in-line boards. The releases and line clips can be swapped out to accommodate any line type or trolling technique.
The OR12 can also be retrofitted with an OR12TFEK Tattle Flag® HD Economy Kit. This kit uses the releases or line clips and flag that came on the board and converts the flag to a spring-loaded Tattle Flag® system. All the necessary linkage and hardware items come in this inexpensive kit. It takes only hand tools and about five minutes to convert an OR12 into a Tattle Flag® board.
Everyone who uses an OR12 with a Tattle Flag® HD Economy Kit immediately falls in love with this accessory. The flag will tip down indicating when a small fish has been hooked or debris fouled on the hooks. Infinitely adjustable, the Tattle Flag® works with everything from super light trolling gear to lead core and other heavy sinking lines. Holes on the flag and the nose of the board make it easy to adjust the spring tension as determined by the trolling methods and speed employed.
OR37 SST PRO MAG
The OR37 is the largest board in the Off Shore Tackle line up and designed for heavy duty trolling situations. The OR37 comes factory equipped with an OR18 Snapper Line Release on the bracket and an OR16 Pro Clip mounted to the tail of the board.
The SST Pro Mag is the board of choice for anglers who are trolling at high speeds or with heavy gear. Muskie anglers love the SST Pro Mag because it can handle the largest bucktail spinners, crankbaits as well as crankbaits fished in combination with in-line weights.
Trout and salmon anglers use the SST Pro Mag to pull long lengths of copper wire, lead core and weighted stainless-steel wire rigs.
Many catfish pursuers have success with the SST Pro Mag. With its added flotation and ability to pull the heaviest weights and baits it has become a popular choice among some of the best anglers in the country.
Saltwater trollers use the SST Pro Mag to troll big game gear at high speeds. Clearly the SST Pro Mag is the board of choice when targeting big fish and using heavy gear.
SUMMING IT UP
Off Shore Tackle produces the Mini Board, the Side Planer and the SST Pro Mag so no matter where you fish or what kind of fish you’re targeting, there is an ideal in-line planer board for the job. All three board choices come out of the package ready to fish or if you prefer, each can be customized with the line releases or clips desired. Affordable, versatile and functional, it’s no accident that Off Shore Tackle in-line boards have become popular everywhere avid anglers are serious about trolling.
