BY CAPTAIN DAVE BOON
It struck me this past season, more so than any other in recent history, the incredible versatility of the Off Shore Tackle’s in-line planer boards.
In early spring, I use the OR12 Side Planer board to pull everything from flatlines and up to about 7 colors of lead core. As the water warms up and I start fishing deeper in the water column, I switch to Off Shore Tackle’s OR37 Pro Mag boards where I pull 8, 9, 10 colors of lead core line as well as 300 and 400 feet of weighted steel line.
The beauty of either of these boards is your ability to “tweak” the combination of releases and clips to suit your preferences. To illustrate my point, I’ll share how I rig both my OR12 boards and the OR37 Pro Mag boards. I really like the “standard” release combination on the OR12’s that come with the OR19 (orange) release on the bracket, and, because I use mono backing on most of my lead core lines, I like the standard issue OR16 (red) Pro Clip on the tail of the board.
Shore Tackle Pro Staffer. Based in southern Ontario, Captain Dave spends
many hours trolling Lake Huron for coho, chinook, steelhead, Atlantic
salmon, and walleye.
I do like to release the line from the OR19 front release while fighting a fish, but I like the option of doing it when I choose to. It’s personal preference, but I don’t pull the line from the front OR19 release until I lessen the angle between the board and my rod tip. I lose fewer fish using this technique.
This is where the versatility of the boards comes in. If you prefer not to “release” the board at all while fighting a fish, you can simply bury your line deeper in the front OR19 release. You would then bring the board within reach, undo both the OR19 release as well as the OR16 clip and continue the fight. If you want to easily release the front of the board at the start of the fight, you can utilize the “loop trick” to make it very easy to release the front of the board.
If you use braided line as your backing, the OR18 Snapper Release would replace the OR16 at the tail of your board. The OR18 Snapper is a cam operated release that will securely hold your braid in place. In this situation you may want to replace the OR19 on the bracket with the OR39 Sam’s Pro Release to allow you to release the front of the board while fighting a fish. Again, this is versatility to accommodate your preferences and your line combinations.
Moving on to the OR37 Pro Mag boards, I rig them with the OR39 release on the bracket and the OR16 on the tail. Since I’m utilizing mono as my backing, the OR16 works well for me at the tail of the board. It is imperative to ensure that the backer line is secured in the OR16 clip behind the pin in the center of the pad to keep the line from slipping out of the clip.
When using the Pro Mag boards, I set the tension on the OR39 so that I can release the front of the board when I choose to while fighting a fish. Again, if you are using braid as your backing, you will want the OR18 Snapper on the tail of the boards to secure your braid.
If you don’t want the front of the boards to be released at all, you can use the OR18 on the bracket of the boards (either OR12’s or OR37’s) and the board will remain firmly attached to your line until you release them at the back of the boat.
In conclusion, the versatility of the Off Shore Tackle’s in-line planer boards cannot be overstated. If you are not using them, give them a go, you will be glad you did!
