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Question and Answer Categories are:
TADPOLES
Q. 081313. I just ordered OR36 #1 Tadpoles. Beside
spoons and harnesses, how will these tadpoles do with small
crank baits like 2"shad raps or 2" flicker shads?
A. You should not have any problem trolling small
cranks behind the #1. We tested with stick baits such as
#7 and #9 rapala's and they were fine. Pretty sure that
at lower speed, they should pull those 2" baits.
Q. 063013. Had a quick question about running the
OR36 series tadpoles. I know they have clips on each end
of them already, but will it affect anything if I already
have a ball bearing snap swivel on my rod line and snap
it to the snap already on the tadpole? I wasn't sure if
it would affect its diving or release features.
A. You can add to the snap on the front angle of
the Tadpole; however, it is important to use a round bend
snap on the front to be certain it doesn't bind when a fish
hits.
Q. 062713. If you use a crank bait with a tadpole
and it dives 4-8 ft., say a bandit 200, does the running
depth of the lure happen in addition to the dive curve depth
of the Tadpole?
A. We normally run stick baits with the Tadpole,
spoons or night crawler rigs. The big lipped baits sometimes
pull so hard they will trip the tadpole. I am not familiar
with the bandit, but if it does not trip the tadpole, then
you would add the curve to the listed depth of the bait.
Sometimes, it may be better to use the OR20 Pro Weight System
10-15' in front of the crank if it has a deep diving lip.
Q. 061413. Can you run tadpoles off of OR12's with
the Tattle Flag set up?
A. You should be able to run the #1 and #2 with
the tattle flag. As long as there is movement in the flag,
it will show you if you have a fish. I have run big deep
running cranks with the flag almost to the board, but still
it showed the strike.
Q. 061013. I just bought new boards with the tattle
flag upgrade. Do the tadpoles work with the flags or does
it pull too much?
A. They should be fine, as long as there is movement
in the flag it will still let you know there is a fish on.
The flag doesn't have to be straight up.
Q. 032613. How much line do you use for a lead from
the tadpole, to the lure?
A. We have gone anywhere from direct to the Tadpole
with a wire crawler harness to 3-4 feet. If you're getting
hits and not hooking up, shorten the lead since they may
be hitting the Tadpole. There is no hard and fast rule,
but this will get you started. Treat it the same as any
in line weight system. For salmon, we are using as long
a lead as possible to use and still net the fish without
hand lining the fish in. Generally 4-8 feet for salmon using
stick baits or spoons.
Q. 021913. OR36 Tadpoles were recently recommended
to me for use fishing for deep walleye. I have the dive
charts and have looked at much of the information, but one
thing I'm not sure of. Do you add the depth of the tadpole
to the depth of the crank bait you're using? I use a lot
of flicker shads and they dive around 13 feet on 10 pound
line. So if I add a tadpole I can reach depths to 30 feet
or more by letting the tadpole out to 17 feet?
A. The Tadpole is designed for stick baits, harnesses
and spoons. Lures that are deep diving may over power the
way the tadpole sets itself and just turn it into an in
line weight. To get deeper with the flicker shads, I would
recommend the Guppy weight we make and use it as a snap
weight 20-30 feet ahead of the lure and experiment with
different links until you get the depth you need.
Q. 082712. I fish walleye in Lake Erie off the city
of Erie, Pa in 60+ feet of water; my boat isn't right for
big boards so. I would like to use the OR12 in line boards
with 5 colors of lead core, 1 oz. weight, an 800 series
reef runner and troll at 1.8-2.0 mph. I want to get down
48-52 feet. Will OR12 Side Planers work with this scenario
and if I rig my board with an OR12TF Tattle Flag, will this
set up work with this amount of pull?
A. To answer your first question, using 5 colors
and 1 oz. with an 800 series reef runner will work. We are
pulling 300' of copper wire for salmon and even adding a
#2 Tadpole behind it and that is getting us down to 70+
feet.
Answer to your second question, about the using the OR12TF
Tattle Flag upgrade, no. There are a lot of anglers pulling
a full core and 3 oz. weights with various stick baits to
fish the deep water of Lake Erie with Off Shore OR12 Side
Planers.
Q. 081112. I have your OR12 Side Planer and was
wondering if I could run the tadpole weight with an 800
reef runner to get it down? Would the lure "false"
trip the weight?
A. The tadpole is designed to be used with spoons,
spinners and stick baits. Using a real large bait or one
with a deep running bill probably would not work. For that,
I would recommend using our OR20 Pro Weight System and putting
a 3 oz. Guppy on the line about 20' ahead of the bait. Experiment
with lead lengths until you find the fish.
Q. 061912. I am looking for more specific data for
your OR20 series snap weight and OR36 series tadpole products
than what I find published on your site. I have your published
information, but I am wondering if you have the following:
1. Information on the effect of more or less feet of line
out for the snap weights. For example, if I let out 75 or
100 feet of line out (instead of 50) when using a 2 oz.
snap weight it goes deeper than 19' at 1.5 mph, correct?
Do you have specifics on this?
2. Do you have any data for your tadpole products, rather
than the published graphs?
A. This is the best way of having some geometric
method of determining depth, especially since it is so speed
conscious. The other way (and how I do it) is to use either
the same weight and vary the line lengths on each board
or to keep the same line length and vary the weights and
let the fish tell you what they want. Repeat the one they
like on the other rods and have fun.
Q. 061412. I bought 3 tadpoles for cranks and spoons.
If I'm running tots and want to target 14 ft., do I disregard
the precision trolling dive chart 120 feet back and go with
the tadpole chart that says 45 feet? How much of a lead
do I need to run from tadpole to lure? Do I tie it directly
to the spoon or tot, or run a small snap lock to lure?
A. The tadpole is designed to run spinners, spoons
and stick baits, not deep diving or big billed lures like
tots, reef runners, shad raps etc. If you want to run deep
baits deeper, place a 2 oz. snap weight 20' ahead of the
crank bait and add the depth you would get with 2 oz. to
the depth you would get from the deep diver for the amount
of line out.
Tadpoles, spinners, spoons or stick baits need a leader
length short enough to enable you to net the fish. I use
3-6' on spoons and stick baits and 3' on spinners. Occasionally,
I will attach the spinner directly to the Tadpole like the
old erie dearie way.
Q. 061412. I have an OR12 with the OR12TF Tattle
Flag attached and am planning on using either the # 1 or
# 2 OR36 Tadpoles behind the board with a rapala crank bait
for some suspended walleye (in 30-50 ft. depth). Will the
board work with the Tadpoles and the Tattle Flag set up,
or do I need to take the Tattle Flag off and return to the
OR12 to its original configuration?
A. I am assuming you're going to run rapala stick
baits, not big lipped diving baits right? That Tadpole is
not designed to work with diving baits. To get diving baits
deeper, you want to put a 2-3 oz. guppy snap weight 20'
ahead of the lure.
The tattle flag will work with the tadpole or the snap
weight. You have to move the spring down on the board and
as long as there is movement left in the flag it will be
fine. The flag does not have to be all the way up, just
be able to move down when a fish hits. We occasionally take
the spring from the hole in the flag and wrap it around
the stem of the flag above the triangle to get a little
more tension for big, deep divers.
Q. 011512. I saw the use of your OR36 Tadpoles on
TV this morning. I have been looking for a diver that will
work at 6-7 knots when fishing tuna. Just want to get 10
under the surface. Will your product do that?
A. That is a little over the top for such a small
product. We have never run the #2 at that speed, what are
you pulling behind it? Small lure or live bait would probably
work, but anything that pulls hard would trip the Tadpole.
Q. 062911. For the tadpole, what might you suggest
for a leader length for a crank bait - certainly the long
the better, but 4 to 6 feet sounds reasonable?
A. The reason we don't put a leader length for the
Tadpole is because there is none. I have run harnesses directly
to the Tadpole and spoons 10' back. Every condition requires
a different length and something the angler should discover
with his experience on his particular water. I guess we
could put in a starting length, but that may bring up as
much discussion as not putting in a length. Everyone will
tell me the correct length to use! Lol!
Q. 031811. I troll for trout in our lakes using
6ft light pole with 6-8 lb. line. What planer board and
tadpole should I buy?
A. The OR36 1 (#1) Tadpole would probably be best
for depth up to 25'; however, the 6-8 lb. line you're using
could handle either the #1 or #2 (OR36 2). The OR34 Mini
Planer would work best with the #1.
Q. 031011. I have never used planer boards before
and I am not sure what I need. We fish for bass and walleye
mostly but they do have stripers were we fish (Bull Shoals
& Lake Arkansas). I am interested in the planer boards
as well as the tadpoles. How do I determine whether I need
right or left and what type of releases do you recommend
for 10-20 lb. mono and fluorocarbon. How do the tadpoles
work? What causes the release once a strike has occurred?
Would a snag or bouncing on bottom cause a release?
A. Both the OR12 Side Planer and the OR34 Mini Planer
will work for striper. We have several videos and articles
on our website for even more info, but I will give you quick
overview.
The OR34 works with live bait for stripers very well, just
put the shad on with little or no weight and let it out
slowly to the side. They are easily reversible from right
to left.
The OR12 has been designed for salmon, walleye and striper
when using heavier weights or larger crank baits. Again,
you let the lure out to get to the desired depth and pinch
it on the line. They are designated as Left and Right so
you will need one for each side (or 2 for each side). You
will not have to change releases on either product for most
applications.
The Tadpoles trip when a fish pulls on the lure which is
being run on a leader 1' to 4' behind the Tadpole. It will
not trip if you bounce the Tadpole on the bottom, but if
you snag the lure, it will. The line slides down from the
bend in the Tadpole and releases the drag from the wide
flat lip that makes it dive. If the fish gets loose, the
Tadpole will reset and begin diving again. You should bring
it in and check it though for clean lures or bitten off
night crawlers.
This is pretty simple, but once you start fishing them
you will find they are easy and catch fish.
Q. 022211. How are the OR36 Tadpole dive charts
based?
A. All the depths on the Tadpoles are based on the
distance from the back of the side planer. For example 150'
back is 30' down - the 150' is from the tail of the board.
This is the way all of Mark's depth curves are based.
Q. 021411. Can tadpoles be used for crappie?
A. Using Tadpoles with small jigs and small crank
baits is a great way to catch summer crappie when they are
suspended along banks and channels in 15 to 30 feet of water.
Q. What size line do I need for using the Tadpole?
I have ten pound big game on my walleye reels, is this ok?
A. You will be fine with 10 lb, the dive curves
are done with that. Heavier line will raise the curve slightly,
but consistency is the way to catch fish with Tadpoles.
Put the same amount each time and you will be in the same
place. I usually put 4 or more Tadpoles out at different
lengths and let the fish tell me which one is right.
Q. How deep do tadpole weights take a worm harness?
A. We have the dive curve on our website for 1.5
and 2.5 mph. Mark Romanack is working on another curve that
will include 1 mph or less. For general trolling, you can
get up to 30' with the OR36 2 and high 20's with the OR36
1 with crawler harnesses.
Q. I saw your add for tadpole weights and would like
some more information on them. What are the two weights
and how big are they? What depth ranges would they get a
crankbait down to?
A. The Tadpoles are called OR36 1 (Size 1) and OR36
2 (Size 2). We don't go by weight; the depth for them is
about 28' for the Size 1 and 31 for the Size 2 with 160'
of line out. This is at 1.5 mph and is only about 10% less
at 2.5 mph. Both were designed for stickbaits, spoons and
spinners but time will tell how they react to big lipped
cranks. I recommend putting a different length of line out
and letting the fish tell you which is right. The same is
true of the OR20 Pro Weight System.
Q. I have been reading about your new tadpole product.
Sounds like a great way to target suspended fish in the
Great Lakes. The article mentions the dive curve stats need
to be checked. I can't find this information. Could you
tell me where to look for this info?
A. Go to our home page (www.offshoretackle.com)
and click on the Dive Chart link.
Q. I have a question about one of your new products,
the Tadpole. It comes in two sizes, No. 1 and No. 2. Is
there a functional difference I should know about before
purchasing one or the other?
A. The difference in the Tadpoles is that the Size
1 will not dive as deep as Size 2. Click on our Dive Chart
button on our website for more information. I recommend
putting the tadpole out at with a different length on each
one and letting the fish tell you which is right. Similar
to how the OR20 Pro Weight system (formerly known as the
Snap Weight System) works.
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