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.