Disclaimer:
Our products may change over the years and therefore some
questions may reflect past and/or current product changes.
Instructions sheets are available on this site under the Instruction
Sheets tab.
When new Questions and Answers are loaded onto this site,
the newer ones will be placed directly below each category
heading, which means that products may have changed during
the years and older questions and answers that appear farther
down, may not reflect the current versions of the product.
Question and Answer Categories are:
TATTLE FLAGS
Q. 083113. I'm having a problem with my tattle flags
not standing straight up or nearly straight up when I'm
trolling with bottom bouncers.
I have 3 OR12L's, 6 OR12R's, 6 OR12TF's, and 6 OR18's.
I'm making sure that I keep extra fishing line between the
two snaps just like your videos.
I first tried using the lightest setting but it didn't
work and then I proceeded to try all settings with the spring.
I finally placed the spring connection to the strongest
position (bottom) and my flags act as though I have weeds
or a fish on it. Immediately they don't stand straight up
but at least they are not totally down. I use 2 oz. and
3 oz. bottom bouncers trolling between 1 and 2 mph fishing
Lake Erie for walleye.
A. With the OR12 Tattle Flags, the flag will not
stand up straight with heavy weights but as long as there
is room for them to move they will do their job. You can
remove the spring from the base of the flag and hook it
around the stem to get a little more tension on them. Ideally,
they should be back about 30 degree's so that if the lure
gets fouled, it will let the flag go straight up and tell
you it is not pulling as it should.
Q. 060713. I'm having issues with the clips on my
OR12 planer boards with the tattle flag setup. On 5 of my
6 boards the OR16 clip pads are stuck together. This makes
getting the line between them near impossible. Weak adhesive?
I have also lost 3 nylon nuts. Please let me know if other
customers are having the same issues and what can be done
to resolve them. As far the overall performance of the boards,
I have been very pleased as they pull true and put me on
more fish!
A. The usual cause of the pads sticking is not putting
something between them during long storage periods. I usually
put a business card or something like that in mine. Best
way to loosen them up is to torque them slightly sideways
to break the friction loose.
Each board came with a screw and spare nut on each bracket
to use to replace the ones you may lose. Make sure you check
tightness prior to setting the board out each time as the
instructions indicate. If you want to get a lock nut instead,
they are 6 x 32 and available in stainless at most marine
or hardware stores.
Q. 043013. I am using your tattle flags for both
walleye and salmon and love them! What is the diameter wire
you use, as I am looking to upgrade the existing wires to
handle the harder fighting king salmon? The heaviest I found
was .062, will this work?
A. Wires are .035.
Q. 022013. I have a set of OR12's with the tattle
flag kit that I use for walleye. I am thinking about going
after some kokanee this summer using 6lb mono. Should I
get a set of OR34's or just maybe take the tattle flag kit
off of my OR12's, so I have the original lighter releases?
A. While the OR12 with the tattle flag will work,
I think you would have a lot more fun with the OR34 on those
small salmon. I have caught them this way and they are a
blast! I would rig the OR34 with the OR10 yellow clip on
the bracket in the light setting and then replace the back
snap swivel with one of the red OR16's from your tattle
flag boards. Now when you hook up on a fish, snap the rod
towards the motor to release the yellow clip and the board
will just be on the line like a bobber and you will get
the full fight out of the fish.
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. 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. I have one of your OR12's with the OR12TF Tattle
Flag Upgrade installed on it. I have the spring set on the
lightest setting you can but the flag does not go down to
let me know when I have a fish on. I see that you said if
you use tail dancers #11 it will take down the flag but
it doesn't on my board.
A. I think your setting the spring too light. Put
it in the bottom hole. If that doesn't work, take the wire
out of the hole in the flag and put it around the stem of
the flag and adjust the front hole position of the spring
until you're happy with the performance. Remember to keep
an eye on the spring when you have it around the stem as
it may fall off when in the boat.
Q. Will your OR12TF Tattle Flag Upgrade Kit work
on the Church Tackle "Walleye Board"?
A. No, our OR12TF is built for the OR12 and OR31
Off Shore Side Planers only.
Q. Why are the OR32 and OR33 Night Lights not designed
for use with the tattle flag set up?
A. While fishing in the dark, you can't see the movement
of the tattle flag so it won't aide in catching fish. The
OR32 and OR33 Night Lights allow you to keep an eye on where
your boards are running in the dark or low light conditions.
Q. I've never used in line boards before. I want
to pick up the OR12TF Tattle Flag Kit for walleye. Is there
complete instructions included? I don't have a clue. Also
I run 10# FireLine on everything; will the releases hold
that small of diameter? My release for my downrigger does
so I'm hoping for the same. Lastly, I was going to use the
line counters on the Cabela's Whuppin' Sticks and they are
7 1/2 feet long with medium action. Any thoughts?
A. I think you will be happy with the OR12 or the
OR31 (orange) Side Planer. The tattle flag kit will work
with your FireLine. You may want to add the OR18 (Snapper)
on the tow board or wrap the FireLine as it shows in the
directions included with both the boards and the upgrade
kits. We have all the previous Off Shore Release newspaper
articles online on this website that have a lot of articles
about using boards and tattle flags.
Your choice of rods will be good. I like a 7 1/2' rod myself.
Q. I am thinking about purchasing your tattle flags
for my Off Shore planer boards, but my only concern is that
when I am pulling a plug like a Rapala Deep Tail Dancer
11, the pull of the lure will make the flag stay down all
the time. Will the tattle flags work with hard pulling/deep
diving crankbaits?
A. While the larger cranks may pull the flag back,
as long as the flag still has the ability to move, it will
tell you when there is a fish. We pull the Reef Runners
and snap weights with the tattle flag setup.
Q. I use the yellow boards with flags; when I am
pulling in average wind and pulling Bomber 24A's at 1.8-2
mph, the flags go down about ½ way when I troll and
is hard to tell when a fish is on. With small fish you drag
them for minutes without noticing.
Is there a way to remedy this? I use FireLine and usually
have 125' to 180' out on the line counter depending on depth
out of line is there a heavier or lighter spring?
A. As long as there is room for movement, the flags
should show changes in drag on the lure. Watch them close
as sometimes the flag will come up instead of go down with
smaller fish. This is because they lower the drag from the
big lipped cranks. I have noticed this more on Reef Runners
than anything else.
Also, you might try removing the spring from the hole in
the flag and putting it around the stem above the triangle
where the flag is screwed into the board. Some anglers have
also cut the spring at the bend and re-bent it, giving it
even more tension.
Q. I am running Off Shore in line planer boards with
tattle tale flag kits installed. I find the flag stays down
all the time when using deep diving crankbaits like Rapala
Tail Dancer, deep husky jerk or deep reef runners to name
a few. I have the spring set on the highest setting and
the flag still stays down all the time. What am I doing
wrong or is there a stronger spring available to prevent
this but still detect a walleye being dragged along? Help!
A. The tattle flag is usually associated with something
that has a little less drag on the board as this is where
the tattle flag shines. However, I have tried to increase
the spring tension by removing the spring end from the hole
and re-attaching the round end over the stem of the flag.
If you're going to be predominately using large cranks,
you may try cutting the spring where it goes through the
board and re-bending it for additional tension.
Q. I was wondering if you would sell me a set of
6 Off Shore planer boards, pre-rigged with the tattle flag
and the adjustable clamp-down clips. I have looked into
buying all of this separately but it gets very pricey and
is a lot of work to set all of that up. Why don't you offer
them that way "off-the-shelf"?
A. We do not specially make up the pre-rigging assemblies
due to the fact that we need to stay within what our retailers
sell and have available (which limits SKU's). Usually we
have found that most anglers use the boards with different
setups during different fishing adventures. So when they
purchase the accessories, they still have all of the original
equipment to use under different situations that would produce
more fish for them. The boards were on the market long before
the tattle flag system and then the OR18's came out so this
is another reason for not packaging or specializing in setups.
As the fishing venues change, we will be coming out with
more options for the rigging and usage of the boards. The
accessories allow the angler more of an adaptation to their
needs at a particular time which may change by the hour
of fishing and the conditions.
The cam action of the OR18's will not work with the tattle
flag setup, only the OR16's. You can purchase the items
separately for converting your boards over to tattle flag
setup if you already have the OR16's.
Q. I just recently purchased a tattle flag system
for my planer boards and was curious to know what happens
if a big fish like a wiper or striper hits the lure on system?
A. When a big fish hits a board with a tattle flag,
the flag goes down really fast!
With that said, it doesn't affect anything when using the
tattle flag on those fish. We don't very often, but when
fishing walleye in the striper lakes it does happen.
Q. I have 6 of your in line planer boards and have
the tattle flag kits on all of them. I have problems with
the flags going down when pulling # 7 or larger shad raps.
I have tried moving the spring locations, lengthening the
loop in the line between the clips but nothing seems to
help. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Your products
have worked great for me while pulling smaller cranks, I
would just like to be able to expand the usefulness of your
product.
A. My suggestion would to remove the spring from
the hole in the flag and place it around the stem above
the triangle where the flag is screwed into the board. This
has done the trick for us in the past, we run Reef Runners
with snap weights on the tattle flags, just not at high
speeds. Also, the flag doesn't have to stick straight up
when pulling larger baits, as long as there is movement
in the flag, you can still tell if you had a fish.
Q. I just don't understand how I am supposed to reel
in a fish with three planer boards that have the tattle
flag system on them? I mean, I have three boards running
on the same side, but when a fish gets on, I reel it in
and get all tangled up with the other boards or lines. So,
what am I doing wrong?
A. When running multiple boards you have several
ways to bring a fish in when it hits one of the outside
boards.
1. Drop the inside boards back until they are far enough
back to allow you to land the fish by bringing it in ahead
of the other board(s). (This is best with long leads).
2. Reel in the inside board and set it in the motor well
while you fight the other fish.
3. Let the fish pull the board back until he clears the
rest of the boards. (This is good when using short leads).
Set the hook with a firm pull on the rod, not a BASS fishing
jerk! Then let him pull it out of formation.
These are some of the methods we have used to help.
Q. It looks like the OR18 series clips are what you
suggest for getting them to not slide when using lead core
or FireLine. I would also like your suggestion for keeping
springs from falling off.
A. No, we do not recommend using the OR18 Snapper
Release as a drop back type of release. Not that it won't
work that way, we designed it to hold FireLine and the pad
gets frayed with the line being pulled out of the clip after
awhile. Springs falling off are usually the result of storage
or handling them in the boat. I lose mine when they get
stuck in the carpet of my boat and I yank on them! I have
not had a problem with this happening while in use.
|