planer boards

I'll admit I'm way behind the times with this technique, spent some time researching them this weekend and the cost. 180.00 for 4 . has anyone here had experience with them and is the investment worth it? I'm on a highland reservoir and late summer the fish I'm seeing suspend on bait and are in deep brush. thought they might be another tool in my boat? also when fish start going shallow in spring before they go to the bank may also be a game changer? Have witnessed crappie surface feed in the fall may be able to pull small light jigs behind them as well? Love to here the pro's and con's of planer boards? if this has been hashed out here before I missed the discussion...sorry? later LB P.S. brand of boards would help me investigate deeper..

$180 for 4??? Are they gold plated?

Check with tenncrappie on the Tenn forum. He builds a great board for a whole lot less. Unless you are pulling big deep-diving cranks you don't need a huge board. I use the Opti boards with flags from Northwoods Outlet for big cranks.

Opti Tackle® The Ultimate Planer Board w/Working Spring Flag System

I run boards all the time. Not just for crappie but for Walleye, salmon, steelhead and so on. I think the price point you are looking at is if you were going to purchase like the OR12 planer board with tattle flag system from offshore.

That is my personal board of choice but that is because I use them for way more than crappie fishing (was pulling 4 just yesterday on Saginaw bay walleye fishing). The tattle flags are great tools that work really well on all kinds of fish.

For what you are looking to do, I recommend the Offshore Mini Planer Board. It is called the OR34 and is duel purpose (meaning it can be switched from port to starboard applications). They come ready to go for $17.15 each directly from Off Shore. These board are a lot lighter and smaller but can still do damage on the larger fish. I recently read an article of someone using them on the Keni river in Alaska to get the lures away from the boat targeting large Salmon.

If you have any specific questions, please contact NickD. He is the vice Chairman for Offshore Tackle (his father Bruce Started the Company). Offshore is a member sponsor of our site and I have shared a few crappie camps with them. They sponsor several guys on the crappie tour circuit and are always innovating new tips and tricks for catching crappie with these things.

If I decide to purchase I do want to pull crank baits too. Will the smaller board accommodate ? I'm all for saving money

The Lil' Hustler boards will accommodate up to a 200 Bandit sized crank. You will have to go with a larger board for the 300 bandits or the c55s many of us use. I know Chris (tenncrappie) has been working on a slightly larger board that will allow one to run both small jigs up to deep diver cranks.

I wouldn't hesitate to pull small jigs and curlytails up to big cranks behind the Opti boards. Hard to beat their price.

I had the opportunity to pull the smaller size Opti over the past couple of weeks and they did a great job. They call it a medium and I pulled it in perfect formation with an OR-12 and the equivalent Opti (lg) they and never missed a beat. The medium uses the same flag and clips as the large and does a great job of pulling a 300.

You shouldn't have any issues pulling the cranks with the OR-34 boards. That being said, please keep in mind that I don't have experience with the other boards that some of the other members have mentioned so I really cannot make a comparison between the two. I have used some other boards that are not mentioned however they were inferior to the offshore boards (in my opinion) so I didn't really need to bring them up.

Hopefully you are able to gather as much information as you can and make the best decision possible for yourself.

I use crappie reaper boards. They work good and are very easy to clip on and off. They plane out good and no need for tattle flags. They hand any crank bait I have used on them from 300's to the Chinese cranks to flicker shads.

I firmly believe if you are going to purchase planer boards get the best that will last a fishing lifetime: Off Shore OR-12's! The Tattle flag economy kit (Or-12's come rigged with the clips you need) will help detect light bites. These are the same boards that We used to win the Crappie Masters National Championship in 2013. After using planer boards for over 20 years as well as "testing" most all other boards out there - the choice for me is crystal clear. If you want to "compliment" your planer board line-up, add a few Off Shore OR-34's - I use them a lot when dealing with a system that has a lot of juvenile crappies and other small fish.

Tommy its your info on you tube that has started my search! Thanks for sharing all the info. Again the crappie community has surprised me, another reason I left the bass world. In the last 3 years I went from a minner dipper to a fly tyre, jig maker soft plastic junky! I have become infected

I just bought my or 12's from Fleet Farm. They were on sale for 25$ apiece. Right now they are 28.79 apiece. Which compared to other places is cheap. And they also have the flag kits. I went ahead and bit the bullet. And bought the offshore's. I hate buying something and it not being quality. Or a cheap Chinese knock-off junker.

I have the or 34's also. They will work but they are small. Last year in Mississippi while fishing Lake Lee with the 34's. We actually had gar hit the 34's. And broke them off. They will float so we would just turn around and get them. I suggest buying a bigger board from the start.

I fish out of a 15 year old boat and try to save $$ when I can. In my vocation I buy lots of quality tools that I'm going to use daily. I also buy some from Harbor Freight but they are the ones I might use a couple of times a year. Planer boards are a tool I use a few times a year and the ones I buy for less $$ serve me just as well for the times I use them. If I was being sponsored by some company or using the boards most every time I went fishing I would consider using the expensive ones.

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Originally Posted by Tommy Skarlis

I firmly believe if you are going to purchase planer boards get the best that will last a fishing lifetime: Off Shore OR-12's! The Tattle flag economy kit (Or-12's come rigged with the clips you need) will help detect light bites. These are the same boards that We used to win the Crappie Masters National Championship in 2013. After using planer boards for over 20 years as well as "testing" most all other boards out there - the choice for me is crystal clear. If you want to "compliment" your planer board line-up, add a few Off Shore OR-34's - I use them a lot when dealing with a system that has a lot of juvenile crappies and other small fish.

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What he said....I use them also and.....They are good folks to deal with, have a great product, and they are a Major sponsor of Crappie.Com

I personally havent had much luck with them, I use a 20 14 10 an 5ft. off each side. The 10s an 5s catch the majority of the fish. I would estimate 80%

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Originally Posted by mrdux

$180 for 4??? Are they gold plated?

Check with tenncrappie on the Tenn forum. He builds a great board for a whole lot less. Unless you are pulling big deep-diving cranks you don't need a huge board. I use the Opti boards with flags from Northwoods Outlet for big cranks.

Opti Tackle® The Ultimate Planer Board w/Working Spring Flag System

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What he said! Love my opti-tackle!