Hey fellows, has any one used Off Shore mini planners for lighted tackle. Thanks in advance. Pros or cons

I use them on inland lakes to pull shad raps, wally divers, and smaller cranks. They work very well.

Yup, I picked one up this spring as my first attempt at planer boards. First attempt was during a mayfly hatch because I was bored, didn't catch anything. Second attempt was 2 weeks ago and caught numerous northerns just inside the outside weeldine. The first one bit within 5 seconds of putting it out. Seemed to outfish the other trolled lures by about 3-1. Great benefits are ease of storage since they are so small, and they are reversible so one board can be fished to the port or starboard.

I have two complaints about the "mini" size. First there is a limit on how much drag your lure imparts. The deeper larger cranks will pull it underneath the water. The second is that since it is unweighted, it will not pull out to the side as far as a standard size board. Still I was able to get 30-35 feet away which I considered decent.

If I was trolling for suspended deep walleye using large cranks, this board would not work. If I'm trolling the mid depths and want a shallow crank to run close to shore, then I'm hoping it will work very well. That's my plan for some evening/night trolling runs this fall.

Yes they are fantastic to use when you are by yourself because you just squeeze the release and let the board slide down your line. Put a bead or snap ahead of your lure to keep the board from sliding all the way down to the fish. The boards are great for detecting light biters. Each board is designed to run off of both sides of the boat by switching the release to the opposite side of the board... Nice product very versatile!!!

Would they be able to handle #5 and # 7 HOT n TOTS ??

Would they be able to handle #5 and # 7 HOT n TOTS ??

Yup, that size shouldn't be a problem. Some example problem lures are the big Reef Runners, the large Rapala Tail Dancers, Yo-Zuri Magnums, etc. Some that are marginal are deep husky jerks, size 11 Tail Dancers, etc. Go too fast with these and it will pull the board down. I wonder if adding some flotation to the board would help?

The real benefit I see is that it's still easy to tell when you have a strike or fish on with the smaller size boards. Plus they are reversible and easy to store.