Inline Boards Question

[Shellback]

Ah, the beauty of big boards and a mast! Fish takes the bait, release lets go, and the line is straight down the chute. Well, except when you have an acrobat on the hook. I use inline boards, but they are a pain at times.

[clawman]

I have not used planer boards before so need some help.
Is there really a difference in the Churches, Offshore, and even the Cabelas boards?
What?

[Rapscallion]

When running three boards a side I will run a crank on the outside, either a crank or a harness with a 2 oz on the middle board and a harness with a 3 oz on the inside. The progressively steeper angles on the lines allows you to reel the outside board to within a couple of feet of the middle board, freespool it back about 5', point the rod to the opposite corner of the boat and then burn it in behind the middle board. Repeat as necessary for the next board. Sounds complicated but easy to do do with a bit of practice.

[clawman]

Originally Posted by clawman

I have not used planer boards before so need some help.
Is there really a difference in the Churches, Offshore, and even the Cabelas boards?
What?

Answered my own question today. There IS a fundamental difference. The Churches use the sliding pin on the back so you do not have to deal with another clip as with the Offshore boards. The Cabelas boards are obviously made by Offshore so if you like the Offshore you can buy the Cabelas and save some money.
I like the Churches system so will be going with them.

[Nick D.]

Originally Posted by clawman

Answered my own question today. There IS a fundamental difference. The Churches use the sliding pin on the back so you do not have to deal with another clip as with the Offshore boards. The Cabelas boards are obviously made by Offshore so if you like the Offshore you can buy the Cabelas and save some money.
I like the Churches system so will be going with them.

The Cabela's boards are NOT made by Off Shore. They are a re-branded Opti board, which is a made in China knock off of the Off Shore board with inferior parts. If you use a Tattle-Flag, you will need a release on the back anyways. If you dont have a release on the back when the board trips it will slide down to the fish. With the OR-16 on the back of the Off Shore board it will keep it in place on the line and not slide down.

[clawman]

I mentioned that because the board itself is EXACTLY the same design as Offshore. So are you saying Offshore makes their own boards in the US?
As I mentioned from the start I am trying to learn more about inline boards and have stated my conclusions to this point in the process.
Thanks for your help.

[Juls]

Originally Posted by clawman

I mentioned that because the board itself is EXACTLY the same design as Offshore. So are you saying Offshore makes their own boards in the US?
As I mentioned from the start I am trying to learn more about inline boards and have stated my conclusions to this point in the process.
Thanks for your help.

That's because someone else made a knock off of the Off Shore board. Opti had it made in China, so it was cheap...started out at 9.99 a board.

Cabelas bought them out, and slapped their name on it, and raised the price to 39.99. But, it's still a cheap knock off from China.

To answer your question, yes, the Off Shore boards are made in the USA.

[Nick D.]

Originally Posted by clawman

I mentioned that because the board itself is EXACTLY the same design as Offshore. So are you saying Offshore makes their own boards in the US?
As I mentioned from the start I am trying to learn more about inline boards and have stated my conclusions to this point in the process.
Thanks for your help.

Jules has it right. I can see how someone new to planer board fishing can be confused about the different boards, especially with the Off Shore copies out there. Just remember, cheaper is not always better or even the same, for that matter. Theres a lot to learn, but you can learn a lot from the people on this site.

[clawman]

Originally Posted by Juls

That's because someone else made a knock off of the Off Shore board. Opti had it made in China, so it was cheap...started out at 9.99 a board.

Cabelas bought them out, and slapped their name on it, and raised the price to 39.99. But, it's still a cheap knock off from China.

To answer your question, yes, the Off Shore boards are made in the USA.

Thanks for the history info. I used a Cabelas board this weekend and the clips are very different. If these were less expensive they may be worth using the different clips but at 40. not enough value to make it worth it. Now I'll try the Churches TX-22 compared to the Offshore.
From this novices position I like how the line attaches in the rear of the Churches when you are not using tattle indicators.

[danforth]

Guys stick to Off Shore and support a USA company and not the China made ones from Cabalas, They are starting to disappoint me in trying to copy cat and sell cheap stuff like lures and boards ect.