Tru Trip help

[ghostly]

I've been running the boards without the flags to try to make it simpler because with the wind lately the speed varies 1.0 mph (into wind and with the wind) and the flags show a big difference. I've been reading about how the flags give a better look but I'm still learning. I like your earlier advise about loosening the screw and seeing the boards move to a more horizontal position. I will probably head to Cabelas or Bass Pro and pick up a pair of the Church's and give them a try. Too bad I didn't ask sooner because I have a lot invested in the Offshore with the OR18 and tattle flags. I think I'm up to $100/lb for the walleye and heading higher. I will have to give the rubber bands a try to tighten the flags.

[Hoytman86]

You don't have to invest in new boards (although I'd recommend the church boards over offshore sure to the clip in the back that keeps the board from coming off of the line). A little modification of what you have should work. I'm probably going to try Wakina's rubber band method soon myself. Good luck!

[rick2752]

Every board will have it's learning curve. You just have to put your time in. No matter what it's not going to be so simple as to the flag is up....no fish.... The flag is down I have a fish. You yourself are still learning to rig and read your boards, then you bring someone else on board and they do something minor different and the board runs completely different. Imagine being a charter. Lol. Everyday it's a training day. With trolling you will catch on, sometimes the rod tells you something is different, sometimes it's the flag and sometimes it's the board. I like having all the same rods so I can see differences. I don't think you want to mix boards though it will just make it tougher to learn. I would order some trutrip 30s though. 30s are plenty deep for most of western basin Put a bait out where u can see the jet diver in the water, maybe a ft or 2 deep. Give it a jerk and it should trip, if not it's to tight. You will get it, it just takes time

[wakina]

Although I prefer the Church Boards because they can handle more weight and the nifty rear pin that almost makes losing a board impossible, there is nothing wrong with the Off Shore Boards. I think the best new investment you can make at this time would be some TT-30 divers. As has been stated you can get the depth that you need out of them easy enough and the only difference is that it takes more line out to achieve the same depth but they do pull easier than the TT-40 divers. Like I said I don't know that much about the Off Shore Boards but you might want to check and see if the lead ballast weight is adjustable. If it is then move it all the way forward to put more weight on the front of the board to help some in bringing down a little of the vertical angle caused by the divers pulling weight on the rear of the board.

If you are using more than one board per side you can also watch the angle the boards are running away from the boat, I call it the V effect with the bottom of the V being the boat and the wings being the line out to your boards. If either one is lagging back even just a little then some thing has change on one or the other. It could be a junk fish hooked up or a larger fish just sort of swimming along making the board lag some. Then again it could be that the one that is forward some has been tripped and that is the reason there is a difference in the two or more boards on that wing of the V or it could be both. Your patience will be rewarded and eventually your experience will help you you to determine which is which. Please be aware that the port side wing of the V will most likely be at a different angle than the starboard side due to wind direction, currents or both.

[Old Wheezer]

Hey Wakina, do you remove the spring or leave it on when attaching the rubber band? Never mind, I just saw in your previous post to remove the spring.

[Greatwhitehunter]

A little trick I use on the walleye board I heat up the arm with a lighter and bend it up slightly. Makes the board run better to the side of the boat.

[itsbob]

last season was using the tru trip40 with the inline boards.Our inline boards are modified for the flag to go down but we don't use the spring in their kit but a size 33 rubber band.When using the tru trip40 with our rubber band,pulled the flag all the way back.I added another 33 rubber band to the board and I was able to read the board and the flag pulled down when we had a good fish on.Think the tru trips pull too hard for the inline boards.Think tru trips work better on the big boards with the releases.We have been using the #2 tadpoles on the inline boards this season and they have worked great for us.

[ghostly]

Lots of great info here. Thanks to all! I'm not too concerned about matching the boards early in my learning curve only because the resale value of good fishing & trolling gear seems to be very good. I've checked several of the auction sites and good equipment in good condition goes for 80%-90% of it's original value. One thing I learned reading here and other articles is if you're running several poles it seems to be more important they are all the same so you can eliminate the variables created by having different rods and reels. Given that I'll probably get a set of the Church's and TT 30's and give them a try. Hopefully I can find some walleye and not sheephead.

[wakina]

I forgot to add that you adjust the tension on the flag with the rubber band using the front of the board. You just stretch the rubber band over the front of the board with more or less stretch in the rubber band on the flag/back side of the board. The tighter the rubber band is the more force needed to move the flag back and of course less stretch lowers the force needed to move the flag. Surprisingly the rubber band stays put where you put it on the narrow board front. This works well with my Church boards while pulling TT-40 divers and should work equally well with the Off Shore Boards with the TT-40 divers.