Tru Trip help

Fished Kelley's Island shoal today and only caught sheephead. It was the first time I tried TT 40's. I ran 4 poles btw 60-30 back at 2 mph. The problem I had was being able to read the boards. I use the off shore inline boards and the TT 40's were almost vertical in the water and the flags were fully retracted. The only way I accidentally caught the 1st sheephead was hearing the drag on the pole. After that I set all the poles just enough so the drag would hold and if something hit I could hear it. Still didn't help the walleye but ended up catching some big sh. I was fishing in 30-35' with worm harnesses and stinger spoons. I read on here several are using the inline boards with TT's. Am I doing something wrong with that set up?

We run the TT40s with Church Walleye boards, the tension spring is on the last setting and it still lays the flags back a bit once we get up over 2.0 mph. I'm probably going to look around for some slightly stiffer springs to replace what we're currently using. Just don't want to go too far the other way or the flags won't work at all. The divers pull pretty hard, but they're still the best option I can find for trolling this end of the lake.

I have never used the OffShore boards for TT-40 divers but use them with the Church Walleye Boards and most often with the Church TX-22 Boards. If you were catching sheephead and the diver was not tripping then you must have the tension set to tight, the tension is much less than you would think it should be. I only added the part about the release tension because you did not state if they were releasing or not.

Once the diver trips, the board will level out some and will look entirely different than if the diver has not tripped. If the fish is just swimming along for the ride or has gotten off then the board will be more horizontal in the water than if the diver has not tripped since the divers ability to dive has been eliminated until it is reset. You stated that this was the first time you have used the TT-40 divers so it is my thought that you should remain patient and learn to read the boards better than what you are capable of just starting out and not rely as much on the TT flags. There is a learning curve in using the inline boards and experience will increase your ability to read them.

The TT-40 divers do pull hard and they make the boards squat in the back some, but you should still be able to see the board jerk back and recover and then jerk back again and recover when you have a larger fish on and sometimes with the smaller junk fish also. They are sort of like a big bobber and slide back in a jerking motion or completely sink.

You need to put slack in between the front and back clips. It also sounds like your springs aren't strong enough. My flags only pull back a little. Another option is to switch to the trutrip 30. They don't pull quite as hard and still get plenty of depth.

Not sure if the fish tripped the release but that make sense. I must have them set too tight. I see there are 3 positions the leader can hook to. Is one better than the other? Even after being tripped I notice there is still a fair amount of pull from the TT. I see you say the boards squat some but mine were almost vertical. The Offshore and Church look to be about the same size so I assume the Church's ride the same in the water? A few of the big sheephead made the board disappear so those were easy to read. :)

I had slack in the clips but yes I can see I need stronger springs. The only time the flags were upright were on inside turns.

don't feel bad that's a hard set up to read extra hard the bigger the waves. if you were using harnesses switch to inline weights or 30 jets as said if using spoons

To adjust the trutrips there is a Philips head screw where the clip is that you can tighten or loosen. We all went through these days. It's Lake Erie education.

I got my education about 6 weeks ago. I had the same problem, my boards looked almost horizontal they were pulling so hard. I couldn't tell when I had a fish on either. I adjusted the trip tension so that should help some. Like Wakina said, there is a learning curve for us rookie trollers.

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Originally Posted by ghostly

I had slack in the clips but yes I can see I need stronger springs. The only time the flags were upright were on inside turns.

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I am not sure but I think the Off Shore Boards have a hole in the front release clip arm, you can take a number 32 rubber band cinch it to the front clip using that hole and pull the rubber band around the front of the board and hook it to the wire that goes thru the flag on the tag end hook of the wire that sticks thru the flag. You can then adjust the amount of tension needed by adjusting the amount of rubber band that goes from the flag to the front of the board. More rubber band in that area gives less tension and less(stretched tighter) gives more tension. Believe me the rubber bands work. They are available at office supply stores for a few dollars for more than enough for a season as they normally last for a weekend of fishing before I change them. Just keep the spares out of the sun and you are good to go.

I have that setup on my Church boards for times when I have others on board that feel more comfortable with the TT Flags, I drilled holes in the release arm that the clip mounts to to accommodate the rubber band. If you try this you can you can remove the springs and keep them for backup using only the rubber bands. You may have to make the hole a little bigger in the front release arm to accommodate the # 32 rubber band size. the Rubber bands are cheap and easy to change and the have an almost infinite adjustment range.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.