In line board questions

[branhamautomotive]

New to pulling offshore in lines. We are running braid, so we have snapper clips up front with the safety pins, out back we have churches adjustable flat pads.

Questions are on the back clips, when the fish pull back, do I want that line to be able to come out, or should we set those or double loop to keep them from coming off?

Second which order of releasing the line from the board do ppl find less likely to put slack in the line or knock fish off. Front first or last.

Third when running 3 lines a side and fishing a spread say 40 to 80 back, does it work best to put longer leads to the inside or outside. I know as boards come in and out that order will change. I ask cause we got lines crossed with a fish on. I thought I gave enough time for the fish to rise up, which leads to the next question ,

On pull back how long should you wait to reel. Or do you take a few cranks before removing from rod holder.

And last, how much space should be left between boards, cause I guess that could cause a cross up as well.

Thanks for any help or pointers.

[Firetiger]

I set my boards up so they don't release and slide all the way back to the weight . I want the board off the line asap. Some guys do , but I prefer not to . It's your choice . I always run my lines with the deepest next to the boat . When a outside board trips I let the others slide back a little and bring the fish across after that, or you can make a little turn to help with that . As far as spreading them out , it's just depends . If I'm marking a lot of fish high in column ,I want my boards out farther from boat if traffic allows , as not to spook them . This is just what works for me , there are several ways to do it .

[branhamautomotive]

Firetiger, so if I understand you. If you have fish on the outside board you let the inside boards slide back and pads the outside board in front of the other inside ones?

I thought it should be going behind the others? At least that's what we did, the board pulled back, came across the back, but some how we snagged the middle line.

We had shallower leads farthest out

[Firetiger]

This is how I run mine. I never reel anything in . If it's a big fish alot if times it will swing back behind the other boards by itself , but if not I just move the inside ones back a little .


http://youtu.be/GY1MkxQb6pA

[mikecat13]

Very helpful techniques for newbies like myself, thanks guys!

Here's probably a silly question...what are the reasons for running flags up vs flags down?

[ebijack]

Lots of ways to do it. Mine I prefer the front clip to release. I use these, they work very well with braided line, adjust as required http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/f...ip-436675.html
Even kids can put them on/take off rod lines. If you have hand problems they are the easiest to use. To get to release when a fish hits or you want to release the clip, you will have to back the adjustment screw way out. You can grab your rod infront of the reel, smack the handle and the line will pop right out. With the front clip releasing, the board will fall out of formation and head towards the rear of the boat. When ready, reset the line and board, with thumb on reel, slowly let out the rear of your boat so your bait is not dragging on bottom but actually working/diving as it should. Engage the reel when the board reaches the approximate point/distance back when you had a fish take it back. The board will swing right back into the original location. Adjust as required to get the spacing you need.
If you prefer to have both releases stay attached to the line. Lift rod tip high and slowly walk to the rear of the boat. The board will fall from formation, turn the boat a bit to aid in getting that board more towards the rear of the boat. Reset as stated above.
Spacing between boards will change with conditions. Since your learning, I'd suggest going for around a visual boat with. As you learn, you can run them much tighter together. I have/can run 5 offshores per side without a problem and a down rod ( bouncer rod, no board).
Like mentioned, deepest baits, closest to the boat.
When releasing clips from the line with fish on, as long as you have control of the line with one hand, using the other to release clips. You want to keep a tight line to the fish, never let the line go slack or snap as that will allow the fish to let go/get off. Once the board is removed, put tension on the line using the rod ( slight bend in the rod) then let go of the line. The person who is holding the rod now has control of the fish. If your doing all this by yourself, set the rob butt down towards the front of the boat, grab the line with one hand and hold, release board. While still holding the line ( the rod can be rested against a seat/what ever, depends on length of rod) Pick up the rod, put a slight bend in the rod keeping the rod tip high for now, release line and reel down as required. Easier than it sounds.
If a fish pulls a board back, get to that rod ASAP and take control. Typically rod tip high.
You might think about setting up your boards with homemade tattle flags as they will help you learn to read inline boards.
Hope that helps.
When it get rough out on the water, using constant diving aids, jets, mini disks help to keep more of a constant depth than using bouncers, inline weights etc.
Also if you fish in rough water I have another method that helps, but confuses most till they use it in action and see the benefits.

[branhamautomotive]

That is the clips I have on the rear. So if you use it on front what do you use on the rear to keep it from coming completely off?

I bought my boards used, have tattle flags installed, has those clips rear, and or 18 up front. We end up having to double loop the rear to keep the line from sliding through, so maybe those need more adjustment. When the line slides through then of course the flag does not work

I follow how if the front comes off how it falls out of formation, which would help our tangle situation, plus then only have 1 clip to release not 2. That would also allow if I wanted to change to depth of middle or outside boards get them back and over the inside lines.

I assumed the deepest to the inside, but after a few fish and shuffling in lines down the deeper ends up outside. Should I not be shuffling lines like big boards, if the outside line comes in, should it just go out straight back far enough to go back to the outside if not changing it's depth and it is staying the shortest lead

[ebijack]

That is the clips I have on the rear. So if you use it on front what do you use on the rear to keep it from coming completely off?
I bought my boards used, have tattle flags installed, has those clips rear, and or 18 up front. We end up having to double loop the rear to keep the line from sliding through, so maybe those need more adjustment. When the line slides through then of course the flag does not work If you like the 18 clips and they work for you, you can place them on the rear and the super clips on the front. Or adjust the super clips, tighten the screw enough where you can not pull the line out. If you do not have the super clips, those have not tightened down as tight as the super clips for me to work on braid. The pads on mine lasted 6 to 7 yrs before having to replace the clips, but now I run mono, no more braid for me on board lines. Just preference.

I follow how if the front comes off how it falls out of formation, which would help our tangle situation, plus then only have 1 clip to release not 2. That would also allow if I wanted to change to depth of middle or outside boards get them back and over the inside lines. Yes
I assumed the deepest to the inside, but after a few fish and shuffling in lines down the deeper ends up outside. Should I not be shuffling lines like big boards, Not needed, the distance a board and depth a bait are running from the boat tells you a bit of info on how spooky the fish are if that is the only board taking fish.
if the outside line comes in, should it just go out straight back far enough to go back to the outside if not changing it's depth and it is staying the shortest lead Yes

[Firetiger]

if I pull the outside board in with a fish, I move the rods up like the video, and when I reset it becomes the inside board. Many ways to do it, as Tom mentioned also. This is just the way I was showed. I tried letting the board slide back to the weight and it just seemed like a hassle with the fish so close, just seemed like there was a better chance to loose them.

[branhamautomotive]

You mentioned the boards sliding back to the weights, I am not running any weights, just the bandits behind the boards, what are the weights?