I'm far from the most experienced person to talk to on these boards, but in my limited experience with inline boards, I can tell you this: If you think there's a fish on, bring in that board, especially if you're pulling a harness with meat (a crawler). Bringing in the board may take a few minutes, but it's not nearly as bad as leaving it out dragging a fish or if something's hit it and there's no crawler left. Tattle flags aren't necessarily cheap, but they're well worth the money if you take the time to dial them in. On "The Walleye" boards you've got, you want to adjust that lever just enough so that the flags will stay up with the weight and speed you're pulling, but the slightest extra weight they start to go back. I've developed a pretty good eye for them, and if they're dialed in, it's really easy to tell when you're dragging a white bass or perch that you may not notice without them.

I've found a few videos to try to help you out. The first one shows you how to set them, including the most important part when using the tattle flags, which is to make sure you leave slack between the clips to allow the flag to function properly. Also, it's very important that whomever removes the board doesn't just let go of the line and let it snap back, that creates a backlash effect that can pull the hook. Keep tension on the line and slowly move it up until it's straight to the rod tip. The second video is EXTREMELY helpful for showing you exactly what to look for when trying to detect a bite. It's pretty much a given that the water won't be as calm on Erie as it is in this video, but it's still helpful to understand what to look for, even though the bites will quite often be much more subtle during the summer months once all of the trash fish start moving into the Western Basin.

Good luck and enjoy! Please feel free to continue asking questions. I know I'm not the only one that's learned to fish Erie using inline boards from the members here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhZDevRX3Z

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXqFRt3NVS4