Planer boards. Upgrade kit vs non Upgrade kit

[endangeredspecies]

I was having a discussion with a friend who just bought some boards. I have a set off upgraded boards and love them. I offered to upgrade the flags for him for free and he kind of got bent out of shape because the salesman at cabelas told him the upgrade kit was not necessary and only used for small fish. What's everyone's thoughts on that?

[wakina]

I was having a discussion with a friend who just bought some boards. I have a set off upgraded boards and love them. I offered to upgrade the flags for him for free and he kind of got bent out of shape because the salesman at cabelas told him the upgrade kit was not necessary and only used for small fish. What's everyone's thoughts on that?

I think his learning curve is going to be considerably longer without the flags if he has never used the small boards before without them! It is a lot harder to read an inline board 80 to 90 feet out from the boat than it is 40 feet from the boat.

Novice fishermen are sometimes amazed at how well some of my friends and I can read the board without flags. The catch is that we have been using those small boards for several years and that is what makes the difference, even so there are still times that upon retrieving the board there will be a small fish on and a few times a nice walleye just swimming along for the ride. For success he should get the flags and eliminate the frustration of learning to read flag less boards.

[cycleguy]

As a guy that only has two years into them… I would use the flags if at all possible. All the reasons mentioned.

[rick2752]

When you first start out, you will need every advantage you can get to read the boards. I see no downside to having the tattle flag system, especially for the cost if you are making them yourself. Lets say for easy math you are running 4 boards. A small white bass hits your lure and you drag him without knowing for 30 minutes. You just lost 25% of your baits in the water while you drug him. Its hard enough sometimes to limit out without something working against you. I would also buy my offshore stuff from Franks Great Outdoors, they are much cheaper than cabelas.

[Greatwhitehunter]

I'd go with flags. Was fishing Tuesday and caught several 7 and 8lb walleye. The boards never got out of line but the flags went down slowly. How those big hogs don't pull the board back is beyond me.

[Hoytman86]

I'm another one that would recommend the flags. You might not notice if a board is running a few feet farther back, but it's not difficult to notice that the flag that is usually running at 90 degrees is now laying back at 80 degrees.

Also, I would recommend the Church Tackle Walleye boards over the Offshore boards. The Offshore boards offer nothing that the Church doesn't, but the Church board has the pin system that keeps your board on the line even when both clips come off.

[ebijack]

Nothing wrong with not using a flag system. But you will catch more fish in some conditions by using a flag system. More so when running meat. If your running spoons or cranks you could skip the flag system.
If your flags are set right for the bait you are running. (I use rubberbands, not springs). You can see when a fish is biting/nipping the bait. the flag for an instant lets you know it is time to force feed the bait to the walleye for the many lite bite times out on the water.

[endangeredspecies]

Thanks for everyone's input. I think it's safe to say I clearly won the argument and he owes me an apology and a fishing trip 😝. I'm joking of course. He's a good friend. If he doesn't want tattle flags, then I'll sneak mine onboard and run them off one side of his boat. I bet he will have flags next time I see him lol. Thanks everyone. I learned everything I know from asking questions here. Then it's trial and error as I figure out how to apply the concepts and techniques everyone here is unselfishly willing to share. I've caught a ton of fish in just a few short years because of it. Lake trips are too expensive to not want to maximize your chances of success. Thanks again.

[endangeredspecies]

I bought a flag system for my first board then made the rest myself when I saw how simple the concept was. Swapped the clips for Scotty's. I use pipe cleaners, beads, and the rubber band trick I learned from ebijack a while ago only I wrap the rubber band around the flag numerous times and attach near the top. This is so I can fit a 6" glow stick on the flag itself and be able to watch my boards at night without having to use lights. Very exhilarating when all you can see is a glow stick bobbing 50 yards from the boat and then it just disappears.......FISH ON!!!!!