<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 unctuationKerning/> false false false oNotPromoteQF/> EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ontGrowAutofit/> ontVertAlignCellWithSp/> ontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> ontVertAlignInTxbx/> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

When I say they pull harder it means with everything the same the church boards will go farther out to the side were the offshore boards will lag farther behind the boat. This puts your bait farther to the side covering more water. The OR18 clips make it a snap to put the board on and take it off and they don’t slide on any line if adjusted correctly. If the clip fails you still will not lose the board. So for ten to fifteen bucks a board I feel it is well worth it.Tony

WH - thanks for clarifying. I can see how this has it's benefits of getting the lines spread out further, but if you don't mind me asking.... If your boards spread out more instead of lagging, what is your technique for clearing the inside boards when you hook a fish on your outside board? When I have another person in the boat with me, I can run 6 lines, so I put 3 boards out each side of the boat. As you mention with the Offshores they lag by about 45º away from the rear of the boat. IMO, this is beneficial because I can generally pull in the outside board and clear the two inside boards pretty easily. If it looks like the outside board is going to get hung up on one of the inside boards, I'll let the reel free-spool for a bit under slight tension to not loose the fish, then start cranking again. The first few times of trolling, I didn't wrap the line around the clips and the boards fell off while bringing in a fish. Lesson learned - wrap the line and pull in all lines before turning around to pick up the board that fell off. Planer boards do not like to be pulled in an arc and they will get all sorts of tangled if you turn too sharply!!

Tom - I've heard of people modifying their Offshores to perform similar to the Church method you spoke of. They replace the front clip with a small split ring, snap swivel or small eye screw. When a fish hooks up, they set the hook and the line pops out of the rear clip, allowing the board to slide down to the end of the line. They will put a large bead a few feet before the end of the line to keep the board from striking the fish and knocking it off. In theory, this seems like it would work.

The Church boards work a bit differently. The line passes though a slot in the rear edge of the board and is held there by a spring loaded pin. When the front clip releases the board stops pulling allowing the line to move to the center rear of the boat (unless a fish has a different idea). To remove the board from the line, you simply pull the pin against the spring releasing the line. This can be done with one hand if necessary. Tom

07gmcowner,
 The difference is not to the point that the boards are directly to the side of the boat and you can free spool as well if need. First I run my lures deep to shallow which gives me some play room to go over lines. Second the church boards have a tendency to drop back well when fish on unless the fish doesn’t care about the face full of hooks which has happened. Third you can walk the rod to the bow if your boat if it is larger and reel it in in-front of the other boards. Only had to do this once that I can remember. I have not had too many tangles since I started running deep close to shallow out plus I run 50’, 100’, 150’, and 200’ out per side which gives you some more room but I fish Lake Erie and there is plenty of room. Spreading your boards out will help the tangle issue in turns as well. Tony

<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 unctuationKerning/> false false false oNotPromoteQF/> EN-US X-NONE X-NONE ontGrowAutofit/> ontVertAlignCellWithSp/> ontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/> ontVertAlignInTxbx/> MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Just thought I might put so pics of my boards up here for anyone to look at if they would like to try the setup.
Tony

Tony and Tom,

Thanks for clarifying and for the pictures. You are correct, the Church boards are not at all like the Offshore boards. Your front clip looks like it sticks out further from the body of the board, which may explain why they pull harder. Maybe this summer I will play around with making some extensions on mine. It would be nice to get them spread out further without having to let out so much line. The ice is almost off of the lakes now, and hopefully the boat will come out of storage next week. Can't wait to get it back out again!

I do a lot of straightline trolling and I really like the Church boards. I just have to watch for big water "chops"!  Mine are smaller, without the flag.

It has come to the point of life where the body just doesn't work right anymore. For as long as I can remember I have been a bass fisherman. Now that I have some physical limitations I need to change specie. I have chosen Walleye. I like the info you guys have given in this thread. Thanks for sharing.