Chruch Tx 44

[mattmishler]

For all the chruch lovers out there i see they have a new board for pulling heavy copper. They look great they dont have them on there page i just seen pics on the GLA facebook page. Check them out there HUGE lol

[danthebuilder]

[Nailer]

I need two!

[EdB]

Anybody run Z boards this season? Heard good things about them.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Dan....do you modify these or do you let them slide down the line to a bead stop?

[danthebuilder]

I just stole the photos from facebook.

[jay d]

Anybody run Z boards this season? Heard good things about them.

yes i did and i sold all my offshore boards and switched to 4 big daddys and 6 brothers.i dont like the releases they came with,switched them to the red offshore pinch pads on the bigg daddys and the black ones on the brothers:thumb:

[Nailer]

Anybody run Z boards this season? Heard good things about them.

I got one from the BFK raffle. I used it that night, and it came uncliped and drifted away within 5 minutes of use. Some may say "replace the clips with ....). My felling is, if I spend the money to buy a board, than I don't want to replace the release. Put a good release on there to begin with. It wasn't in the water long enough (or hooked to the line long enough) to find out how well it ran.

[SUPERTRAMP]

My buddy Roland Eckhart on the Bald Eagle got a couple and they are huge. They are made to be either right or left hand boards depending on how you install the weight and clip. I really believe they are a good answer to the problems smaller boards create when running 450 to 600 ft of copper line. As to letting them slide or not, I always set them so they dont slide then get the board off quickly by pointing the rod at the board not lifting it up until you pick the board off of the water. Then you remove the board and fight your fish. If you let a big board like that slide you are asking for a lot of trouble.

I always tighten down the drag to get the board to the back of the boat, remove the board and re set the drag so the fish doesnt pull of or break off the leader.

They are kinda pricey, Roland said he had to pay around 49 bucks apiece for them.

Edited September 17, 2010 by SUPERTRAMP
Spelling and grammar

[Rayman96]

Previous thread on bigger boards.

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16943

http://www.thezboards.com/

Will be trying these myself next season for sure!

Edited September 18, 2010 by Rayman96
spelling

[Yooperdad]

I bought 2 of the Big Daddy Z Boards this spring, specifically to run copper. I have only used Church boards in the past.

The Z boards only worked for me, AFTER I replaced the front releases. I used Offshore replacement releases and they worked fine. The boards just would not hold the pull of the copper with the original releases.

Is it worth the price to buy them and then have to replace the releases?

You decide.

[Rayman96]

I bought 2 of the Big Daddy Z Boards this spring, specifically to run copper. I have only used Church boards in the past.

The Z boards only worked for me, AFTER I replaced the front releases. I used Offshore replacement releases and they worked fine. The boards just would not hold the pull of the copper with the original releases.

Is it worth the price to buy them and then have to replace the releases?

You decide.

On my church boards I had to modify or replace the front release to handle braid. On the same boards the rear pins had a wear issue needed replacement. I run a lot of braid either as the main line or as backer.

I went through four releases for downrigging before I found what worked for me in all applications.

Most spoons I overspray with clear lacquer for durability.

I'm not knocking the church boards. It seems that most products could be designed better.

[Yooperdad]

Rayman, I was not making a plug for Church boards, and I agree there are issues with all of them that could be different.

I too run a braid backer on all my copper and lead setups, with a short segment of heavy mono spliced in to affix the releases to. My comments were relaying my experience with the Z Board releases, which did not work for me. The boards themselves track and pull great, once you are able to keep them connected to the line.

[Rayman96]

Yooperdad:

Didn't mean to sound critical, just expressing some frustrations with manufacturers. They all design to a price point and not necessarily best performance.

I don't add segments of line to avoid knot issues. The reason being, I'm using 18 lb. core for walleye on Erie. Drop weights are used to make further adjustments in depth. I probably should have bought heavier core but this was local and at a good price.

I'm not sponsored by anyone either. I try to give solid advice pro or con on any product I have used. Hopefully someone will benefit from my mistakes.