Any one use Z planer boards ?

[RONDAYVOO]

Looking for opions on Z boards, I have thought about buying some for pulling heavy copper lines but I dont know if they work as good as they claim they are ?

[MY2SONS]

Looking for opions on Z boards, I have thought about buying some for pulling heavy copper lines but I dont know if they work as good as they claim they are ?

Never tried them primarily because of the price. I'd be interested in hearing some feedback to, but I probably still won't buy any because they're too expensive.

[Ice_man_08]

We have a set of 6 of them and they work great! esp in heavy choppy water.

[Daybreak]

Never personally used them.....yet. But I have heard good things from many different people around here that love them.

[Nailer]

I won one at the Dreamweaver last year. I put it on my copper line and let it back. It released itself before pulling out. When I started reeling it back in, it came unhooked and went by by. Imho, if you buy something, than have to modify it to make it work (new release), than it's not worth buying.

[1mainiac]

I have 8 of them they all work great Yep I have played with the releases the stock releases work pretty good and if you put the red clip on the back and make sure the line is in past the pin it cannot come off unless the line breaks. Only thing I can say they out pull anything I have ever seen. The first time we set one it ran over the rest of the boards so there is a learning curve. One thing you have to do is adjust the arm up or down to match what your pulling The out of the box setting was great up to about 5 colors but with long cores or copper it would dig in too much and dive bending the arm up about 3/8 to 1/2 in fixed that. I switched the releases around and put the red clip on the front so it can't release on my long coppers this ended all the false releases. I really don't think anyone makes a good enough board release to handle a board and long copper setups. As to the having to modify them all I can say is I have pretty much ran every board out there and have not found a one that does not require modification. The big difference is how well they pull heavy gear. On Just Hookin we ran them on the outside of his Church boards and the were well ahead of his boards. On my boat comparing them to the Off Shore boards running the same gear under the same conditions side by side the Z Boards pulled wider and further forward setup after setup. To me we use boards to gain width so the board that runs widest wins and hands down that is Z Boards. Anyone who has ever seen my Steelhead program can attest that I sometimes run 800ft wide. The neat thing is seeing the boards all running off the side of the boat not looking like a bunch of ducks in a V pattern behind me.

[jay d]

i have 12 of them 4 of the big daddys and 8 of the brothers.they take a little adjusting and you have to loose the pushpin release.i replaced them with offshore pinch pads,i switch between the red and black depending on conditions and what i am running.they get farther out to the side than any other boards i have used

[Just Hook'n]

Jim is right, they will pull in front of the boat if you want them too. If I were to run them, I'd suggest you run all Z boards (at least on the side you run them). I would not suggest running them with other boards. They pull a lot different (heavier) than other boards because the nose stays down so well.

[Yooperdad]

I bought 2 last winter and was ready to throw them away after the first attempt to use them. That plastic plug front release they come with is useless in my opinion.

I replaced the front release with OR 18's and they work like a charm. And as the others have commented, they pull a whole lot different than any of the other boards. 300' of 45# copper is not an issue for them, with a good release added.

However, adding the cost of an OR 18 to the cost of the board makes them very expensive. I'll stay with the Church's I have instead of getting more Z Boards.

[MY2SONS]

I bought 2 last winter and was ready to throw them away after the first attempt to use them. That plastic plug front release they come with is useless in my opinion.

I replaced the front release with OR 18's and they work like a charm. And as the others have commented, they pull a whole lot different than any of the other boards. 300' of 45# copper is not an issue for them, with a good release added.

However, adding the cost of an OR 18 to the cost of the board makes them very expensive. I'll stay with the Church's I have instead of getting more Z Boards.

I must be dense or something, but what is an OR 18?

[JWheeler]

I must be dense or something, but what is an OR 18?

http://www.offshoretackle.com/OR18.html

[1mainiac]

Well my final modification cost was zero move the included red clip to the front toss the Big Jon push pin on the desk and put a large snap on the rear. They will pull a 300 copper with 2 4oz Dive Bombs on it with no issue since I only run my Copper and long line setups far enough from the boat to keep em out of my divers it works great. I should get another 15lb spool of line then I could run out to the middle of the lake and troll both shores LOL.

[Yooperdad]

Great idea on changing the clip from back to front. Never thought of that, obviously:lol: Do you clip it on a piece of mono tied in between the copper and the backer?

[1mainiac]

I have mono between the braid and the copper but when adding the Dive Bombs we let it out about 100ft pas the copper so it was clipped to the braid with no issues. I have never had one of the snap weight clips slip or come off any line I have put it on. And the idea is not mine I know a few guys who run their Off Shore boards the same way. And 12.50 for the OR 18 is just not in my budget for 16 boards I have 8 Offshore and 8 Z Boards I like them all and they all have their place I just have to pay attention when I mix them as they don't always play well together. My Offshore boards are all setup with the red clip at the rear and either orange or black clips up front and set to release. All of my Z Boards are Big Daddy boards as I mainly wanted a bigger board for the heavy metal program and deep presentations which is where the Offshore boards really begin to suck. The one thing I have found is that both the Z Boards and the Offshore boards are ok with my trolling speed which starts fast and goes up from there. Anything below 3 is slow for me and below 2.5 I have to check to make sure the motor is running LOL.

[RONDAYVOO]

do they run ok with other boards as well ? I have some church boards that I run now would I have any problems running both at the same time?

[ChampionShip]

We played with them this past summer and after about 5 minutes of reeling it back in and re-deploying and screwing with it- they can shove that push pin release up their arse. We haven't retried them yet, and when trying to adjust the arm it seemed like the arm was pulling right off of the board.

I run my regular Big Birds with the red offshore on the back and a big scotty pinch pad on the front and can pull 1lb balls in waves no problem. I like being able to either surf the board in while reeling, or being able to pop the release if I want to so an outside board can drop back.

[Sea-Mac]

We played with them this past summer and after about 5 minutes of reeling it back in and re-deploying and screwing with it- they can shove that push pin release up their arse. We haven't retried them yet, and when trying to adjust the arm it seemed like the arm was pulling right off

Ditto... I will run my offshore boards before I run these and they are cheaper to boot.

[1mainiac]

Not sure I understand the cheaper part here last I checked Offshore boards were 31.95 each add in a set of the red clips at 8.00 a pair and you have 70 bucks in a pair. A pair of the Brother boards which are the same size as the Offshore boards and comes with the red clip is 56.00 now toss out the Big Jon push pin and get a set of Orange clips for the front at 8 bucks and you are at 64 bucks still less than the Offshore do like I did and put the red clip up front and a simple snap on the rear and you are money ahead. I did not buy mine to replace my Offshore boards I got them to do what the Offshore boards don't do well and that is pull heavy loads without standing on their tails. Everyone has their personal fav's that is fine I also have my fav's and ask anyone of the guys who fished with me this summer there was some cussing involved in dialing in the Z Board program. As for losing a board they last time I lost a board was 3 years ago when Jay clipped one on wrong and he replaced it the next day and has never made that mistake again. Realistically the Z Boards are just a combination of several board designs but if you play with them you will have good luck no different than the Church or Offshore boards that have had hundreds if not thousands of posts on how to improve them. I will say bending the arm is not easy and I am making a tool to do it which is a piece of 1x4 with a saw cut thru the middle to slide over the arm next to the board so you can bend against the board right at the factory bend without putting pressure on the joint where the arm is glued to the board.

[Sea-Mac]

Offshore boards are $19.99 here

http://www.northwoodsoutlet.com/oscommerce/catalog/index.php?cPath=4_35&osCsid=ckmu50pdrqlqm460ubetb0leq2

and $21.99 here...

http://www.franksgreatoutdoors.com/fishing/trolling-gear/planer-boardsaccessories

When I last bought the or-16 clips for the rear for these it was $10 for two at Gander..so about $50 for a pair.

I forget if Z-boards also charged for shipping..something tells me they didnt duno havent looked that up. So that might make up any difference. All I know is I prefer Offshores with a rear or-16 clip myself.

[1mainiac]

Northwoods wants 8 bucks shipping plus the OR16 Franks wants 9 bucks shipping plus the OR16 clips. Z Boards included shipping so price comes out about the same Walmart has Offshore's at 32.95 Dicks also has them for the same price I can't drive to Franks or Northwoods for free so makes it roughly a wash on price. Might be some good deals at the GR show but I got my first set of Z Boards at the show last year for 30 bucks a pair. I have to talk to Lance and see what price he will give MSCST members this year. And again I still like my Offshore boards but the Big Daddy boards will run them over on the way out. Boards are to gain width and the Z Boards will get wider than any board I have ever used.

[MY2SONS]

We played with them this past summer and after about 5 minutes of reeling it back in and re-deploying and screwing with it- they can shove that push pin release up their arse. We haven't retried them yet, and when trying to adjust the arm it seemed like the arm was pulling right off of the board.

I run my regular Big Birds with the red offshore on the back and a big scotty pinch pad on the front and can pull 1lb balls in waves no problem. I like being able to either surf the board in while reeling, or being able to pop the release if I want to so an outside board can drop back.

I caved in and decided to buy a couple sets of the Big Daddys, and a set of the Brother, but a concern I had after looking at them is the durability. I was wondering about making adjustments to the arm if it would break the adhesion, but I guess I was planning on not having to tune them too much. I was thinking about making a jig to adjust them if needed. I bought them primarily for my copper setups since the Church boards tend to ride with the "nose" up making them track funny. I'm anxious to try them out although I'm still skeptical. Who knows they may be the best board I've ever used. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[jay d]

I caved in and decided to buy a couple sets of the Big Daddys, and a set of the Brother, but a concern I had after looking at them is the durability. I was wondering about making adjustments to the arm if it would break the adhesion, but I guess I was planning on not having to tune them too much. I was thinking about making a jig to adjust them if needed. I bought them primarily for my copper setups since the Church boards tend to ride with the "nose" up making them track funny. I'm anxious to try them out although I'm still skeptical. Who knows they may be the best board I've ever used. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

i was not sure about them untill i ran them a few times and worked out the bugs.i have switched to all z boards now.i have not had any issues with them breaking from adjusting them.great board in my opinion:thumb:

[allout280]

i ordered 2 sets of big daddys 1 month ago they took money from card still no boards told me back ordered sending them out 2 weeks ago still no boards sent e mails no answer back are they going out of buss. one should think before they order for them hope to get by the season or something wrong in sales or shipping hate to bad mouth them they do work great

[MY2SONS]

http://www.offshoretackle.com/OR18.html

Ever have any problems with the little plastic peg breaking off from these releases?

[MY2SONS]

i ordered 2 sets of big daddys 1 month ago they took money from card still no boards told me back ordered sending them out 2 weeks ago still no boards sent e mails no answer back are they going out of buss. one should think before they order for them hope to get by the season or something wrong in sales or shipping hate to bad mouth them they do work great

I bought mine from Gold Coast Outfitters in Holland. They have an on-line store you can order from too. It's too bad some of these businesses take so long to deliver their goods. Not setting themselves up for loyal followers. If they sent them USPS it would explain there late delivery. The post office delivery times hasn't progressed much since the pony express days.