Up War Eagle River Arm to around Hickory Creek Marina, I love it. Down by Prairie Creek to Lost Bridge North past Beaver Lake Dam, I love. All over Beaver Lake, I love it along with hundreds of other anglers. Any place where anglers use planer boards they love it. We all love TX-12 Mini Planer Boards with its smaller size and ability to pull large lures or live bait without dipping or diving.

In some situations the benefits of using a smaller, mini planer board outweigh using a larger planer board. Mini planer boards like Church Tackle Company’s TX-12 Mini Planer (http://www.churchtackle.com/) are small, but powerful enough to pull heavy lures out.  One expert at fishing with TX-12 Mini Planer boards is Mark Martin. Martin (http://www.markmartins.net/) is a fishing guide, captain, full time professional walleye fishermen, and author with over $400,000 total tournament winnings uses side planer boards year round. “From ice off to ice on TX-12 Mini Planer boards can be used when trolling. They give the angler an advantage over other anglers because it allows them to cover more water faster,” said Martin. Other benefits of using the TX-12 Mini Planer boards that Martin likes are it reacts to anything that touches the lure or live bait and you can use it in shallow water without spooking the fish. “The slightest bite or just your lure hitting weeds will make this smaller side planer board react and an angler can see it easily being pulled on. I also like trolling a smaller side planer board when the fish are in shallow water or skittish. The smaller side planer board doesn’t seem to scare them off and you can get your lure or bait right in the strike zone,” explained Martin.

Big lures equal big problems with a smaller board right? “Not with the TX-12 Mini Planer board by Church Tackle Company. These smaller side planer boards can pull big crankbaits like a Rapala #9 Shad Rap or #13 Floating Rapala without any problems; they can also pull heavy crawler harness with inline weights without dipping or diving. You can use any lure or live bait up to about 2-ounces before you need to use a bigger board,” said Martin. Martin’s typical live bait rig is a ½-ounce weight in front of a ball bearing swivel to a leader with #4 or #2 Daiichi (http://www.ttiblakemore.com/) Bleeding Bait Red hook. “The key is having a ball bearing swivel to keep your line from twisting and the lure looking lifelike. Usually, I troll at .05 to .08-mph with live bait and these smaller boards will pull bait right out to the side of my boat,” said Martin.   

Another advantage of using a smaller board is size. The smaller TX-12 only weighs 4.5-ounces and measures 7½”x 3”. It also has a patient clip and rear pin design that allows the angler to reel up to the board and take it off quickly once a fish is on the hook. Anglers can use monofilament, fluorocarbon, super braids, or lead core fishing line with the TX-12 Mini Planer. The only thing the smaller board doesn’t have compared to a larger board is a flag. The only other difference between a TX-12 Mini Planer board and the larger TX-22 Special in line side planer board is design. The TX-12 Mini Planer board is built to run on either the port or starboard side where the TX-22 Special is reversible. Both are manufactured in the USA.     

Planer boards are a way of life for us diehard anglers that troll. We were born to fish from the south to the north; doesn’t matter if we are fishing for giant walleyes or monster stripers, we all love catching fish on mini planer boards.