Kvd Square Bills Versus Rapala Crankin Raps (Crr-5) 2025
Missourifishin reply :
I just picked up a couple of the CRR-5's and I won't have a chance to use them for at least a couple more weeks. I was just wondering how they compare to the KVD 1.5's and 2.5's.. Which do you like better? Or feel free to add your other favorite square bills to the conversation.
WdyCrankbait reply :
I really like the Rapalas!! I have absolutely worn then out on a Helsinki Shad CRR-5! The KVD 1.5s have done well for me to, I am not going to deny them at all, but I like he color patterns over the Rapalas better, they just seem a little "richer," to me. IMO
Excalibur square bills as well have done well for me.
tbone1993 reply :
The luck e strike rick clunn baits are pretty sweet, same with the spro squarebills. My favorite are spro but I do have more 1.5s.
A-Jay reply :
Lucky Craft makes a sweet one as well.
And if you're looking to present an up scale model, check out the LC 3.5 ~
At 3 inches and 3/4 ounce, it's a big bass mouthful.
A-Jay
TorqueConverter reply :
Those crankin raps are definitely some under appreciated baits. I don't fish the squarebills but I like the other depths. They have a bit of a hunting action like the old pre Rapala Warts. They have that gentle sided to ride rocking motion. The funny thing is hat the bait is very similar in design o the really early post Rapala Warts that everybody hated.
I like the XPS squarebills and Xcalibur XCS 200 a lot. Both baits have the same wobble but the XPS baits wobble faster and are smaller. The majority of my shallow crankbait fish come on the XPS squarebill.
I cold, dirty, shallow, water I like the Storm Arashi and Cabelas Flatsided Pork Chop crank.
My favorite classic squarebill is the Bagleys Balsa B#2.
Jsinkic reply :
I really like the Cotton Cordel Big O square bills, they come in 2", 3", 4". I fished the 4" one below (pearl/red eyes) for the last 5 years or so.
It's a square bill I have it in a few different colours and the colours still look great. The Pearl one is not painted on it's the colour of plastic and is very durable, very like scratches and Its got a few big pike. I do have some KVD square bills and I have had some good action with them.
flyfisher reply :
I prefer the rapala square bills over all the other ones i have used. I will tie on another brand every once in a while to see if they produce more but i always come back to the rapala.
smalljaw67 reply :
I didn't get the cranking raps because I figured I had square bills covered but I did grab a 1.5 and it is good but others work better for me. I use the Rapala DT Fat 3 and the Flat 3, in the summer and early fall it is the Fat 3 and the spring and the late fall is the flat 3. I've been growing fond of the Xcalibur XCS baits the 200 series, those are good for rip rap and in the river I love the Cotton Cordell Big-O, that bait just makes the smallies made when it is bouncing off the rocks and finally when the others are too large, I'll sneak in the old Bomber Square A, it is 2" and weighs 3/8oz so you can fire it a decent distance but you'd be surprised at how many times we will be banging around rocks with square bills and only get a follow and then switch out to the square A and begin getting bit, I discovered it by accident and now it is a staple.
Rangerphil reply :
Dt fat 03, flat out catches fish! I have been preaching on here about this bait for years. Maybe I should stop and keep it to myself.
MarksHooked reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 7:34 AM, Jsinkic said:I really like the Cotton Cordel Big O square bills, they come in 2", 3", 4". I fished the 4" one below (pearl/red eyes) for the last 5 years or so.
It's a square bill I have it in a few different colours and the colours still look great. The Pearl one is not painted on it's the colour of plastic and is very durable, very like scratches and Its got a few big pike. I do have some KVD square bills and I have had some good action with them.
I'm headed up to Vaughn this weekend for the Classic sale, I currently own 1 1.5 KVD crankbait in sexy shad and have been looking to try out some others, but never sure what to get for my area. Going to try out a few of these based on the recommendation thanks
jhoffman reply :
The kvd 2.5 is my fav shallow crankbait by a long shot. If its hunting your after, all my kvds hunt.
flyfisher reply :
I always hear people talk about the hunting action of a crankbait. All crank baits act similarly but some may have a tighter wobble but they all have the same basic movement unless you are talking scatter raps as they do have much more movement than your standard crank.
The whole hunting action of a crank bait is nothing more than a term KVD used and people now use it in the same way.....believe it or not but square bills have been around a lot longer than KVD has been hawking the SK square bills.
Jsinkic reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 7:44 AM, MarksHooked said:I'm headed up to Vaughn this weekend for the Classic sale, I currently own 1 1.5 KVD crankbait in sexy shad and have been looking to try out some others, but never sure what to get for my area. Going to try out a few of these based on the recommendation thanks
Pearl/red eye and chrome and black back I have had the most success with but I haven't tried the natural crawdad or a few others that I think will work really well!
Missourifishin reply :
Thanks for the insight guys. I have the CRR-5 in Helsinki Shad and Red Craw, and I can't wait to use them. I also have about 6 KVD SK squarebills I have only had limited success on, but I got them late last year so they haven't really had a fair shot yet.
basshole8190 reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 5:39 AM, WdyCrankbait said:I really like the Rapalas!! I have absolutely worn then out on a Helsinki Shad CRR-5! The KVD 1.5s have done well for me to, I am not going to deny them at all, but I like he color patterns over the Rapalas better, they just seem a little "richer," to me. IMO
Excalibur square bills as well have done well for me.
also a fan of the helsinki shad crr5
craww reply :
Ive found that among luckycraft's many squarebills (RC, BDS, skeet shallow, GDS, fat mini, etc. they are as good as it gets and worth the $. They cast great, have a ton of different colors, profiles, and actions based on your needs. The classic Rick Clunn and Takahiro (sp?) cranks sold at BPS in a basic baitfish color are a great starting point. I can certainly understand the sticker shock, but Ive found I manage to keep squarebills for a long time. Factoring in Ive got over a 100 fish on a couple RC's I'd say theyre well worth it.
hookset on 3 reply :
I have a hand full of the LuckyCraft square bills, like the RC 1.5 and 1.5 Deep divers. These cranks always produce and seem to attract bigger bass than some of the other brands that I throw.
Having said that, I'm hesitant to throw them in the real nasty cover for fear of losing a $16 crankbait. For that kind of Kamikaze cranking, I bought a dozen of the XCalibur XCS 100 1/2oz. size. I bought them online for $3 a piece, which is 50% off regular price. The only thing is they were the Real Craw colors, which they had on close-out.
The E-tailer where I purchased them begins with the word "Land" if any one is interested, as the special is still on going.
I really like the KVD HC Squarebills in the 1.5 size, for everyday use. They just flat-out produce, so that's why they're in such high demand.
Anyway, I have found that the most productive way to fish Squarebills, is to bang and deflect them off everything. This includes rock, stick-ups, laydowns, stumps and grass like hydrilla or lily pad stems.
Comfortably Numb reply :
All the major brands have squarebills that are fairly similar and catch fish.
When the squarebill discussion comes I I always reccomend a unique one. The Baker Lure Suspending Squarebill. No other company that I know of makes one that suspends. I started using them last summer and got viscious hits on the pause.
We all know how well suspending jerks work in the early spring so I cant wait to try the Bakers this year.
TorqueConverter reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 10:36 AM, craww said:Ive found that among luckycraft's many squarebills (RC, BDS, skeet shallow, GDS, fat mini, etc. they are as good as it gets and worth the $. They cast great, have a ton of different colors, profiles, and actions based on your needs. The classic Rick Clunn and Takahiro (sp?) cranks sold at BPS in a basic baitfish color are a great starting point. I can certainly understand the sticker shock, but Ive found I manage to keep squarebills for a long time. Factoring in Ive got over a 100 fish on a couple RC's I'd say theyre well worth it.
How do the Lucky Strike RC squarebills compare to the Luck Craft RC squarebills? I'm of the opinion that blobs of plastic are blobs of plastic. Once a mold can be knocked off then the knock offs are as good as the originals when comparing plastic blobs.
It's hard to knock off a balsa bait put together by a craftsman. IMO this is why "balsa KOs" are largely nonexistent. I am also of the school of thought that a machine operator maning an injection molding machine is not a craftsman and that it does not mater from what country of origin that injected molded blob of plastic originates from.
I really do like those Luck Strike RC blobs of plastic and am disappointed by the lack of colors and sizes from the baits. Is it worth the $ to get the Lucky Craft versions?
craww reply :
In my opinion the luckycraft's are worth it. Nothing wrong with using the luckystrikes, they catch fish. I really like the rc stx jerkbait and its as blatant a knockoff as there is.
For me casting is a big deal. The smallest rick clunn is 14oz (.05 model) . The same RC is .15oz (series 1). Very big difference on a bait that grabs air like a crank when cast. Thats also the difference between being used on a casting rod and a spinning rod, not to mention improved accuracy.
gripnrip reply :
I have pretty good luck with my KVD 1.5 and 2.5 hunting like jhoffman said above.
On 2/26/2014 at 3:48 PM, TorqueConverter said:How do the Lucky Strike RC squarebills compare to the Luck Craft RC squarebills?
I like the Luck E strike better. I catch more fish on them. The Lucky Craft components are better and it seems better quality over all. Although I have "not" found one that can hunt. $5 vs $12-$15 is a no brainer to me. Out of 20-30 bucks I'll find Lucky E strikes to hunt. I want them to hunt. You do the math.
geo g reply :
I fished with a guy at the famous Stick Marsh in Sabastion, Fla. It is 3 feet deep with thousands of stumps and lay downs everywhere. I was throwing a senko, and he was using a KVD 2.5. I could not believe how this thing worked its way through all that junk without getting hung. For every fish I caught he caught 3 on that crankbait. By the end of the day we were both throwing KVD 2.5's.
Mainebass1984 reply :
I love throwing KVD 1.5s if I am looking for numbers of bass. If I want a big bite I use the 2.5s. Chartreuse black back is my favorite color. The KVD 2.5 has accounted for more bass or 6 lbs for me then anything else in the past couple years. Another crankbait I think works well is the Live Target crawfish square bill both the shallow and the mid depth versions. If bass are feeding on crawfish they are tough to beat.
flyfisher reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 12:21 PM, Comfortably Numb said:All the major brands have squarebills that are fairly similar and catch fish.
When the squarebill discussion comes I I always reccomend a unique one. The Baker Lure Suspending Squarebill. No other company that I know of makes one that suspends. I started using them last summer and got viscious hits on the pause.
We all know how well suspending jerks work in the early spring so I cant wait to try the Bakers this year.
Seems like that is a bad idea for a square bill. When i fish a square bill part of what keeps it being so snag free is it's ability after hittin an obstruction to then float up and free itself. Seems like the suspending version would be getting snagged a lot...
craww reply :
It may have its place. There aren't many baits with a "thump" that you can freeze in it's tracks. At worst its still going to do a little better in cover than a jerkbait.
jhoffman reply :
On 2/26/2014 at 7:55 AM, flyfisher said:
The whole hunting action of a crank bait is nothing more than a term KVD used and people now use it in the same way.....believe it or not but square bills have been around a lot longer than KVD has been hawking the SK square bills.
You and I tend to agree very often but this one I am not in agreement. A crankbait that hunts kicks out at random and its that kick that makes or breaks it. Not all cranks kick out and return.
TorqueConverter reply :
Do the the KVD squarebils even hunt? I've a had a few and none of them wold hunt. I assumed it was KVD marketing hype like invisible fluorocarbon.
Hunting action has been put up on this sky high pedestal. I just made a waddle bat out of a beat up on Bagleys Balsa B. Hopefully I'll have something that has that classic hunting action.
gripnrip reply :
KVD uses the term as do other pros. I believe Rick Clunn started using the term first. Most of your balsa or cedar bait have a better chance at "hunting" Plastic ones do "hunt" they are harder to come by.
We do our hardest to get our cranks to bang off of cover or structure for that reaction bite. A "hunting" crank to me is one that is running true and then kicks left or right for no reason. Almost like it hit an invisible stump or rock. I have purchased 2 or 3 of the same crank when they are on sale. There have been times only one of them will catch fish no matter when I tie it on. The other 2 haul water and have never caught anything.
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