Squarebill Crankbaits Confuse Me 2024
martintheduck reply :
I'm going to try to keep this simple. I am 100% confident in deep diving crankbaits and mid-depth crankbaits. I know how to work em', where to work em', and I flat out find & catch fish with them. But SQUAREBILL CRANKBAITS?!?!? I'm missing the boat completely.
I've gone through multiple brands, tuned them all perfectly, and have found brands I like because of the weight they have to them --- Xcalibur's for silent and Xcites for rattling. Problem is I'm not catching fish on them, EVER. I crawl them over cover, I pull them around grass, I burn them around grass points, worked them around docks, and I'm not getting anything. I've been trying to figure it out for 2 years and I cannot. I need help. SOMEONE HELP ME!? I'm rigging them on 12lb, 14lb, 17lb Medium-Heavy rods.
How do I decided rattle -vs- silent? Do I fish them pre-spawn, spawn, post spawn, fall transition? What does the "book" say about how to work them? Do I reel slow, stop, give it a jerk, reel, stop, reel, jerk and just go all erratic jerkbait action with it?
If anyone can give me some in-depth pointers or guide me to an in-depth guide on shallow crankbaits I would be forever grateful!
Cheers!
rippin-lips reply :
Square bills are meant to be banged off cover. Rocks,logs,stumps,ect I try different retrieves and find one that gets bit. I fish them all season.
Ozark_Basser reply :
Cast them past your target then make sure it deflects off of it.
If your target is the bank, cast to the bank, and as soon as it hits the water, it needs to be moving. I get bit a lot this way.
kcdinkerz reply :
I just cast out to every piece of cover I see and reel like hell praying I don't get Stuck. It works lol.
yakingfisherman reply :
Bumping them on rocks,wood,cover works best. I rarely ever catch any thing throwing in open water.
Swampstud reply :
I mostly run mine into the weeds off bottom, don't just crank into it and hope you don't get stuck. Reel until you feel the object and just reel steadily off the object. We have a lot of muskgrass or chara here in west michigan. Only grows a foot off bottom if that, I have a lot of luck deflecting off chara in 3-5fow
Hooligan reply :
Cover, particularly wood cover, is a squarebills best friend. I fish squarebills in 50 feet of water in flooded trees, and I fish them in five feet in laydowns.
They're excellent in rock and grass as well, any time cover or structure causes the bait to deflect or roll over.
In terms of variety, all of them work, some better than others. You just have to figure out what works for you.
roadwarrior reply :
My best producer is the Norman Fat Boy, red ear pattern.
Weld's Largemouth reply :
I really do not know what you are doing wrong. It may be the body of water, because even casting in open water I get fish on squarebills.
smalljaw67 reply :
I remember when I started catching fish on the Big-O, it was 1983 or 84 and I read an article about how deadly these cranks were so I got some and I didn't get as much as a sniff. So one day me an my fishing buddy from work were out and nothing was happening, and so as I contemplated on what to do, I see a swirl about 10' or 12' off the bank so we tossed T-rigged worms and jigs all around the area with no luck. I was running out of options and so in my box I look and staring me in the face is a chrome with black back Big-O, so I tied it and began to work it. I made the first cast nothing, the second cast and the third and after about the 15th cast or so I was thinking this isn't going to work and that is when it happened. I was about 1/4 way back to the boat when my Big-O hit a stump or a rock but it wasn't a strike, it hit something solid and for a second it felt like my bait turned over on its side but 2 seconds later a solid 16" largemouth inhaled my bait and that is when the light bulb in my head went on and after that I paid more attention to the areas I fished with them. Now what I do is I have a selection that goes from 1' down to about 6' and when fishing a spot between docks that doesn't have any stumps or anything on it I try to gauge the depth, if it is shallow enough that my square bill can hit the bottom then that is what I use but I want it to be able to hit the bottom in area where there isn't any stumps or deadfalls or even rock. Another spot I use them all the time is rip rap, that stuff is great when you get dialed in because it has high and low spots. I normally start within a foot of the bank and work my way out but if you're in the 2' to 3' zone and your reeling in the bait you'll find with rip rap that you'll be going for 10 cranks with no contact then you'll be grinding for a few feet and then no contact and then you'll just graze a rock and that is the trigger, the sudden movement left or right and if one is tracking it that is usually when you get hammered. Don't give up, once you get bit, you'll find you will start catching them, some days nothing can beat a square bill crank.
cgolf reply :
I have fished them a lot in reeds with a ton of success. In there I am fishing it in lanes because lures don't generally deflect off reeds they stick to them. Have also hand luck in between reed beds with them while fan casting over 5 fow water with a sandy bottom.
Where I have had the best luck is shallow rocky stretches of river. They come through nicely and smallies love to whack em. Bandit 100 has been my best bait here.
Dypsis reply :
Question on what angle to cast at targets (not to jack the tread OP, but I think it adds to the conversation).
If you are fishing from a boat along the shore line and you come to a lay downed tree. Should I cast at it when approaching (maybe at a 45 degree angle) or wait till I am even with it and cast almost when straight in line with it.
WIGuide reply :
Squarebills are great around any sort of shallow cover. The majority of the time your retrieve is going to be faster than with the deeper divers. If you can get it to make contact as people have stated that can be golden. If not, it doesn't mean you won't catch anything because you certainly can.
a1712 reply :
I love chewing the bills off on Rip Rap. Nothing like the feel of a deflection off a rock and that THUMP. Brian.
rosshilk reply :
I have recently just started with them as well my confidence isnt super high with them. I am far more successful with lipless crankbaits so far. The only fish ive caught off a squarebill this year was a foul hooked bass. I think they might be more successful later in the year.
Alonerankin2 reply :
Crash them into riprap, crank & bang them thru brush/stump fields, even around edges of grass & lily pads.. The square bill was designed to deflect much better than a oval shaped crankbait lip.
If your not crashing & banging you are missing out...
scaleface reply :
My favorite square bills have tight actions and no rattles. They are older baits . The SK square bill , that gets raved about often , has a lot of action and I dont do near as well with it as a vintage Rogers Big Jim .
BaitMonkey1984 reply :
My advice to anyone having problems with square bill cranks. Check your bill. If it is not getting smashed to all hell I would say it is not being used right. Find cover, hit that cover. Make sure you have a lure retriever handy because they will get hung up, but you have to know that going in. Without cover, there is no deflection. No deflection= no fish.
BannedForSpamming-1234555 reply :
Great thread, thanks for all of the replies.
J Francho reply :
Just chiming in with WOOD. That's squarebill territory.
Alonerankin2 reply :
It's counterintuitive, first thing that hits a persons mind is " I will get snagged" I will loose my crankbait... You will get past that, and you will either destroy or loose a few. No worries, plenty of crankbaits on the market to buy..
matuka reply :
I too believe in contact. But I have had two occasions when a bass has picked the squarebill off a tule it was stuck on. One was a 5-3/4! My PB on a crank at the time. Keep concentrating when it's stuck.On 4/14/2015 at 2:36 PM, kcdinkerz said:I just cast out to every piece of cover I see and reel like hell praying I don't get Stuck. It works lol.
southernson1989 reply :
I recently started using square bills and all the fish ive caught have either been at the mouth of a creek flowing into the main lake or even better on a long flat barren stretch of bank with a tiny little feeder that steeply puts a little water in after a rain. That spot is great. Caught 3 species of bass their at one time.
ib_of_the_damned reply :
I have actually caught a few bass in city park lakes (its all I fish) and they have little to no cover to deflect off of. No wood or stumps, rocks, etc. I just cast and reel with a few pauses to let it rise or a few quick rips of the rod. Or I just try to grind the bottom of the lake and see what happens...
martintheduck reply :
On 4/15/2015 at 3:45 AM, J Francho said:Just chiming in with WOOD. That's squarebill territory.
So whats the deal with people raving about fishing them around docks... where the bait doesn't hit anything?
bassinyea reply :
On 4/17/2015 at 1:43 PM, martintheduck said:So whats the deal with people raving about fishing them around docks... where the bait doesn't hit anything?
Make them bang into the posts that anchor the dock into the lake bottom. Figure out what type of cast you need to make to get this to happen. Make a cast past the post and use your rod tip to steer the bait into it. Speed up the retrieve as you get close to contact and when the lure hits the post, let it pause for a second.
J Francho reply :
On 4/17/2015 at 1:43 PM, martintheduck said:So whats the deal with people raving about fishing them around docks... where the bait doesn't hit anything?
Docks up here are generally supprted by wood or metal posts. Many also have brush piles nearby. Lastly, a square bill can easily be tuned to run left or right by simply putting a slight bend in the metal loop for the split ring. This way, you can cast it parallel to a dock, and have it swing under the dock.
martintheduck reply :
On 4/17/2015 at 2:12 PM, bassinyea said:Make them bang into the posts that anchor the dock into the lake bottom. Figure out what type of cast you need to make to get this to happen. Make a cast past the post and use your rod tip to steer the bait into it. Speed up the retrieve as you get close to contact and when the lure hits the post, let it pause for a second.
On 4/17/2015 at 9:10 PM, J Francho said:Docks up here are generally supprted by wood or metal posts. Many also have brush piles nearby. Lastly, a square bill can easily be tuned to run left or right by simply putting a slight bend in the metal loop for the split ring. This way, you can cast it parallel to a dock, and have it swing under the dock.
So I was just watching major league fishing and Hackney was catching em' on a square bill using this type of method. I will give this a try. I never really thought of bouncing sideways off cover and achieving that with either tuning of the rod tip. Lots of good info in this thread and hopefully I gain some ground these next few months.
RanndomUndead reply :
On 4/14/2015 at 1:34 PM, Jiggin said:Cast them past your target then make sure it deflects off of it.
If your target is the bank, cast to the bank, and as soon as it hits the water, it needs to be moving. I get bit a lot this way.
i always end up getting bit on the initial hit, think ive had 1 or 2 retrieve hits this year.
But just simply casting and waiting a couple seconds has never failed to produce for me entirely haha
Ozark_Basser reply :
On 4/19/2015 at 6:56 AM, RanndomUndead said:i always end up getting bit on the initial hit, think ive had 1 or 2 retrieve hits this year.
But just simply casting and waiting a couple seconds has never failed to produce for me entirely haha
I never let them sit because I usually just use them to cover water, so I wouldn't know. I generally don't get too many bites on the initial hit. If my target is the bank, I start reeling the instant it hits the water right next to the bank getting it to crash into rocks on its way down the bank. I don't like letting those shallow bass get a good look at it. That's what I meant by it needs to be moving the second it hits the water.
Maxximus Redneckus reply :
If you been using them for 2 yrs doin what u said and no fish..no offense but are u sure there are fish in the water
martintheduck reply :
On 4/19/2015 at 1:46 PM, Maxximus Redneckus said:If you been using them for 2 yrs doin what u said and no fish..no offense but are u sure there are fish in the water
I'm not sure I've been using them exactly "right" all those years. I've tried on all different types of days throughout the year and I was usually moving them pretty fast. After this thread, I started slowing down the past couple of days and focusing on DEFLECTING it off cover. Someone mentioned "if you're not hitting it off cover, the bass won't bite it." That clicked it for me a bit today. I slowed down and focused on where to throw and how the biat would move across the object and deflect ---- today I got 4 BITES ON A SQUAREBILL! I'm so happy! Today was a huge confidence booster. Now if I could just find the right rod to throw them with... this medium heavy Crucial is FAR too stiff and made it really tough to be accurate with my casts.
jaredkelley6 reply :
Squarebills are fun to fish, for me anyways. Prespawn and fall mainly when i use em. There are two lakes around here where i live, one lake ill catch them all day on a squarebill and the other lake i wont get a bite all day, but can wear em out on a 7.5" texas rigged culprit worm. I assume the fish in that lake are lazy and wont chase nothin outside 1ft to bite. Haha. With that being said , the fish are different in every lake. You just have to take the time to learn the fish and what they like. Keep practicing on them squarebills, deflecting them off cover , youll learn the fish and what to do. Every cast you can learn somethin. I caught this 5lber on a SK squarebill yesterday in the rain . Good luck
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