In Need Of Some Square Bill Advice & Discussion

[ipeeinmywetsuit]

I have been doing really well with square bills lately and I'm sort of hooked on cranking. I am located in southern california. I picked up some of Rick Clunns square bills from Walmart and I have had luck on sexy shad and especially the real shad color. Real shad has a black top, clear sides and a white-ish bottom with a dab of chartreuse on the gills. Anyways, I lost a few of my crankbaits to some standing timber on my last trip out to the water and I want to replenish and buy a few from Jackall. They are expensive but its my money and I love the company. I have been looking at their new Aska 60. However, as I tend to over-think things and there are too many options I am hung up on color. I am stuck between chartreuse shad, super shad, and tennessee shad and I'm definitely not OK with buying all three especially when they are so similar. I have done some reading and it has reaffirmed/simplified what I know that works for my waters: chart/shad colors. I was wondering if you guys could help direct me towards what color I should try out. Tennesee shad has the combo of colors that do well: black top, a little green through the side, and a orange dab on the belly kinda like a bluegill. However, the super shad has that ghost minnow quality that bass love but its very similar to the rick clunn real shad that I already have. Can I not go wrong here? I have also been looking at Jackalls cherry zero footer and I like the aurora black color because I have always wanted to try something that can suspend over the thick cover at my lake and I want to try an american shad colored bait.

I apologize for the rambling ahead of time and thanks for reading.

[roadwarrior]

The lure I'm fishing on the home page is a LV RC 3.5, purple back, chartreuse belly.

My most productive square bill is the Norman Fat Boy, redear pattern.

Color can be critical at times, but action, profile and depth are generally

more important. Next time you are on a big bite test some other colors of

the same bait or lure and see how it goes.

[BassinMD]

When the square bill bite is on I really only use 3 different colors just in different sizes and depths. I like a shad pattern, red like a craw, or chartreuse with a black back. Just chose based on water clarity, I am a big fan of the xps square bills tbh try produce well or me and I really like that try are silent as well. But I wouldn't get to hung up on color just make sure your presentation is right and you will catch them

[out_doors_guy]

Color is the LAST factor, for me, when choosing colors for any bait. Depth, profile and action, in order, are the most important factor. That said, color is of some importance. As far as crankbaits go I basically have 6 color variations for each bait in my collection, shad, fire tiger, crawfish, chrome, gold and bluegill. Out of those 6 my go-to colors 75% of the time are bluegill and gold (matches the predominant prey species where I fish the most, golden shiners and 'gills) and fire tiger (for muddy water). The shad and chrome come more into play when I head south to fish.

The 6 colors above will represent 99% of what bass feed on and having more can have a tendency to over complicate things on the water. Keeping it simple and gaining confidence in the choices you have available will garner you more success than having 1,000 crankbaits (or any other type for that matter) will do more for your success than worrying about having whatever the "hot" bait and/or color is at the moment.

[Gangley]

Color is the LAST factor, for me, when choosing colors for any bait. Depth, profile and action, in order, are the most important factor.

Keeping it simple and gaining confidence in the choices you have available will garner you more success than having 1,000 crankbaits

X2

Find the crankbait lures that you like and become proficient with them. By doing so you will learn crankbait tactics far quicker and will further increase your confidence as your catch rate increases. Color is last on my list of crankinbait attribute importance.

[ipeeinmywetsuit]

Ok, after some thinking last night and taking what you guys are saying into consideration, I decided to not get a Jackall square bill. I got a little excited about something new and pretty. I do know that certain shad colors are more productive at the same depth and presentation as for example sexy shad. I used the same lure in different colors at my lake with a ton more success with a specific more natural color. I guess my next question is what are some shallow cranks (square bills and wake baits) that have an action/profile that you guys prefer? The fish in my lakes really like rick clunns luck e strike's which are about 6 bucks a pop not including replacement hooks. Thanks for your responses they are definitely helpful.

[Fishes in trees]

Over the past few years, I've tried a bunch of different square bills, but I keep coming back to the Timber Tiger DC8. It just deflects off brush better than other brands and that is when I get most of my strikes.

[swarrin4]

I like the KVD 1.5's but if the Clunn's are working where you're fishing why change? The 1.5s are roughly the same price. Though Dick's had a sale when I was there today where you can buy 4 of a bait and get the 5th one free.