Squarebill Crankbaits Confuse Me

[martintheduck]

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]

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]

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]

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]

Bumping them on rocks,wood,cover works best. I rarely ever catch any thing throwing in open water.

[Swampstud]

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]

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]

My best producer is the Norman Fat Boy, red ear pattern.

 

 

 

[Weld's Largemouth]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

I love chewing the bills off on Rip Rap. Nothing like the feel of a deflection off a rock and that THUMP. Brian.

[rosshilk]

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.

[F14A-B]

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]

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]

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]

Great thread, thanks for all of the replies.

[J Francho]

Just chiming in with WOOD. That's squarebill territory.

[F14A-B]

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]

I just cast out to every piece of cover I see and reel like hell praying I don't get Stuck. It works lol.

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.

[southernson1989]

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]

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]

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?