Square Bill Cranks?? ( Kvd )

[eyedabassman]

I am not a big crankbait guy! But I want to get better at it for sure! I was looking at the SK KVD square bill cranks. Just want some input on them,are they worth it? Up here in Wisconsin and the lakes that I fish there are not any wood,just weeds and some rock. So would I be better off with a round bill crank? Or will these square bills work better in grass and weeds better?

[NCbassmaster4Life]

Just depends on how you like to fish?

[Ima Bass Ninja]

I have not found a crankbait yet that is good in grass or weeds. Usually when people talk about fish crankbaits in grass they usually mean above grass or slightly tipping the grass. Any crankbait that is fished in weeds will get grass on the bills and treble hooks and not run correctly.

Square bills are great for brush and stumps and and even rocks to some extent. The KVD line of cranks are a good quality crank that will work well. Personally i think round bill cranks work better with a diggin the bottom type presentation such as when fishing around rocks, and square bills work better when bouncing of of someting that is up of the bottom such as a laydown or stump.

[SausageFingers]

In terms of square bills, the KVD's are very good. The XCalibur's and Bandit's are worth a look also.

Square bills are made to deflect off hard objects like wood or rock. They're also productive when fished along the outside weed edges.

[eyedabassman]

I have not found a crankbait yet that is good in grass or weeds. Usually when people talk about fish crankbaits in grass they usually mean above grass or slightly tipping the grass. Any crankbait that is fished in weeds will get grass on the bills and treble hooks and not run correctly.

Square bills are great for brush and stumps and and even rocks to some extent. The KVD line of cranks are a good quality crank that will work well. Personally i think round bill cranks work better with a diggin the bottom type presentation such as when fishing around rocks, and square bills work better when bouncing of of someting that is up of the bottom such as a laydown or stump.

I did mean ticking the weeds,not fishing in them with a crank. Thanks,so i think I will stay with the round bills then.You saved me some money. I just thought that maybe the square bill would react different when tipping the tops of weeds vs. a round bill?

[backcast88]

I really like square bill crankbaits but don't really like the KVD's. They have nice action but seem to chip easily. I like my Rapala Clackin Cranks and Lucky Craft the best but XCaliber makes a very good crank and I have been fairly impressed with it.

[Senkoman12]

I have not found a crankbait yet that is good in grass or weeds. Usually when people talk about fish crankbaits in grass they usually mean above grass or slightly tipping the grass. Any crankbait that is fished in weeds will get grass on the bills and treble hooks and not run correctly.

Square bills are great for brush and stumps and and even rocks to some extent. The KVD line of cranks are a good quality crank that will work well. Personally i think round bill cranks work better with a diggin the bottom type presentation such as when fishing around rocks, and square bills work better when bouncing of of someting that is up of the bottom such as a laydown or stump.

ive caught many a fish cranking in the weeds

[Packard]

Sounds like a lipless crankbait would work best in your situation.

[eyedabassman]

Sounds like a lipless crankbait would work best in your situation.

True,but I wanted something where I can control the bait better and a bit slower.

[Packard]

True,but I wanted something where I can control the bait better and a bit slower.

You can slow roll them and I for one think they are much easier to control than billed cranks.

[Crankenstein Crony]

I throw KVD 1.5 square bills every where I fish in Michigan and they flat out get destroyed! They are my favorite square bills. I use them in every water clarity imaginable and they work great. I fish them in and through weeds, wood, rocks, around docks, shallow drop offs, sunken islands.... If you hook into a weed, rip the bait out and a lot of times you get a reaction strike! Just as Senkoman12 said, I have caught many fish cranking weeds!

If you don't want to use Strike King square bills, Xcalibur makes a good square bill. The XCS 100 series is just a little bit bigger than the KVD 1.5 and they catch fish. Both Strike King and Xcalibur are priced very well. Another decent priced square bill is the Lucky-E-Strike Rick Clunn square bills. I don't like them near as much as the SK's and the Xcalibur's but they are another decent option that isn't to expensive.

[ww2farmer]

All the above mentioned baits I have as well. KVD's, Xcailbers, and the LS Rick Clunns. They all work, my favorite in the bunch being the KVD, but one that was not mentioned that has been very good for me, expecialy in weeds is the Rapala DT Fat 3. If you like or prefer baits with rattles, the SK 4s and series 1's along with Bandit 100's have caught me tons of fish. Unless the weeds are matted and/or super thick I can get any of these cranks through them. Cranking down into milfoil thats in 5-10 FOW and bouncing and ripping them around down there has been very productive, more so than ripping lip less baits the last few years....for me. The weeds have to be right, even when they are thick I can get them through, but they have to be strong and green, late in the fall they get mushy and I start raking the lake insted of ripping free. If you follow me.

[eyedabassman]

All the above mentioned baits I have as well. KVD's, Xcailbers, and the LS Rick Clunns. They all work, my favorite in the bunch being the KVD, but one that was not mentioned that has been very good for me, expecialy in weeds is the Rapala DT Fat 3. If you like or prefer baits with rattles, the SK 4s and series 1's along with Bandit 100's have caught me tons of fish. Unless the weeds are matted and/or super thick I can get any of these cranks through them. Cranking down into milfoil thats in 5-10 FOW and bouncing and ripping them around down there has been very productive, more so than ripping lip less baits the last few years....for me. The weeds have to be right, even when they are thick I can get them through, but they have to be strong and green, late in the fall they get mushy and I start raking the lake insted of ripping free. If you follow me.

I did pick up some KVD square bills yesterday. Thanks for all the feed back.Farmer I will take a look at the DT fat 3's. Any colors that you think I should get?

[Ineedanewscreenname20170204]

I love the KVD Square bills! I bounce them off rocks and stumps pretty aggressively and yes they do chip eventually but you usually get plenty of use out of them before they give up the ghost. Good new is they can be had for $5 or less on sale. Square bills are best used bouncing off hard objects so wouldn't be my first choice in grass. Lipless or swim jig would be better choices IMHO.

[Bassfisherman94]

Get some!!!! I love the 1.5's!!!!!

[eyedabassman]

Get some!!!! I love the 1.5's!!!!!

That is just what I am going to do. I work at a Gander store part time and they are on sale untill March 31 and I get 20% off of the sale price!

[ww2farmer]

I did pick up some KVD square bills yesterday. Thanks for all the feed back.Farmer I will take a look at the DT fat 3's. Any colors that you think I should get?

My best DT Fat 3 color has been Hot Mustard, clear or dirty water. KVD colors, I like Bluegill about 99% of the time, it just works.

[Bassfisherman94]

Right on!!! I wish I could get them for 20% and on sale, I'd buy every single 1.5 in the store.

[Nodda4me]

That is just what I am going to do. I work at a Gander store part time and they are on sale untill March 31 and I get 20% off of the sale price!

send me some

[Osprey39]

I did mean ticking the weeds,not fishing in them with a crank. Thanks,so i think I will stay with the round bills then.You saved me some money. I just thought that maybe the square bill would react different when tipping the tops of weeds vs. a round bill?

Well the nice thing about the square bills is that they run pretty shallow so they work well for fishing over weeds if they aren't too close to the surface. I love the KVD square bills but I bought a bunch of Bombers from BPS because they had them on sale for $1.99 each. One other thing about a square bill, they seem to have a different wobble than a round bill so you're showing the fish something different.

[Hooligan]

I have not found a crankbait yet that is good in grass or weeds. Usually when people talk about fish crankbaits in grass they usually mean above grass or slightly tipping the grass. Any crankbait that is fished in weeds will get grass on the bills and treble hooks and not run correctly.

Square bills are great for brush and stumps and and even rocks to some extent. The KVD line of cranks are a good quality crank that will work well. Personally i think round bill cranks work better with a diggin the bottom type presentation such as when fishing around rocks, and square bills work better when bouncing of of someting that is up of the bottom such as a laydown or stump.

The KVD cranks are great in and around grass. That's actually one of the places they excel; there are quite a few baits that are better around rock and tight wood cover. Because of the way the baits yaw, the front hook hangs fairly wide on the wobble with the 1.5 and it's slightly more prone to hanging because of that. The 2.5 is nowhere near as bad. You can tick the grass, you can slow roll them, you can rip them in the grass, you can pop them through.... They're a super bait for WI and MN waters.

I disagree that people mean ticking the tips, when we talk about fishing grass, it means ripping grass. Right in the middle of it.

Another very good WI bait is the Fat John series. They come through rock and slop very well. I fish them a lot up in the Oneida area for brown fish, and they're a super bait.

[hatrix]

I have more Xcaliburs then KVD cranks and I like the KVD ones better. The Xcalibur looks better but doesn't fish as good for me. The KVD seems to search and deflect better for me. You can give it a quick burn and it will shoot out to the side or even just grazing the side on a tiny piece of grass makes it swing out left or right. I will take a KVD 2.5 any day and it has been my favorite crank for a couple years now. With practice you can go through any thing.

[Sherlock 60]

I generally fish squarebills over grass.

Bomber Square A's have been a winner for years, particularly in Oxbow Bream. Last year the KVD 1.5 and 2.5 produced well and I used mostly the chartreuse/black back and bluegill colors.

[Pepul]

How long is the 1.5?

And how much does it weight?

[Revo_Carrot Stix]

KVD 2.5 and XCalibur 200/300's are my go to square bills with 17# Fluoro.

My only issue are the hooks on the SK KVD's. If you're fishing them right, you are banging it off rocks and wood. I've broken the factory hooks 4 times. When I buy a new one, I immediatley put Mustad Triple Grip #2. And as mentioned before, the SK KVD finish doesn't last long. I have one 2.5 that caught 150+ fish last year and that thing was UGLY by the end of the season. Last winter my buddy re-painted it for me and it still works like a charm!