Article by: Tom Leogrande
Square bill crank baits have been popular amongst professional anglers for many years. Recent success with a square bill at the Bassmaster Classic in 2011 has the bait more popular than ever.
When
Square bills are a perfect bait to cover a lot of water in search of active and aggressive fish. Brent Ehrler likes the square bill from spring through fall. “One of my favorite times to throw the square bill is right when the fish move up in early spring,” says Ehrler.
The summer months can be good for the square bill, as well. There are certain lakes where the square bill can be really effective in the summer, but Ehrler believes, “it’s the fall where the bait really excels.”
Where
There are four main areas Brent focuses on with the square bills. Shallow rock is his favorite structure, “The Bait really deflects well off of shallow rock and it’s my first choice.”
Other areas include shallow seawalls, docks and shallow wood. “I like the bait around anything hard that I can deflect it off of. Lay down trees, submerged rock piles, underwater pipes all can be great for the square bill.”
I generally don’t fish the square bill in grass. I’ll switch to a lipless vibration bait for grass, the Lucky Craft LV-500 is perfect for that. Although the square bill can catch them in grass, the lipless baits pop out of the grass a little better.”
Key
The key to the square bill is the deflection properties of the bill itself. “When I retrieve it at a good clip, moderately fast, it deflects and bounces all over the place. That triggers strikes.”
Angle
Ehrler is a firm believer in the angle of the retrieve. He explained how a fish feeds, “These fish get comfortable sitting in one spot focusing in one direction waiting for a shad to swim by and they eat it.”
It can be docks, a shallow rock pile or a lay down, but hitting it in every angle is important according to Ehrler, “For example, I’ll pull up to a dock and fish perpendicular to it, making every cast possible between every post of the dock. Then I’ll move the boat out to the end of the dock and make parallel casts to the dock. I’ll make every cast possible from that angle, as well. Then I’ll pull around to the opposite side of the dock and make every cast from that angle. Sometimes it’ll be the 10th cast across a particular post that gets the fish to bite.”
This technique can prove successful even in highly pressured fishing areas. Ehrler believes that by fishing a piece of structure from every angle, you can pick up fish left behind from the angler just making the easy casts. “Get in there be methodical and make ten to twenty precision casts around every piece of structure, you’ll be surprised how many more fish you’ll pick up throughout the day. These are fish the anglers ahead of you missed.”
Ehrler warns to not get caught up thinking that every dock is going to have fish feeding at the same angle. “The angle’s are not patternable, each fish is different and has its own angle. Just because I catch one fishing parallel to the dock on the left side of the pilings doesn’t mean the next fish is going to come the same way. Each fish is completely different and has its own feeding angle.”
The Baits
Ehrler has three key square bills in his arsenal. “I love the BDS 3, 1.5 and SKT MR from Lucky Craft.”
The BDS-3 and 1.5 are wide wobble baits making them the perfect choice for the warmer water months, when fish seem to want the wider wobble. “I’ll use the BDS 3 when the fish are feeding on bigger bait fish and the 1.5 when the baitfish are smaller.”
When the water is cold Ehrler turns to the SKT MR, “The SKT MR has the same tight wobble as the popular balsa crankbaits. The tighter wobble makes it a great cold water or very stained water crankbait.”
Line
Choosing the correct line for a square bill is based on a two factors. Your target fishing depth and they type of obstructions will determine what line Ehrler chooses.
The target fishing depth from 1 to 5 feet can be covered with each of the Ehrler’s go-to square bills. Ehlrer dials in his baits to maximize the deflection and bouncing of the bait off of the structure. “I’ll use 12 pound Sunline FC Sniper Fluorocarbon to get the bait a little deeper if I want to increase the deflection. Likewise, if the bait is digging too much I’ll change up and go with the bigger 15 to 20 pound Sniper (Fluorocarbon) to help the bait run a little shallower.”
The low visibility characteristics play very little role in the selection of the Sniper Fluorocarbon. “I generally don’t fish the square bill in super clear water so I don’t use the fluorocarbon for that reason. It’s more about controlling the depth of the bait and the lack of stretch. With the Sniper, I can really feel the bait, and understand what it is doing down there.”
The added abrasion resistance of fluorocarbon helps in Ehrler’s decision. “I’m throwing these baits over some pretty hairy structure sometimes and the Sniper really holds up nicely. My line is running up against old dock pilings, over wood and between rocks, so every little bit of added abrasion resistance is going to help when I get the big girl on.”
Color
Ehrler admits he’s a big shad color guy, “I love the shad colors. In the clearer water, I’ll go with a ghost minnow and in dirty water I’ll use Chartreuse Shad or Sexy shad. I’m pretty simple when it comes to the color. The one percent of the time I go away from a shad based color it’ll be to a craw pattern like spring craw or delta craw.”
Equipment
For the most part, Ehrler sticks to one basic setup for the rod and reel. The rod of choice is a 7’ Medium action graphite rod, the Lucky Craft TLC Cranking Series Fat Mini Magic rod. For the BDS-3 or the bigger Lucky Craft 3.5 bait he’ll sometimes switch to a medium-heavy Lucky Craft TLC BDS rod, which is also 7’.
When selecting a reel Ehrler chooses an Abu Garcia Revo series reel with a 6.3 to 1 gear ration. “I like to get the bait moving at a pretty fast pace, the 6.3 is perfect for that. Some guys switch up with their crankbaits to a slower 5 to 1 gear ratio. For me the Revo 6.3 to 1 is perfect.”
Ehrler does change the hooks on his square bills to Owner ST-36 hooks. “The ST-36 hooks are a little stiffer and a little more sticky than the stock hook. When you are fishing near wooden docks or trees a hooked fish can easily catch one of those trebles on a piece of wood. If they can get leverage like that all they have to do is shake their head to one side and they’ll straighten the hooks out and get off. Another thing that can happen is, if you hook one on the front hook and the fish turns and catches the tail hook on its gill plate and then turns its head back straight, it could straighten the hook out and you’ll lose them. The added stiffness of the ST-36 hook helps prevent that.”
Closing
The square bill crankbait has been in every major professional anglers tackle box for decades. Today it is one of the most popular baits in any tackle shop. Remember to maximize its deflection and find each fish’s feeding angle and you’ll be more successful.
