Squarebill Crankbaits: Tricks to Help you Refine Your Fishing

Over the years the guys have talked about a lot of different lures but one they've never discussed in-depth is the squarebill crankbait. Both Tim and Matt love to throw squarebills and have a lot of knowledge to share. In this week's video they break down styles of baits, running depths, rods, line, and even some quick recommendations on color. You don't want to miss this video!

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Both anglers have their confidence baits and equipment. Despite fishing many of the same locations and groups of fish, Matt and Tim do not use the same equipment. 

To the surprise of many, Matt often throws his squarebills on fluorocarbon. This is one of the only applications where he believes fluorocarbon has an advantage over braid. He couples it with a 7' medium heavy, moderate cranking rod and a 7:1 reel. His bait of choice is the River2Sea Biggie Poppa.

Tim prefers to throw his squarebill cranks on braided line with a mono or fluoro leader. He couples it with a 7'6" Medium Heavy crankbait rod and a 7:1 Reel. His bait of choice is the Lucky Craft BDS 3.

We hope the tips in this week's video will help you refine your squarebill game so you can focus on putting more and bigger fish in the boat the next time you find yourself around aggressive fish in shallow water. Until next time, good luck out there!

Top 5 Spring Search Baits

Despite the freezing temperatures in much of the country the West is seeing record highs. The bass are already moving to the shallows in anticipation of Spring and the bite is turning on. The transition from Winter to Spring is one of the best times of the year to target both quantity and quality of bass. Learning to cover water and locate fish is the key to success.

This week Tim and Matt break down the top 5 baits they use in the Spring to quickly locate and catch schools of bass. In no particular order they are:

1) Squarebill: The Squarebill is a great bait for covering water and triggering reaction strikes from early-season bass. It can be fished in heavy cover but can also be ripped through grass, much like a lipless bait, resulting in violent strikes. We've found the River2Sea Biggie and the Strike King KVD to both produce extremely well in the early season.

2) Spinnerbait: The whole concept of a spinnerbait is to imitate a fast moving, compact school of baitfish. This is a perfect profile to present as bass are bulking up for the spawn. When the water is murky the spinnerbait will outperform virtually every other reaction bait. Our two favorite are the Revenge (Try the Deep Runner with its small blades for a burning presentation) and the River2Sea Bling.

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3) Jerkbait: In the West we call them Rip Baits but whatever you call them, they are deadly. A super slow retrieve in cold winter temps will give way to a fast, erratic retrieve as the bass start to spawn. Try the Staycee 90 as the bass are transitioning into the shallows and who could forget the Megabass Ito Vision 110? Throw the Ito whenever, wherever, its practically a fish magnet!

4) GlideBait: The Glidebait combines the benefits of the jerkbait with the drawing power of a big swimbait. These baits are the perfect transition bait to catch both numbers and size. Whether you're looking to win a tournament or catch the biggest bass of your life, you should have a glide bait ready to go this Spring. We throw the S-waver, GanCraft Jointed Claw, and the Slideswimmer. Look at your budget and take your pick, they've all produced GIANTS in the Spring!

5) Alabama Rig: Love it or hate it, its a producer! Rather than rambling about the A-rig we'll just point you back to The Alabama Rig Video

Whether you're wearing shorts and flip flops already or dreading shoveling the snow off the driveway again, Spring is coming. We hope these tips help you cover water quickly and find the biggest bass of your life. Good luck!

Epic Battle On Light Line

You know that moment when you set the hook and instantly know you're not in control of the situation? This was one of those times! As soon as the hook was set it was very clear, Matt was in this fight for the long haul.

Its no secret, Matt will pick up a swimbait rod spooled with heavy line over just about anything else in his arsenal. Day in and day out the giant baits on heavy gear produce big bass. Even so, there is a time and a place for everything and on this particular day the bite was tough. A nasty cold front had blown in, bringing with it freezing rain and the threat of snow.

Matt spent the first half of the day probing likely areas with Huddleston and Trash Fish swimbaits to no avail.  After giving up on the big baits (It happens to everyone) he was doing his best to draw a reaction bite before packing it in and heading home.

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Just hoping for any bite and not really expecting a big bite, Matt had abandoned the heavy gear and was throwing a small crank on a light Crankbait rod, spooled with 20 lb braid and 10 lb leader. When the big fish hit she immediately surged away from the boat, the drag screaming as 20+ feet of line flew off the reel on the first run. Matt struggled to loosen the drag in time. Once the drag was backed off, cooler heads prevailed and it was a matter of waiting out the big fish as she burrowed under the boat in the open water.

While this big largemouth bass was unexpected, having the right gear and the patience to play the fish out made all the difference. With light line and little size 4 EWG hooks the fight could easily have ended in disaster. The whole experience just goes to show, its important to be a well rounded angler, willing to adapt to changing conditions. There are so many ways to catch a big bass. Its okay to fish your favorite techniques but when its not working, face the reality, change your presentation, and you might just catch a giant bass on a new technique!

Has this happened to you? Tell us about your most unexpected big bass catch. We'd love to hear about it!