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dbpmw3
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04/18/2018 08:48PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
Anyone throw square bills in early June? Thinking of taking a few of the new Rapala Brats.
 
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mastertangler
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04/19/2018 06:41AM  
I like your lure selections db and ended up with several of those rattling type baits you posted last year and then liked that brands quality so much I picked up a few of their smaller crank baits.

I really like that new Rapala, particularly the color pattern. That color doesn't get talked about much but I think its a very solid choice.

Square bill? Shallower presentation? Slower? More of a finesse type bait? Is it balsa or plastic? I know the pros throw the square bills into the timber quite a bit and get deflection bites as the bill tends to bounce off stuff better than a tapered bill.

What might be cool is to ditch the belly hook and put a single in-line "J" style hook on the back and then dig it into the rocks and let it bounce around as you bring it in. If it gets stuck just let it float up out of trouble. Fish like when something is bouncing bottom, probably makes a bunch of noise as well. Thats how I would fish that.
 
QueticoMike
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04/19/2018 06:50AM  
I like the KVD sexy shad. Caught this one out of my backyard with one last year......


 
mastertangler
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04/19/2018 09:49AM  
QueticoMike: "I like the KVD sexy shad. Caught this one out of my backyard with one last year......



"


Out of your backyard! Dang dude you are living large! I have a little canal in front of my home (waterfront property ;-) and I once caught a 2 lb bass several years ago but nothing like a beautiful river flowing by. Good for you!

I don't fish the square bill lures much.......what are they like?
 
Guest Paddler
  
04/19/2018 09:54AM  
MT These are part of Rapala's BX series. Balsa core and plastic outer layer for toughness. They come in 2 depths: 3 ft and 6 ft.
Glad you liked the Duo lipless crankbaits. Always the first bait I tie on. Last year we had just arrived at camp coming in through Nym and a couple came through the channel fishing. Said they hadn't caught anything that morning but a coupe small pike. As they left I tied on a Duo and made a couple casts from shore. 1st two casts I caught two nice small mouths. Only problem is I have yet to bring any home from a trip. Lose all of them every year. Expensive but worth it.

Mike Taking a couple of these with you this year?
 
dbpmw3
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04/19/2018 10:03AM  
: "MT These are part of Rapala's BX series. Balsa core and plastic outer layer for toughness. They come in 2 depths: 3 ft and 6 ft.
Glad you liked the Duo lipless crankbaits. Always the first bait I tie on. Last year we had just arrived at camp coming in through Nym and a couple came through the channel fishing. Said they hadn't caught anything that morning but a coupe small pike. As they left I tied on a Duo and made a couple casts from shore. 1st two casts I caught two nice small mouths. Only problem is I have yet to bring any home from a trip. Lose all of them every year. Expensive but worth it.


Mike Taking a couple of these with you this year?
"



Sorry, this is dbpmw3. Forgot to log in.
 
QueticoMike
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04/19/2018 11:23AM  
mastertangler: "
QueticoMike: "I like the KVD sexy shad. Caught this one out of my backyard with one last year......



"



Out of your backyard! Dang dude you are living large! I have a little canal in front of my home (waterfront property ;-) and I once caught a 2 lb bass several years ago but nothing like a beautiful river flowing by. Good for you!


I don't fish the square bill lures much.......what are they like? "


Well actually my backyard ends at a river levy bank, then the woods that line the river, and then the river. It probably takes me 60 seconds from the backyard to get to the river unless there are flood waters and then it is just on the other side of the levy :)

Square bills - I was canoeing down river with a guy who was catching pretty good that day and he was using a KVD 1.0 in the sexy shad color. I decided to give them a go and they worked pretty well for me, but I didn't like how small the 1.0 was so I purchased the 1.5. The 1.5 caught bigger fish, but it also snagged a lot. I think it was designed to dive to 6 feet and I rarely have water that deep to fish in my river. So I did my research and found out there was a shallow running 1.5 that only runs a few feet deep which is perfect for the water I fish. It still manages to make it to the bottom, but doesn't get hung nearly as much as the regular diving lure. Square bills work good in the river with all of the rocks it is able to deflect off causing an erratic movement that smallmouth bass seem to key on. I purchased some crawdad colored ones to try this year if the river ever gets back to a fishable level.
 
QueticoMike
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04/19/2018 11:45AM  
: "MT These are part of Rapala's BX series. Balsa core and plastic outer layer for toughness. They come in 2 depths: 3 ft and 6 ft.
Glad you liked the Duo lipless crankbaits. Always the first bait I tie on. Last year we had just arrived at camp coming in through Nym and a couple came through the channel fishing. Said they hadn't caught anything that morning but a coupe small pike. As they left I tied on a Duo and made a couple casts from shore. 1st two casts I caught two nice small mouths. Only problem is I have yet to bring any home from a trip. Lose all of them every year. Expensive but worth it.


Mike Taking a couple of these with you this year?
"


I always take a couple up north with me. Don't use them often, only when in search mode when I am not throwing a double willow blade chartreuse spinnerbait. When smallmouth fishing it almost always comes down to ZMAN ShadZ (aka Zulu), Green pumpkin tubes, topwater ( Lucky 13, Pop-R, Torpedo, Whopper plopper ) and the chartreuse spinnerbait.
 
BnD
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04/19/2018 08:10PM  
I was gonna post that I would go with KVD square bills since he popularized and marketed that style crankbait with Strike King. IMO all the others are “me too”. The square bill cranks are really a shallow water/wood cover style crank. IMO there are other cranks better suited to shield type lakes and SMB. I’m sure they’ll catch SMB in BWCA or Quetico. Check out Berkley digger cranks, Norman middle N, Bomber fat free, etc.... Good Luck
 
Mnpat
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04/19/2018 08:26PM  
Kvd 1.0 orange belly craw is my top river crank. Catches fish and rarely snags.
 
04/19/2018 09:36PM  
I too like the look of that lure...I think for opening weekend I will tie one to the end of my auger.
 
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