TackleTour

I'm still on the search for the best squarebill rod...I got a glass rod and just don't really care for the weight and lack of feel. All my other rods are megabass and gloomis (glx, nrx...) and so I like a really light and sensitive rod. I know sensitivity isn't paramount (and could be detrimental) for cranking, but I would just like more than what the glass gave me.
Any recommendations? I'm looking for something that will throw pretty light squarebills. I have the 6'11 poison adrena and while it's a great rod, I can't get those light baits to load properly on that rod. I was looking at the flat side special or the z-crank elseil but have heard negative things about both. Any thoughts? Really appreciate it!

Here's a cross-post from Bass Boat Central's Fishing Tips & Techniques Forum about general crankbaits that dive from 4-8ft for the pre-spawn and post-spawn time periods which is occurring as we speak for the smallmouth bass in the water I fish in NW Wisconsin. I highly recommend all of the crankbait rods I use, but if you are after light crankbaits, look no further than the Smith LTD Strategy Tourer V-Spec TVC-69ML Bait Finesse Advance casting rod, it excels at casting all of my 3/16-1/4oz JDM crankbaits and does double duty presenting JDM "micro" vibrating blade baits such as the Deps Circuit Vibe and Evergreen Little Max in 1/8-1/4oz weights. I liked the rod so much that I bought a second rod so I can have one on each of my bass boats to use without having to deal with the hassle and challenges of transferring a single rod between the two boats constantly.

Start of Cross-post:
Please allow me to provide a definitive answer to this question for the smallmouth bass I fish in the waters of NW Wisconsin.

Crankbaits are a fishing affectation of mine and I've strived to put together the best JDM tackle and gear required to properly present and execute the delivery and retrieval of these lures. Specifically for the early season pre-spawn and post-spawn periods in shallow water from 4-8ft, here are my favorite crankbait lures by specific water depth as measured on my Lowrance Active Target using 30# Power Pro Maxcuatro braid with either a 18" Sunline FC100 30# leader or an 18" RIO PowerFlex Wire Bite 30# leader depending on if there are either trophy pike or muskie in a given fishery.

Lures
1. 4ft Water Depth:
Silent
-Deps Evoke 1.2
-Megabass S-Crank 1.2
-OSP Tiny Blitz MR
-Megabass Knuckle LD Jr
-Megabass IxI Type-R

Rattle
-Lucky Craft LC 1.0 DRS
-Evergreen Combat Crank 4

2. 5ft Water Depth
Silent
-Deps Evoke 1.8
-Megabass S-Crank 1.5
-OSP Blitz
-Megabass Knuckle LD
-Cheator Type-C

Rattle
-Daiwa D-Square 55
-Lucky Craft LC 1.0 DD DRS
-OSP Rattling Blitz

3. 6ft Water Depth
Silent
-Deps Evoke 2.0
-Megabass S-Crank 2.0
-Megabass Super Z-1
-Megabass Sonicside
-OSP HPF Crank Ver 2

Rattle
-OSP HPF Crank Ver 1
-Evergreen Combat Crank 6

4. 7ft Water Depth
Rattle
-Daiwa D-Square 65

5. 8ft Water Depth
Silent
-Megabass Deep-X 100 LBO

Rattle
-Megabass Deep-X 100T
-Evergreen Combat Crank 8

Rods/Reels
1. Sedition SDC-700MG-FTW/Shimano Antares DC

2. Smith LTD Strategy Tourer V-Spec TVC-69ML Bait Finesse Advance/Shimano Antares DC

3. ISM Infinite Blad IBC-610MMLGT /Shimano Antares DC

4. Megabass Valkyrie VKC-69M+/Shimano Antares DC

5. Smith LTD Strategy Tourer V-Spec TVC-71MH/HG Invincible Cranker/Shimano Antares DC


Please feel free to reach out to me via PM if you have any specific questions or concerns regarding the information in this post and I will be glad to assist further.

Please have a great day!

Thanks. Don't know anything about those rods. Anyone care to expound? thanks

Megabass flat side special
Expride 7-2 MH mod
842 MBR

clemsondds wrote: ↑

Fri May 20, 2022 11:35 am

Thanks. Don't know anything about those rods. Anyone care to expound? thanks

Please feel free to contact me on PM if you have any questions about these high-end JDM crankbait rods and I wil lbe happy to assist further.

Here's link to a domestic source for the Smith LTD ML casting rods: https://thehookuptackle.com/products/to ... 4773288103

The Sedition White Falcon is my do everything crankbait rod from 1/4-1oz, it truly can truly present every crankbait within this weight range, and it is a pure joy to fish with, but it's a true JDM custom rod, so availability is non-existent without having a contact in Japan at this moment in time!

Please have a great day!

Thunderblack1984 wrote: ↑

Fri May 20, 2022 11:47 am

Megabass flat side special
Expride 7-2 MH mod
842 MBR

Wow, didn't realize the 842mbr would be a good squarebill rod. Do you have experience with that? glx or nrx? Thanks for your thoughts! Also, do you have experience with fss? I had read good and bad things about it. thanks

I fished 842 in nrx I believe. It may have been the 843 MH and I liked it. The FSS is a good one. I can't imagine someone not liking it but its a stiffer cranking rod.

Thanks! anyone ever use a jerkbait rod for squarebills? Randy Blaukat (pro and megabass pro) who specializes in fishing shallow, uses the orochi jerkbait special as his preferred squarefill rod lol. And for jerkbaits...he uses a spinning rod. Just curious if anyone else has tried this. I find it interesting since I assume he has access to any of megabass' rods.

Im here for this thread..

I really like the 842c I have a conquest and glx. They're great for baits like the bx brat, biggie smalls, 1.5s and fritside 5s

bronzebacks wrote: ↑

Sat May 21, 2022 4:49 am

I really like the 842c I have a conquest and glx. They're great for baits like the bx brat, biggie smalls, 1.5s and fritside 5s

Killing me…I don’t need another reason to buy an NRX ha. But I did wonder if it would work.

I’m Liking the Steez Moving Bait Versatile

Jnkoepp wrote: ↑

Sat May 21, 2022 6:43 am

I’m Liking the Steez Moving Bait Versatile

Oh really? How does it compare to others? I think I would prefer a shorter rod for squarebills…but I’m willing to try whatever

clemsondds wrote: ↑

Sat May 21, 2022 8:17 am

Jnkoepp wrote: ↑

Sat May 21, 2022 6:43 am

I’m Liking the Steez Moving Bait Versatile

Oh really? How does it compare to others? I think I would prefer a shorter rod for squarebills…but I’m willing to try whatever

shallow fast moving special

I’m not so much a squarebill guy, but I crank baits like the DT series aggressively. I really like the Loomis IMX Pro 845 cbr. It just has that something extra…. not mushy like a glass rod.