The Hammerhead Silent Square crankbait is a powerful tool for drawing nasty strikes as it caroms off rocks, stumps and logs, triggering reflexive strikes. But keying in on the right color can be critical. A good starting point is to match your lure to the color of the most prevalent baitfish or a regional favorite like shiners in Florida, perch in the midwest, or crawfish in desert lakes. But sometimes, natural isn't best. Mikey Balzz breaks down exactly what he's looking for to dial in on the right color for the conditions.

Do you like FREE stuff? Sign up to our VIP mailing list to get unpublished offers like FREE BAIT FRIDAY texted to your phone every week. Seriously! It's FREE TO JOIN, and we send you a code good for a different FREE BAIT every FRIDAY!

Video transcript:

Mikey Balzz:
What is going on, guys. It is Mikey Balzz from MONSTERBASS Fishing. So today we're going to talk about a topic that's super integral to your spring fishing, and that is square-bills. Square-bills are a super universal tool for this time of year. Fish are moving up, they're getting kind of shallow, mid depth, and having a reaction bait that you can bounce off some of this cover run, through some of those shallow flats where they spawn, can catch you some monster bass. But one of the big questions that at least I run into and get asked a lot is, "What color square-bill do I need?" So I'm going to run through a few factors that I use to analyze the water that I'm on, the temperature, the season, the time of year to pick which color is going to catch big bass.

Mikey Balzz:
So one of the first things that I look at, and it's probably one of the simplest, is water color, and you can do it right at the ramp right when you get there. And when I'm talking about water color, I'm talking about clarity. Also, the color or the sort of stain that the water has. So we're on a body of water right now, the water's kind of green-ish looking. It has a slight stain. And what I mean by that is there's a little bit of impediment, I guess you could say, to the visibility. It's maybe like a foot, two foot or so, and that's what you're going to see in spring a lot. Whether you're up North and you got snow running, or you're down South and it's raining and kind of coloring up the water, usually you got a little bit of stain in that water. So really, you need to pick a square-bill that stands out, but at the same time matches that color that the water has, so that you're being natural and matching what the foliage are going to look like in that water.

Mikey Balzz:
One thing that I do with my square-bills as well as my top water, and actually just my crankbaits in general, with the exception of lipless crankbaits, is I use this leader clip, and basically it's almost like your old school leader clips, but there's no leader on there. The reason I do this is a crankbait bite is a reaction bite. I don't think these fish are really analyzing, "Hey bro, is that a worm? Is that a bluegill, is that a shad?" I think they're reacting a lot to the movement and sort of the silhouette that they see. So I don't think it takes away from the actual presentation, but what it does is too really key things. One, I'm all about efficiency. It makes it a lot more efficient to switch out a bait. All I need to do is pop that clip, just like this, and it opens up and I can slide that bait off. I can grab my other MONSTERBASS square-bill, drop it right through the split ring right there, and I am ready to go once I clip it in.

Mikey Balzz:
The other thing too is we always talk about action of the bait and getting the most action out of it you can, and traditionally you would tie a loop knot to these crankbaits if you're tying them directly to the line. Well, with this crankbait, you achieve that same sort of loose uninhibited action with that clip. I honestly think too it adds to the sound dimension of it, because you get a little bit of clicking and tinging, so efficiency as well as fluidity of bait movement, that's what that clip gives you. And I think it's a perfect add. I've never had any issues with them opening them up, and it's definitely something to give a try to quicken and make more efficient your square-bill and crankbait process.

Mikey Balzz:
So the last factor that you got to look at when you're thinking about colors for square-bills in spring, and it's probably the most nuanced aspect but it's one of the most easy to identify, is what fish are in the lake? We're down here in Tennessee, there's largemouth, there's spotted bass, there's smallmouth, we got the whole gamut of fish species, and oftentimes those fish species show preferences for different colors. So no matter what the water quality or color is, you can kind of pre-pick some of your baits just for the situation that you're in. And probably one of the most important aspects of that is, since there's smallmouth out here and spots, you cannot beat chartreuse.

Mikey Balzz:
For some reason, smallmouth and spots really gravitate towards those brighter colors. Oranges, fluorescent greens, chartreuses, and even if you have super clear water, it seems to call them in. The same thing goes for this guy right here, and this is the big sneakster, the red. There's something about largemouth in early spring that absolutely love red. And that's sort of not withstanding water color. I don't care if it's clear, I don't care if it's dingy. There's something about red that just draws those largemouth in.

Mikey Balzz:
So those are a few factors that you can pick out to sort of crunch the math on square-bill fishing any time of the year, really. Think about water quality. Think about water clarity. What kind of species are in the lake that you're targeting, as well as what kind of foliage? It's a great bait for covering water. Getting reaction strikes, bouncing a cover, whether it's wood, grass, rock. It's super versatile, and it's actually a really fun way to fish, dude. When that rod loads up, it is one of the best feelings in the world. But grab yourself a square-bill. There's always going to be little nuances that you figure out as you're fishing, but that's part of the fishing game, but I guarantee you, you use that equation, you're going to catch you some big bass all year round.