Squarebill fishing is a contact sport. Hit something! Run the lure into a dock piling, scrape it down the length of a submerged log, bounce it off a boulder. The squarebill is a useful tool because if its simplicity. Cast and retrieve, and let the action of the squarebill do the rest.

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Video transcript:

Craig Korczynski:
Hey guys, how you doing? My name is Craig Korczynski. I'm a fishing guide over in West Palm Beach with Phlats Inshore Fishing. I target saltwater and freshwater species. Today, we're here with MONSTERBASS and we're going to talk about Squarebill crankbaits.

Craig Korczynski:
One thing we want to touch on is that as far as if you pull up to a lake and you never fished here before, and you're kind of like, "I don't know where to start." That's where the Squarebill is a awesome bait because it's almost like a search bait, it really is a search bait. It gives you the confidence to cover more ground. Okay. Whether you're working grass or you're working shallows, the flats, or you got docks around. So we're in an area where we're not really sure, like we've never been here before, so we're searching for fish. So that's when I chose to use a Squarebill.

Craig Korczynski:
So all I'm trying to do is just get it out there. Kind of cover some ground, mixing it up, working the grass, working the pilings, kind of bouncing in between. A lot of the times, what I've found in the past is that I'm working these zones. A lot of these fish are in between the structures, okay. Because a lot of the fish were in post spawn. They're starting to come out a little bit. They're they're looking for a little bit deeper water. So I'm working this Squarebill, just nice and easy bouncing the bottom, just ticking it. So if you're looking for a bait that you need... or that it'll give you the confidence, right, the Squarebill is the best bait for you because it's very simple to work. You just slow the retrieve. You can do a fast retrieve, but it also covers a lot of ground. And that's the key to finding fish is covering a lot of water.

Craig Korczynski:
So I just want to show you out of the water kind of what this bait does, right? So when you're retrieving this, it's shaking, it's wobbling, it's going back and forth. It's actually more erratic side to side. But when you hit bottom, say you're caught and you hit a stump or a big rock, and it seems like it's stuck, if you stop, this lure is buoyant. So then what it starts to do, it starts to wobble up. Okay. That right there is a trigger point. When bass or any predator fish, see that something's wounded, so now it's stuck on the bottom, but then it starts coming up, that's when they think, okay, I got to capitalize. I'm going to strike that bait. So it's really important when you do get stuck, don't sit there and yank on it and try to snap it off, let the buoyancy of the lure come back up. And I guarantee you when it gets to the top, if they don't hit it then, and you start to move it again. If there's a fish around, he's going to eat this bait.

Craig Korczynski:
Don't just cast once in an area. If you don't find a fish, you need multiple casts. Sometimes it takes a little bit to get these fish to trigger. So if you don't get a strike on the first one, don't be afraid. Don't keep moving on. A lot of guys move a little bit too fast. So just try to keep working that zone. So what I'm trying to do here is I feel it bouncing, but I'm just trying to lift my rod tip real slow. And what that does, it makes that lure kind of dive down and it creates these mud puffs. So we do a lot of saltwater stuff, even in freshwater, mud puffs, it looks like a bait fish trying to escape, right? So what I'm trying to do right now is I'm kind of lifting just a little bit with the rod tip and I can feel the bait digging.

Craig Korczynski:
So I know that it's creating a little trail behind it, right. So you keep doing that. Eventually when we get into these areas that we're in now, we're going to find that fish laying right on the drop, when it comes off those rocks here. And a little secret to a lot of these docks, when you get around docks like this, when these boats come in, it's usually deeper. When you get around these docks here, the boats, the props are blowing the water out. So you get these little troughs. So it's always important to work these areas slow and kind of get that lure down to the bottom.

Craig Korczynski:
The most important thing, I personally think, is it comes down to a knot to lure. So I personally like a loop knot. And the reason for that is it gives you a lot of motion with your lure. Okay, the loop knot doesn't restrict the bait. It can do whatever it wants. If you were to tie direct to the eye, it restricts your movement. I know some guys like it, but me personally, there's a personal preference, I like the loop knot. So when I'm working this and I'm hitting rocks and sand bottom, and the lure is doing its thing, it's not restricting it, popping it back up. It's actually letting the lure do the work as I retrieve. Other bonus with a loop knot, the one that I tie, is the tag goes down. So as I'm working through areas and there might be grass floating or grass on the bottom, this knot right here with the tag is going down. So it's not snagging that grass.

Craig Korczynski:
So when I use the braid to the bite leader, which I call, this is Fluorocarbon. I like to use 12 to 15 pound test. And I'm using a uni knot. And the reason I like this, is because when we're fishing and the fish, if they're really picky or being shy, this Fluorocarbon is invisible pretty much in the water. If you're using braid a lot of times they can see it. So this is really important. So when you tie your Fluorocarbon to your main leader down to your lure, this to me, will make and break your fishing day.

Craig Korczynski:
For a Squarebill, what I like to use is like a 7'-7'6" rod. Okay. Medium heavy. The reason for that is I want a little bit faster tip. Okay. I want to feel the lure. I want to feel what's going on. If I'm knocking stuff, especially if I'm working areas where there's a lot of stumps or rocks or shell rock bottom, I can feel everything in there, but I still have power in the backbone. The most important part of the rod. The tip doesn't do the work, this does the work. The tip is just for feel. So that's basically the breakdown of the rod and reel like I said, bay, cast, or spinner, you can definitely use a spinner. I think the biggest thing that anglers need to realize is just to keep it simple. Utilize a rod and reel that feels comfortable to you in your hand.

Craig Korczynski:
For anyone that's looking to get into some... looking for a bait in the bass fishing, that's going to be a great confidence bait, I would highly recommend the Squarebill. Just using it, getting very fluent with it, understanding what you're feeling, kind of your retrieves. I mean, if you really pay attention, especially for me, I like braid. I can literally feel every little nick on the bottom this lure is doing. And it's really cool to feel, because you're almost like picturing what you're doing down there. And then eventually when you get that strike, it's all worth it.