Squarebill crankbaits getting snagged

[EGbassing 442]

I've only fished a squarebill a couple times, and I love fishing them. Thing is, there are so many dead leaves/moss/etc. on the bottom of the pond I fish that the hooks are always snagging leaves or something. Is there any way to prevent this? They've been really effective for me when they weren't covered in leaves.

[Glaucus 874]

Not the best to fish subsurface trebles in these conditions. You could choose a squarebill that doesn't dive as deep, or fish a lipless because you get to determine the depth. However one of the things that makes a squarebill so good is it bouncing off of rocks and wood. 

[EGbassing 442]

5 minutes ago, Glaucus said:

Not the best to fish subsurface trebles in these conditions. You could choose a squarebill that doesn't dive as deep, or fish a lipless because you get to determine the depth. However one of the things that makes a squarebill so good is it bouncing off of rocks and wood. 

Yeah, lipless don't seem to snag very much for me.

[WRB 11,251]

Slow down your retrieve pace and rip the lure once in awhile to clean off any debris and this action tends to initiate strikes.

Tom

[EGbassing 442]

12 minutes ago, WRB said:

Slow down your retrieve pace and rip the lure once in awhile to clean off any debris and this action tends to initiate strikes.

Tom

I'll try both of those. Thank you. Do you think cutting the front treble point off the front hook will help very much?

[WRB 11,251]

13 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

I'll try both of those. Thank you. Do you think cutting the front treble point off the front hook will help very much?

Hooks swing a lot and cutting off the treble hook at the base of the bend on the point that tends to snag does help. Try removing the front hook before cutting it.

Developing the skill to prevent digging into the bottom pays off long term with other crankbaits.

Tom

 

[EGbassing 442]

Just now, WRB said:

Hooks swing a lot and cutting off the treble hook at the base of the bend on the point that tends to snag does help. Try removing the front hook before cutting it.

Tom

 

Ok, I cut the front point off. Hopefully that helps with the snags.

[Swbass15 366]

Another way to fish it would be with long rod sweeps picking up slack as you go back to the bait. You won’t achive max depth, the pause and slow rise sometimes is killer for me. 

[scaleface 6,452]

A Bagleys Honey B is my crankbait of choice under those conditions .

[EGbassing 442]

52 minutes ago, scaleface said:

A Bagleys Honey B is my crankbait of choice under those conditions .

This one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K9ZPW0/ref=twister_B01AGNQYGY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[scaleface 6,452]

12 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

This one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B018K9ZPW0/ref=twister_B01AGNQYGY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I have never used the Rattlin one  . It might work  the same . The ones I used are balsa with no rattles  . It appears they are not being made now .  I'm interested in getting a couple of these rattlin ones myself .

[EGbassing 442]

1 hour ago, scaleface said:

I have never used the Rattlin one  . It might work  the same . The ones I used are balsa with no rattles  . It appears they are not being made now .  I'm interested in getting a couple of these rattlin ones myself .

I prefer silent but the rattling one will probably be fine so I think I'm going to get one of those.

[scaleface 6,452]

6 hours ago, EGbassing said:

I prefer silent but the rattling one will probably be fine so I think I'm going to get one of those.

They are small and dont dive as deep , only a quarter ounce .

[junyer357 240]

I was also taught years ago when i was learning to fish cranks that "if you aint getting hung up, you aint gettin where the fish are boy".  

[fishballer06 2,884]

The water you're fishing is too shallow for the squarebill you're fishing. Try using a Mann's Baby 1-. They only run about 6-12" deep and they're a killer crankbait.

[Brett's_daddy 397]

I would also try one of the new 6th Sense Movement 80x...they are very shallow divers only 1 - 3ft. and the people who have them love them, haven't heard anything negative about them yet (except possibly their cost at $8 each).

[EGbassing 442]

1 hour ago, fishballer06 said:

The water you're fishing is too shallow for the squarebill you're fishing. Try using a Mann's Baby 1-. They only run about 6-12" deep and they're a killer crankbait.

It's a 4 foot diver in about 3 feet of water so I don't think it's too shallow. Everybody says it's supposed to bounce off the bottom to trigger strikes. I think the bottom composition is just not the best for crankbaits.

2 hours ago, junyer357 said:

I was also taught years ago when i was learning to fish cranks that "if you aint getting hung up, you aint gettin where the fish are boy".  

That's true, but snagging a pound of leaves on every single cast gets annoying after a while. 😄

[FCPhil 222]

15 hours ago, EGbassing said:

I'll try both of those. Thank you. Do you think cutting the front treble point off the front hook will help very much?

Cutting a treble is going to hurt your hookup ratio. I would start with other approaches first. Try EWG treble hooks that have the hook points tipped slightly in and a shorter shank. You can also downsize the hooks. 

[Sam 4,927]

Not really, to answer your query.

 

It is part of crankbait fishing that can drive you crazy.

 

But you have to put your crankbait where the bass are and if they are deep you have no choice.

 

You could remove the rear hook to reduce the snags and leaves/muck which is done with lipless crankbaits all the time.

 

But overall, it is just part of fishing and if you want to minimize the glop on your hooks use a spinnerbait or Chatterbait.

[EGbassing 442]

1 minute ago, Sam said:

Not really, to answer your query.

 

It is part of crankbait fishing that can drive you crazy.

 

But you have to put your crankbait where the bass are and if they are deep you have no choice.

 

You could remove the rear hook to reduce the snags and leaves/muck which is done with lipless crankbaits all the time.

 

But overall, it is just part of fishing and if you want to minimize the glop on your hooks use a spinnerbait or Chatterbait.

Yeah, the one place they don't snag for me is an brush/wood cover because it can deflect off that pretty well. I may try removing a hook if I still snag a lot.

[fishballer06 2,884]

1 hour ago, fishballer06 said:

The water you're fishing is too shallow for the squarebill you're fishing. Try using a Mann's Baby 1-. They only run about 6-12" deep and they're a killer crankbait.

 

18 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

It's a 4 foot diver in about 3 feet of water so I don't think it's too shallow. Everybody says it's supposed to bounce off the bottom to trigger strikes

Fair enough. What do I know 

[Sam 4,927]

5 minutes ago, EGbassing said:

Yeah, the one place they don't snag for me is an brush/wood cover because it can deflect off that pretty well. I may try removing a hook if I still snag a lot.

Remove the rear hook.  Old pros' trick for Rat-L-Trap type lipless baits. Even VanDam does it at times.

 

You can also cut some small pieces of foam and place them on the tips of your crankbait hooks. It looks strange but it can minimize the leaves problem. Not so much for the bottom gunk.

 

And you may want to go heavier on your line test to 12 or 17 pounds with baits that go no more than three to five feet deep and do not scrap the bottom.

 

Just experiment and have fun seeing what works and what doesn't.

 

 

[WRB 11,251]

Just learn to control the diving depth by holding the rod tip high, changing the pace by stop,and go retreive or.....change to another lure.

Tom

[scaleface 6,452]

The water  you describe a crankbait does not bounce off the bottom .It is silted  in with lots of scummy black debris ,the crankbait digs in and gets covered in the stuff , which you already know . Its horrible bass cover so there is no need for the crankbait to run that deep . Use a shallower diver that doesnt hit the bottom .You may have to hold the rod high .I have fished this type of water a lot and crankbaits work well , just keep it out of the muck and cast at visible cover . Spinnerbaits , buzzbaits and lightly weighted Texas rigs also have worked well for me . I fish irrigation ditches that are filled with fertile bottom-land soil and half digested vegetable matter .

 

 

[ratherbfishin1 309]

 

Problem... Solved

 

It looks like a joke to me, but hey, who knows!😂