Looking for suggestions on a good squarebill rod. I have the Dobyns champion 705 glass which I love and use for mid cranking. Just looking to see what else is out there for lighter squarebills (eg lc 1.5). Maybe st croix, megabass, expride... not looking for you to pick one out for me...just wondering what your favorite is.  thanks 

 

 

 

 

 

6'6" St Croix Premier Glass rod as I usually target cast square bills. Wish St Croix 6'10" glass rods would come in a full grip and I would buy one in a heartbeat.

Dobyns Fury 703c. It’s not a designated CB rod, but works great for 1.5 and larger sizes too. 

7 hours ago, zell_pop1 said:

6'6" St Croix Premier Glass rod as I usually target cast square bills. Wish St Croix 6'10" glass rods would come in a full grip and I would buy one in a heartbeat.

That's funny you say that...I just now inquired about the availability of that exact rod at a store.  Seems like a nice rod for light baits and good action as well. Mind if I ask why you would prefer the 6'10" (if it had the longer cork)? thanks

 

2 hours ago, waymont said:

Dobyns Fury 703c. It’s not a designated CB rod, but works great for 1.5 and larger sizes too. 

Any idea how the 703 compares with the 705cb glass?  I haven't had a chance to try the 703...but I bet it would be a great rod!

39 minutes ago, clemsondds said:

That's funny you say that...I just now inquired about the availability of that exact rod at a store.  Seems like a nice rod for light baits and good action as well. Mind if I ask why you would prefer the 6'10" (if it had the longer cork)? thanks

 

Any idea how the 703 compares with the 705cb glass?  I haven't had a chance to try the 703...but I bet it would be a great rod!

I can’t compare them.

St. Croix Legend Glass 610 MM

I use and really like my Daiwa Tatula 7' medium glass rod (TTU701MRB-G) for this technique.  Loads up and launches squarebills a mile!

MegaBass Flatside Special.   

I like a different rod from most cranking sticks for square bills (and traps, too) - a 7' m/f stick.  I like to be able to react quickly when the bait contacts wood or dock pilings, etc., and the fast rod helps with that, but the m power and length keep steady pressure on the fish when you get bit, without being to stiff.

I think some of my square bill rods are long out of production.   I like my 7'4" BPS Extreme.  It was a Woo Davis signature rod and he endorsed it as an all purpose pitching rod.  BPS first brought it to market the next season after Woo Davis won the Bassmaster Classic, I forget what year that was, anyway,  I bought one and didn't like it for pitching because IMO it has too much tip.  It sat in the fishing shed for a couple of years and then on a whim I tried it throwing square bills and it worked great.  I generally throw half ounce baits that that rod had enough tip that I didn't have to over muscle it to get the distance I wanted.  It has plenty of backbone for moving fish once the strike occurs.   I use either an old Curado D (the wide spool Curado ) or a Calcutta 250 TEGT and those reels handle 17 or 20 lb mono well.  After finding a purpose for this rod which I originally paid $100 more or less for, when they went on sale for $70 I bought a couple more.   They don't exist in the BPS catalog any more.

 

When I have to cut down on the number of rods I carry, (like when I've got someone else in the boat) my 7' Falcon Bucco trap caster works good for throwing any half ounce reaction bait.  I think this rod is still in production but I don't know, it has been a while since I went to the Falcon web site.

 

I found a Berkley Lightning rod on sale at Academy a few winters ago, 7' Med/med action and I fished with it once.  It is a good back up to the back up rod.   Also at Academy I found some All Star rods  (the purple ones) on sale/close out - their 7' crank bait rod.   I think that it works ok for square bills, but it works better throwing wiggle warts on 10 lb line.

 

On that same close out sale I found a purple All Star rod labeled as a Carolina Rig rod - I don't throw Carolina rigs, but it works great throwing Biffle Bugs - half ounce & 3/4 oz baits.

 

Back to the subject of square bill rods, the jury is still out on what works best for the big, over an ounce square bill.   Regular square bill rod seems too wimpy.  Currently I'm using an old (mid 90's) 7 Diawa MH rod.  I like that it is telescopic and stores easily, and I like the tip which is way too heavy to throw half ounce baits with any accuracy at all but over an ounce it has enough tip that you can do 60' roll casts with.   Not a fan of the handle - handle is 6 or 8 inches too long IMO, but can't just shorten it cause the rod is telescopic.  

 

I hear guys talk about how great fiberglass rods are for throwing square bills, but I just can't get behind that idea because every fiberglass rod I've ever touched was heavier than a similar length & action graphite rod.

Imx pro 845c cbr 

an old Rick Clunn team Daiwa  crankin stick........

4 hours ago, clemsondds said:

Any idea how the 703 compares with the 705cb glass?  I haven't had a chance to try the 703...but I bet it would be a great rod!

I have both and have used the Fury 703 for squarebills and it does really good. It's almost a full oz. lighter than the 705 Glass, but I recently picked up a 704 Glass that I will probably use for 1.5's from now on and 2.5's on the 705 and jerkbaits on the 703. The Fury 703 is pretty versatile for anything 3/8 and under, it can just about throw anything, including treble hook lures. The 704 Glass is also just under a oz lighter than the 705 and has a lot more parabolic bend to it. It's definitely a technique specific rod for lighter cranks and squarebills only and a lot slower action than the 703 or 705.

2 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

 I hear guys talk about how great fiberglass rods are for throwing square bills, but I just can't get behind that idea because every fiberglass rod I've ever touched was heavier than a similar length & action graphite rod.

My 704 Glass rod weighs less than it's 704cb graphite counterpart.

St. Croix Legend Glass 7'2'' Med. Mod.  Best application specific rod I have ever used.  It's so good, it's scary.  I have used a Mod. Avid, a Loomis GLX crankbait rod, a regular Loomis Crankbait rod, Lamiglas, a Shimano Crucial Crankbait, and probably a couple I have forgotten but the Legend Glass just does the job better. 

1 hour ago, FishTank said:

St. Croix Legend Glass 7'2'' Med. Mod.  Best application specific rod I have ever used.  It's so good, it's scary.  I have used a Mod. Avid, a Loomis GLX crankbait rod, a regular Loomis Crankbait rod, Lamiglas, a Shimano Crucial Crankbait, and probably a couple I have forgotten but the Legend Glass just does the job better. 

I use this exact rod and also absolutely love it.

You're already fishing it.

I've been fishing a Falcon 6'8 mh Jason Christie squarebill/spinnerbait rod for several years. I've lost very few fish on it.

The Lew's custom speed stick crankin 6'9 mh squarebill rod , is gonna be my next one.

Depends on what I’m doing. In grass and/or rock it’s a Legend Glass 7-2 Med Mod.  In wood and around docks I prefer the IMX Pro 843 and 845 CBR. 

I've got a few different cranking rods...for squarebills I love my 2 bucoo trapcasters..which are also my favorite lipless rods..guess they live up to the name

I have been using the same rods for years- black 7' med hvy cumara reaction series.

I use them for squarebills, deeper cranks and lipless cranks. They seem to do a decent job, so I dont see a reason to change.

19 hours ago, clemsondds said:

That's funny you say that...I just now inquired about the availability of that exact rod at a store.  Seems like a nice rod for light baits and good action as well. Mind if I ask why you would prefer the 6'10" (if it had the longer cork)? thanks

 

 

I have a 6'6" and 7' glass rod, one for accuracy one for distance. A 6'10" would allow me to use just one and I hate split grips.

15 hours ago, Columbia Craw said:

You're already fishing it.

My preference is my Dobyns Champion 705CB graphite...but yeah, close enough.

Megabass Flatside Special  

20 hours ago, rcjoutdoors said:

Megabass Flatside Special  

Can you tell me why you like this? I haven’t been able to find one at a store to look at. I love my other mb rod...

On 2/28/2020 at 10:56 PM, Hooligan said:

Depends on what I’m doing. In grass and/or rock it’s a Legend Glass 7-2 Med Mod.  In wood and around docks I prefer the IMX Pro 843 and 845 CBR. 

mind sharing how these rods differ?  If you have three money rods for squarebill, what else is in your collection?!? 
 

thanks everyone for your thoughts! So many to choose from 

An old BPS 7'0" tourney special rod.  It's a mh/f, but it fishes like a m/f.