That KVD 1.5 squarebills are silent. I took the hooks off to tie them with soft split rings, and I went to check the sound, and silent. I haven't fished them a bunch, but I never realized that.

 

I most often use H20X squrebills, but knowing that the KVD is silent, it'll get a lot more time at the end of my line.

Just now, Bazoo said:

That KVD 1.5 squarebills are silent.

There are times and places where they don't like the chaos of rattles. I can't get a sniff on anything but silent wake baits and cranks going back years at my favorite local spot.

I have better success normally by tying the hooks, which reduces the noise and changes the vibration at my local spot. I also prefer a silent model, but they are harder to find in store. 

I use silent squarebills exclusively, even in low vis water. The og lc 1.5 is my anytime anywhere goto crank.

Toward the end of summer, when the fish are just hammered and burned out, it is very wise to have some silent cranks on hand. 
 

My “stealth cranks” box has KVD 1.5’s, Sunny B’s, Fat Raps, Shad Raps, wood Big O’s, old Bagley Fat Cats and a couple of (sacred) DB3 Dredges. 
 

5 minutes ago, ElGuapo928 said:

Fat Raps

I have a couple that seem to be a little denser than normal. They appear to work better. 

1 minute ago, scaleface said:

I have a couple that seem to be a little denser than normal. They appear to work better. 

That’s the greatest thing about wood baits - I’ve got a couple that I’ve had to mark because they have that difference in action. There’s a Shad Rap 8 that is really dense like that and has an even tighter wiggle than most, a Fat Rap that rolls side to side more than it wiggles, and a  B1 square bill that dives violently to the left if you twitch the rod tip. 

 

 

14 hours ago, ElGuapo928 said:

There’s a Shad Rap 8 that is really dense like that and has an even tighter wiggle than most,

The Fat Raps I referred to cast slightly better and are more responsive with a tighter action. 

16 hours ago, Bazoo said:

I have better success normally by tying the hooks, which reduces the noise and changes the vibration at my local spot. I also prefer a silent model, but they are harder to find in store. 

 

The DT and OG series from Rapala are all silent.  Given our clear water and relatively decent amount of pressure, my default is a silent crank unless the water is dirty which isn't often.  Given the places you're fishing, have a look at the OG4.  It is a small circuit board lip style crank with a flat body and a tight wiggle.  Good shallow easrly season bait but also good for pressure and finicky fish.

3 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

The DT and OG series from Rapala are all silent.  Given our clear water and relatively decent amount of pressure, my default is a silent crank unless the water is dirty which isn't often.  Given the places you're fishing, have a look at the OG4.  It is a small circuit board lip style crank with a flat body and a tight wiggle.  Good shallow easrly season bait but also good for pressure and finicky fish.

Thanks.  I've been wanting to check out the OG series. 

If you like silent square bills, than try some made of balsa wood.  No plastic bait thumps as hare, or goes through wood as well as a high floating Balsa square bill.   I like the old Bagley's baits the best, but they are hard to find.  There are many smaller companies that make balsa wood square bills.  Buy a few of each, because they are all slightly different and there will always be one that works twice as well as one that looks exactly the same.

 

If you don't want the Bait Monkey to move into your house permanently, fish the silent Strike King 1.5.  They catch bass for a reasonable price.  

2 minutes ago, king fisher said:

If you like silent square bills, than try some made of balsa wood.  No plastic bait thumps as hare, or goes through wood as well as a high floating Balsa square bill.   I like the old Bagley's baits the best, but they are hard to find.  There are many smaller companies that make balsa wood square bills.  Buy a few of each, because they are all slightly different and there will always be one that works twice as well as one that looks exactly the same.

 

If you don't want the Bait Monkey to move into your house permanently, fish the silent Strike King 1.5.  They catch bass for a reasonable price.  

Though the new Bagley’s aren’t quite the same, TW has a bunch of colors on sale right now for 5 bucks.

Im not crazy about a lot of SKs hard baits or jigs for that matter.  As deep as my bias is against some SK products, the effectiveness of both the KVD HC 1.5 and shallow HC 1.5 are undeniable.  Theyre consistent, the paint jobs hold up, and they come through cover fairly well.  If I snag one up, I dont mind marking it, breaking it off and getting it later and if I cant find it its not a big loss.  Sure, they're not going to fish like a higher quality balsa bait, but they are more than serviceable.