Red square bills, flat sides and especially cranks have been hot late winter-spawn colors for what seems like decades. Only in the past few years have I really seen red JBs offered in popular lines. I feel like the color doesn't translate as well to JBs, I know what I think but what do you all think and why?

Also, who here uses/used them and what was the result?

TYIA

I’ve got a special edition Megabass that’s kinda red. It’s called tiger stripes. I bought it on eBay on a whim a few years ago.

Literally have never caught a fish on it. So there’s that.

1 hour ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

I know what I think but what do you all think and why?

I can't catch spit on anything red in my parts, and God knows I've tried. In my hands it's like bass repellant. On the other hand, perch, bluegill, and shad patterns are guaranteed with perch having the clear advantage over the other two even in alewife lakes. Why, I don't know. I've seen brown/rust colored crayfish and molted blue exoskeletons up here, but never anything bright like Rayburn red.

This guy is has been great on any lake I have fished.

Megabass 110 jr +1 Spawn Killer. Looks red in the box, orangish in the water.

There's a period in late Feb. to mid march on overcast days if the water is stained that fishing the Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in Aurora Craw with a slow pull & pause retrieve on the weed edges or breaks close to spawning area's is a deal. if the sky is clear, no dice.

25 minutes ago, FishTank said:

This guy is has been great on any lake I have fished.

Megabass 110 jr +1 Spawn Killer. Looks red in the box, orangish in the water.

I've also had success with Spawn Killer. Not sure if it's color vs color temperature vs profile vs reflection. That said, my Spidey senses are eager to try the Mat Aka Tora once the ice has passed.

I think JBs were never recognized as effective in red for spring is because the fishing marketing machine had always been geared to moving us into crank baits by this time of year. I dunno.

5 minutes ago, Hartwood71 said:

I've also had success with Spawn Killer. Not sure if it's color vs color temperature vs profile vs reflection. That said, my spider senses are eager to try the Mat Aka Tora once the ice has passed.

I think JBs were never recognized as effective in red for spring is because the fishing marketing machine had always been geared to moving us into crank baits by this time of year. I dunno.

I have a 110 in that color. I have yet to try it. I will need to give it a go one of these days. I do have a few different baits in Matte Tiger. I think it was a special/limited color for the 110 but a regular in the Deep X-200. It seems to do well with smallmouth. I don't see why Aka Tora wouldn't do the same.

Another one that I went on a tare with years ago was a LC 100sp in Gekiatsu Red. I lost it somewhere along the way but it too would work in spring. Another one in 100sp is Aurora Craw.

This is the only image I could find of the Gekiatsu Red. Wrong bait though. I also have it in an LC 2.0.

I am a big fan of red baits, and added a red Duo Realis to my last JLS order. We'll see ..

I have had good results with Lucky Craft 128 in Aurora Craw color with red sides with orange belly. Good results defined as smallmouth caught over 6lbs both prespawn in the spring & in the fall.

The Blaze colored Stunna and Ditch Weed Provoke both have their moments for me.

6th Sense use to make the Provoke in their Merthiolate (sp?) color and it will always hold a special place for me. It was a key bait in willing me a pretty good chunk of change in a winter tournaments several years back. Not really red I guess, but maybe reddish/orangish, copper colored.

I know you’re thinking that’s not a jerkbait. But TRUST ME, it’s a jerkbait.

On 3/9/2026 at 9:59 PM, gim said:

I’ve got a special edition Megabass that’s kinda red. It’s called tiger stripes. I bought it on eBay on a whim a few years ago.

Literally have never caught a fish on it. So there’s that.

Im very leery of fishing baits I cannot replace. If I do fish them, I fish "cheap" and avoid potential snags, which has a detrimental effect on my results.

On 3/9/2026 at 10:44 PM, PhishLI said:

I can't catch spit on anything red in my parts, and God knows I've tried. In my hands it's like bass repellant.

I have some confidence in certain red baits, but very little in others. I do well with most red cranks, but tomato red senkos or other soft plastics just dont produce as well for me as more natural colors do.

I suspect that one of the reasons that red baits produce so wel, is that everyone is used them. If all you throw for 4 weeks is red, you'll certainly catch some fish on it.

On 3/9/2026 at 10:50 PM, FishTank said:

This guy is has been great on any lake I have fished.

Megabass 110 jr +1 Spawn Killer. Looks red in the box, orangish in the water.

It looks good. I think bold colors have good results in mid and deep running baits because those colors show up well and aren't as bold when there is less light penetration.

Although red has worked for me, I actually have more confidence in orange. Ive been catching fish on orange baits since I was 10. Naturally I have more confidence in bright orange vs red. A little orange in a jig, orange bellied senkos, orange or brown back orange cranks and orange kicker blades have produced well for me for years and years.

On 3/9/2026 at 11:28 PM, Hartwood71 said:

I think JBs were never recognized as effective in red for spring is because the fishing marketing machine had always been geared to moving us into crank baits by this time of year. I dunno.

You could be right. IME the red bait thats gets the most attention is the lipless and other cranks to a lesser degree. The JB is IMO is THE winter hardbait and slowly gets replaced with the cranks as the fish become more aggressive and move shallow. To be honest recently strolling baits and the jigheads to use them on have dominated sales.

On 3/12/2026 at 10:04 PM, Swimbaitstud said:

Really?

It looks like a glide bait for sure. Who makes it?

If I were to count on one hand how many fish I've caught on a red bait I could still count to 5 with it. Red doesn't work for me. Pink, white, chartreuse? All day long but for some reason red is my kryptonite color. I try it all the time but i get discouraged quickly and switch back to white usually.

6 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

Im very leery of fishing baits I cannot replace. If I do fish them, I fish "cheap" and avoid potential snags, which has a detrimental effect on my results.

I have some confidence in certain red baits, but very little in others. I do well with most red cranks, but tomato red senkos or other soft plastics just dont produce as well for me as more natural colors do.

I suspect that one of the reasons that red baits produce so wel, is that everyone is used them. If all you throw for 4 weeks is red, you'll certainly catch some fish on it.

It looks good. I think bold colors have good results in mid and deep running baits because those colors show up well and aren't as bold when there is less light penetration.

Although red has worked for me, I actually have more confidence in orange. Ive been catching fish on orange baits since I was 10. Naturally I have more confidence in bright orange vs red. A little orange in a jig, orange bellied senkos, orange or brown back orange cranks and orange kicker blades have produced well for me for years and years.

You could be right. IME the red bait thats gets the most attention is the lipless and other cranks to a lesser degree. The JB is IMO is THE winter hardbait and slowly gets replaced with the cranks as the fish become more aggressive and move shallow. To be honest recently strolling baits and the jigheads to use them on have dominated sales.

Really?

It looks like a glide bait for sure. Who makes it?

Ok so technically it’s a tiny klash. I’ll give you the short version of my rant. If someone lives in the north, likes chasing big fish, and wants to get into swimbaits, the Tk is the best cold water bait there is as far as swimbaits go. HANDS DOWN! Belly weight to suspend and start snapping(“jerking” didn’t sounds quite right here lol). This is the only way I fish a Tk. I have 30 or so and all are weighted. The Tk comes in a few good red colors including Magma and Red Tiger if you can find them. And both slay in spring and fall

43 minutes ago, Swimbaitstud said:

Ok so technically it’s a tiny klash. I’ll give you the short version of my rant. If someone lives in the north, likes chasing big fish, and wants to get into swimbaits, the Tk is the best cold water bait there is as far as swimbaits go. HANDS DOWN! Belly weight to suspend and start snapping(“jerking” didn’t sounds quite right here lol). This is the only way I fish a Tk. I have 30 or so and all are weighted. The Tk comes in a few good red colors including Magma and Red Tiger if you can find them. And both slay in spring and fall

I have to disagree - As a northern guy the TK is...awful. I haven't seen a DRT bait I would consider anything above mediocre.

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

I have to disagree - As a northern guy the TK is...awful. I haven't seen a DRT bait I would consider anything above mediocre.

Must be a disinformation campaign…

2 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

I have to disagree - As a northern guy the TK is...awful. I haven't seen a DRT bait I would consider anything above mediocre.

Then you have done something wrong lol. I’ve caught literally thousands of fish on a Tk. And dozens of fish between 5 and 7lbs on them. My guess is, you haven’t put in the time or haven’t had the right insight on fishing them. My PB smallie came on a Tk at 5-4. My pb 7-9 came on a joker. I’m in Maine. You and I have different opinions on the word, “awful” 🤣 Here’s a few 5-7lbers

4 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

I have to disagree - As a northern guy the TK is...awful. I haven't seen a DRT bait I would consider anything above mediocre.

The value of a bait is subjective. Ultimately each bait is a tool. Some guys prefer to use different tools to do the same job. Whether the majority opinion on that particular bait or company is negative, or if Swimbaitstud fishing it unconventionally, hes found a real niche for it. Hes not just catchin fish in the spring when they're eating anything they can get, looks like hes got at least a solid 2 season pattern and likely it would be 3 if the water didn't freeze for so long that far north.

If the bait is a real dud like Millikins swimbait, I could only imagine what SS could do with a hinkle shad or some other high quality swimbait.

I fish swimbaits in the surf, like dannys and the big Magic Swiimmers when bunker are around. FW the only ones I have used and done really with are the old Sebile soft Magic Swimmers, which I just fish on a heavy power. Hes got me thinkin about investing some $ into a legit swimbait outfit and some of those TKs.

What is you're go to swimbait Jedi?

2 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

The value of a bait is subjective. Ultimately each bait is a tool. Some guys prefer to use different tools to do the same job. Whether the majority opinion on that particular bait or company is negative, or if Swimbaitstud fishing it unconventionally, hes found a real niche for it. Hes not just catchin fish in the spring when they're eating anything they can get, looks like hes got at least a solid 2 season pattern and likely it would be 3 if the water didn't freeze for so long that far north.

If the bait is a real dud like Millikins swimbait, I could only imagine what SS could do with a hinkle shad or some other high quality swimbait.

I fish swimbaits in the surf, like dannys and the big Magic Swiimmers when bunker are around. FW the only ones I have used and done really with are the old Sebile soft Magic Swimmers, which I just fish on a heavy power. Hes got me thinkin about investing some $ into a legit swimbait outfit and some of those TKs.

What is you're go to swimbait Jedi?

Now did you say Hinkle’s? Lol

But yes, baits are all tools. Most people just use the adjustable wrench their whole life instead of taking the time to figure out which tool for which jobs

20 hours ago, Swimbaitstud said:

But yes, baits are all tools. Most people just use the adjustable wrench their whole life instead of taking the time to figure out which tool for which job

Which is why the TK and Klash are all meh. They are adjustable wrenches when a socket wrench or in this case a specific bait will be better and more in tune with the specific thing I am trying to do.

23 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

What is you're go to swimbait Jedi?

Depends on the situation but I mostly prefer resin baits, they throw better and perform better 90% of the time.

Last year I caught more than 90 over 5 lbs in Pa.

@Swimbaitstud killer smallie from the bank bro, just sent a PM. Maybe we could orchestrate a north shore MA/Southern ME meet up with @Swamp Girl and anybody from the East coast MA/New England group, I feel like I see @DogBone_384 head north quite a bit.

@JediAmoeba if somebody has never thrown a swimbait before what would be one or two you recommend to test the waters?

On 3/14/2026 at 7:07 AM, Swimbaitstud said:

Belly weight to suspend and start snapping

Lead wrapped around hooks for weight?

49 minutes ago, Banned User said:

@JediAmoeba if somebody has never thrown a swimbait before what would be one or two you recommend to test the waters?

  On 3/14/2026 at 7:07 AM, Swimbaitstud said:

Belly weight to suspend and start snapping

Lead wrapped around hooks for weight?

If you have a predominant shad forage - the Savage Gear Shine Glide or Bucca Trick Shad for ABS. If you are looking at resin baits, a BGC 7" shad.

If trout, fall fish or other soft bodied long baits are the forage, the Savage Gear scandal or the 6th Sense Draw for ABS baits. For Resin baits a BGC Trout - they come in a lot of sizes.

If bluegill are your forage, there are a lot of wakes that I really like- Toxic Wade Hoggs comes in ABS or Resin and is a great bait.

I use electrical solder around my hooks for quick weighting of baits. It doesn't take much.

@JediAmoeba I'll check'em out

1 hour ago, JediAmoeba said:

electrical solder

Thanks for the tip, I respect off label money savers