10 Best Squarebill Crankbaits (Insider Tips)

A squarebill crankbait fishing lure is one of the most versatile and effective lures you can have in your tacklebox.

This fishing lure offers you a chance to bridge the gap between lifelike realism and strategic presentation.

Here we go over the top 10 squarebill crankbait fishing lures, along with insider tips for using these potent lures.

How to Use Squarebill Lures

The goal behind this type of lure is basically to mimic an injured baitfish and trigger aggressive strikes from predatory fish, particularly bass.

At its core, a squarebill crankbait is much like other crankbaits; but it has a unique square-shaped lip near the front of the lure, setting it apart from traditional crankbaits.

This design isn’t just to make the lure look all pretty—it serves a very functional purpose in grabbing a fish’s attention and deflecting off brush and weeds.

As you cast the lure into the water, the square lip initiates a wobbling, erratic motion that resembles a struggling or wounded prey.

This movement, combined with the lure’s buoyancy, makes it an awesome choice for fishing in shallow water, around cover, and in areas with vegetation.

Another big advantage of the squarebill lure (also known as known as a square paddle lip) is its ability to go through heavy cover without getting snagged.

Pro Tips for Squarebill Crankbait Fishing

Using a squarebill crankbait effectively requires understanding its nuances and employing the right techniques.

As you retrieve the lure, the square lip deflects off obstacles like rocks, logs, and vegetation, imitating the erratic behavior of an injured baitfish.

This movement can trigger a pretty powerful reactionary strike from bass and other predatory fish that are drawn to the perceived vulnerability of their prey.

When fishing with a squarebill crankbait, it’s crucial to vary your retrieval speed and depth to find the most enticing presentation.

Slow and steady usually winds the day with squarebills. Your slower retrieval can mimic a weakened fish, while faster retrieves might trigger a reaction strike from more aggressive predators.

Try experimenting with pauses and twitches during your retrieve to imitate moments of vulnerability that can be irresistible to any nearby bass.

To maximize the effectiveness of your squarebill crankbait, target areas with cover, such as submerged rocks, fallen trees, and shallow weed beds.

These areas where bass like to hang out create opportunities for the lure to bounce off surfaces and create vibrations that catch the attention of nearby fish.

Its unique design and erratic motion make it a really good choice for luring bass out of shallow water and cover-rich environments.

By experimenting and learning how to use this lure effectively, you can capitalize on its ability to imitate injured prey— this can trigger those heart-pounding strikes from bass and other predator species.

10 Best Squarebill Crankbaits

Now that we’ve provided some tips on using these lures, we’ll go over our 10 picks for the very best squarebill crankbait lures.

Our top choice for squarebill crankbaits are the wLure Minnow Crankbaits.

These lures have lifelike colors designed to imitate minnows.

These are great lures for bass fishing, although they can be effective for pike as well.

Although “wLure” is not a well-known fishing lure brand, they’ve chalked up an impressive number of positive reviews on Amazon.

Reviewers mention that these are effective at drawing fishes’ attention, and have good weight and deflection.

At the time of this writing, you could get a six-pack of these lures at a very reasonable price.

Another excellent squarebill crankbait is the Strike King KVD 1.5 lure.

This lure comes in about 12 different color options, so you can definitely find a lure that is targeted to your specific fishing goal.

These lures were made under the guidance of Kevin VanDam, Hall of Fame fisherman.

It has a lot of positive user reviews, with a common comment being that it doesn’t easily snag, but if it does, it’s usually easy to retrieve.

This lure dives down to about 2 to 3 feet, with excellent erratic swimming action.

Another good pick for squarebill crankbaits is the Proberos line of lures.

Featuring two high carbon steel treble hooks, these lures are 3 inches long and weigh 2.5 ounces. A couple of users have noted needing to replace the hooks after a while.

These lures are great to use for bass fishing, with excellent wobble and an internal rattle.

They come six to a pack and are sometimes on sale for less than $20.00.

Our next recommendation for squarebill crankbait lures is the Sunlure Mini Crankbaits.

As the name suggests, these lures are pretty small, ranging in size from 2.85 cm (1.12 inches) up to 4.7 cm (1.85 inches).

Most of the reviews are positive, particularly in using these for panfish. A few reviewers report the hooks seem a little cheap and not all of the lures have exactly the same action.

However, these lures come in a 10 to 20 piece set, so it’s likely that most of the lures will have a decent wobble action.

If you’re looking for small squarebill crankbaits that would work well for panfishing in creeks or ponds, Sunlure Crankbaits would be the perfect

Strike King is known for high-quality fishing lures. And their KVD squarebill crankbaits are another winner in their line up of lures.

We’ve already reviewed the KVD 1.5 above. But this option comes in an astounding 32 colors choices, making these lures some of the best all-around choices that appeal to all kinds of fish.

These lures are also available in a range of sizes, from 0.25 ounces to 2.5 ounces, 1 3/4 inches to 2 1/2 inches.

These lures have no rattle, which some anglers prefer over the rattling variety.

They dive in the range of 2 to 4 feet, which is ideal for shallow water fishing where the fish are in close to the bank or hanging around near the surface.

The original squarebill crankbait is the Big O lure produced by Cotton Cordell.

In fact, these lures were a runaway success, selling greater than 1,000,000 lures during the first year it was made!

These lures come in 12 different colors, with a range of available sizes. The 2-inch size is one of the more popular.

Although many other lure manufacturers have tried copying the Big O, it’s still a favorite of many serious anglers.

The Cotton Cordell Big O Crankbait is a great choice for a variety of fish, including largemouth bass.

It also comes in a triple threat three-pack featuring three of the most popular Big O lures.

Next up on the list of 10 best squarebill crankbaits is the Bomber Lures Square A Lure.

These lures have an impressive wobble action designed to lure fish out for a massive strike.

They come in two sizes and seven colors, so you can pick the pattern most attractive to your target fish.

The Bomber Square A dives to about 3 feet, then floats to the surface when you stop reeling.

Some of the reviewers on this lure point out that it does a great job of not easily snagging even in brush or weeds.

If you’ve noticed that Strike King appears several times on this list of best squarebill crankbaits, that’s because they make some pretty mean lures!

The Strike King Sugar Daddy Crankbait is no exception to this rule.

Fishermen who have reviewed this lure report it has great action and that the yellow perch pattern works well to attract fish in murky water.

Coming in ninth on our top 10 list is the Basskiller Squarebill Crankbait.

These lures come in five different colors with a length of 2.76 inches and weight of 0.58 ounces.

They are designed for shallow water fishing with a depth of 2 to 4 feet.

The erratic “wander-like” action drives fish (particularly bass) crazy.

The Basskiller Squarebill Crankbait makes our cut for top squarebill fishing lure.

Rounding out our round up on the best squarebill crankbaits are the 6th Sense CRUSH FLAT 75X Squarebill Crankbaits.

These lures come in a whopping 27 different color selections.

Some of the favorites are the Custom Bluegill, Bluegill Spawn, and Baby Bluegill patterns.

One of the best features of this lure is that it has a faint rattle sound. This is perfect for when you want a little extra noise but not too much.

The diving depth on these lures it up to 5 feet.

Reviewers mention the good action and that the detail quality is top notch on the 6th Sense CRUSH FLAT 75X Squarebill Crankbaits.

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Final Thoughts on Best Squarebill Crankbaits

Figuring out the best squarebill crankbaits to use can be a bit of a challenge.

We’ve gone over some pro tips to make the most of these powerful lures, which are best in shallow water and depths of just a few feet.

The ten squarebill crankbaits we’ve covered are all very good choices for reeling in that next bass, musky or panfish.