OK......I would really like to have a dedicated Squarebill rod.....Will be throwing mostly Balsa baits....Rapala DT 4,6, 8's Rapala Ott's Tiny Garage, and Ott's Garage and other custom Wood baits 1/4 oz. to 3/8 oz......I have searched this topic in this forum and have found many thoughts and suggestions..I have narrowed down to the following blanks...some of these blanks I have in possession already...would like some opinions of which you might choose:

NFC Hybrid CB 704 or 705
Rodgeeks C372 MHM
Rodgeeks C273 MM
Rainshadow REVCB70M
MHX 845CB
NFC APFG 745
and I have a custom built in possession St. Croix 7'0 MHM Legend Tournament SCIV

Thoughts?????......Thank you in advance for any recommendations



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2023 06:25PM by Rick Shaffer.

I have not used any of those rods before but I did build a squarebill rod on a Rodgeeks Fiberglass series 7ft MH. I never would've imagined a fiberglass rod to be so sensitive. It might ne something to look into if you'll be throwing the cranks up around laydowns etc.

My favorite rod for most of the lures you mention is PB731MXF built as a casting rod. Don't be worried by the XF action, with its length it handles fish on cranks just fine. DT4's are a little on the light side, but it does fine. If building as a spin it would handle all the lures very well.

I have two MHX CB845's which are the 7'ers. Love them for squarebills and really any crankbait sub 10'. I have like 8-8.5" rear handles on them so I can roll cast. Probably one of my favorite blanks from MHX.

Michael brought it up in a way ..... are you building a casting rod, or a spinning rod? If a casting rod will you be using a BFS reel, or a reel that casts light baits extremely well, so that you could go with a 4 or 5 power rod like a lot of the blanks you mentioned? I don't fish squarebills all that often, but when I do I am usually fishing them in and around wood cover, and I catch a lot of nice fish on them. My squarebill rod is built on a Rainshadow RX7 CB66MH that took 6" off the butt to make a 6' rod. It is listed as a mod fast blank, but taking the 6" off definitely has it more of a moderate action, than a mod fast. It's got enough power to handle some pretty decent size fish. Bass at least.

I like the medium heavy power that a lot of the blanks you mentioned seem to be, but will they cast that light of bait .... that is the question.

As Michael said, if a spinning rod, I'd go for the most powerful blank of the ones you mentioned. I always change the hooks out on my squarebills for heavier wire hooks, because as I mentioned, I am fishing them in and around wood cover. That, and I think they hook better because they don't flex as much as a lighter wire hook might.

David.......Baitcasting application....75% open water...25% wood cover..almost always change out hooks...using Top shelf Lew's reels...usually 6.8:1....do have a few 7.5:1....been looking hard at the PB731MXF that Michael suggested....I do not use squarebills often but when I do....I don't necessarily have confidence in my rod/reel set up.....so I am trying to build an optimum rod I would be comfortable with for squarebills. I usually build with an 8-9 inch rear handle. I really appreciate the input so far.

I have built several MHX MHMF CB845's with 9 inch rear handles that I like for Chatterbaits.

I have the st. Croix victory 72MhMf which is close to the Rodgeeks c3 72MhM - obviously little faster but it claims to be designed for light cranks. I haven't used it much for such, only fished it the end of this past season and used it more for chatterbait and swim jig. It felt just a tad soft for the swim jig, but only a tad and I'm hoping to build a slightly faster but still moderate fast rod for swim jigs (or maybe I want the same action but a little more power, I'm not sure which is the answer yet).

I cranked a couple times with it and plan to use it exclusively for squarebills, shallow/mid cranks, lipless (will see how it does in grass), and small ploppers.

When I used it for swim jig and chatterbait I found it to be surprisingly sensitive, and even though the tip was soft it had a reliable backbone once you get to it. I caught a few 3-4 pounders with it on the moving jigs and it handled them well, I have yet to do the CCS for it but think I want something just a tad quicker to the backbone for hook set confidence. Or maybe I just need a rod that's beefier with the same action for those hook sets- idk yet.

I built 2 Squarebill rods on this blank, it's perfect for your application.

NFC Hybrid CB705 Zentron (Delta LMX)
Med Heavy Moderate Action Lure Weight 1/4-1

Batson ip 843 for 1.5 and 2.5
844 wiggle warts and dy 10.

Just my personal opinion .... if I were building a rod that I would only be throwing shallow to medium diving crankbaits on, I would be building it on a "crankbait" blank.

I have ordered a Hybrid NFC CB704 and Hybrid 705 for casting application.......I am a little concerned about the 0.66 Butt Diameter and components to fit.....several people have indicated they have built on this blank, so I should be OK???

I’d cover that fat butt with a full length skirt... get what I’m saying?

Of course it depends on where the reel seat will actually land on the blank, but from looking at the I.D.s of various Fuji reel seats, you'll probably have to go with a size 17 reel seat to get a seat with a large enough I.D. to fit.

Other than that and possibly finding large enough winding checks (if you use them) I can't think of anything else as far as finding components. You'll have a lot of reaming to do on grips though.

David you should give a popping rod a try for square bills. They are absolutely fantastic!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2023 06:13PM by Thomas Kaufmann.

Rick Shaffer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have ordered a Hybrid NFC CB704 and Hybrid 705
> for casting application.......I am a little
> concerned about the 0.66 Butt Diameter and
> components to fit.....several people have
> indicated they have built on this blank, so I
> should be OK???

As Steve mentioned the Zentron 705 is a great blank for squarebills or smaller bladed jigs. The 704 I think you will find to be more suited for lighter cranks and/or jerkbaits.

On the 705 - the butt diameter isn't a concern, a Fuji ESCM size 16 with a 15mm ID seat should fit (measure the blank before buying though) but you will have to do some reaming for the handle. The 706 is the blank that's a bit of a challenge at the butt end if you're doing a split grip. Plenty of aluminum winding checks available after measuring your layout, I had no issues on the 705s I have built.