Jump to content
DeHeron

Square Bills

Recommended Posts

I have been taking a break from flatsides and playing around with round rolly polly's and B3 types. I never used these as a kid(dont laugh) so I have also been getting a history lesson.The outcomes have been good on the smaller baits that are around 2". When I go up to a 3" bait the actions just stay slugish no matter what I do. Is it just relative..being the larger bait just looks slower?...Less ballast and you get a wake bait. Larger bills just hang the bait up and keep it from wobbling. It has to be the bill angle or weight placement. However the bills on the Bag. B2 and B3 are Identical. Allthou in theory I think the B3 lip should be a tad longer. The bill that is different is the B1 wich has less of an angle because I am guessing the 45 degree area was too much. Any light on the subject would be appreciated.

One other thing.....What do you think the primary action should be on a square bill? Waggle,Roll,or both? To my eye the B3 looks like all roll with the roll inducing some waggle. Any baits prior to the B3? It looks like the most copied bait in the world.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not such a good historian as you. Many square lip fat shallow balsa baits have lips that are just slightly narrower than the widest part of the body and set at right about 30 degrees from horizontal. Most 2 1/2 to 3" balsa versions weigh about 1/2 oz. The new Rapala BFAT4 or Lucky Craft 1.5 both fit that model. I like some roll along with the wiggle and the Rapala has that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What type of wood are you using?

What type of sealer and topcaot?

Where is the line tie?

Where is the weight located?

Wood... The less dense the wood the greater the action with correct weight placement.

Sealer and topcoat and weight placement... Lighter yet strong sealer and topcoat will allow more weight to be centrally located to improve action.

Line tie location... Place this on the bait very near the lip. Look at the other styles. Big-O, Bagley, and most other fat bodied baits that dive 0"-6". With some models it could be under the nose.

The action. any combination of Wobble, Roll, Waggle, Wiggle, Shimmy, X-ing, or Z-ing. If you have slugish to no action you are going to need a killer paint job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Deheron, I'm not sure if this scenario has any relation to your lack of action but last year I built an 8" balsa crank roughly patterned after a floating Rapala except with a round deep diving lip, weighted just forward of center. Thing ran about 16ft, had a nice tight, heavy wobble along with a random side to side wander, & it caught trophy walleye like crazy! Then while trolling one day, BOOM; hit a big rock & snapped the diving lip right out of the nose! I retrieved the lure, took it home & put a new lip on exactly like the first except built the attachment area heavily with screws & epoxy. Took it back out to the lake & it trolled like a paper weight!

To make a long story short I think that putting too much weight too close to the front of the lure actually kills the action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have noticed the tendency for the bills to be about 1/8" less in width than the widest part of the body. I am going to put the bill closer to 30 degrees..I think this will get it rocking again. Not that the larger baits don't run but there just not crisp. This has been a typical complaint on the B3 that you had to crank down on them to get them going, wich has been contributed to them being under weighted. I guess my question in general was; Is there an inherent problem upscaling baits? If I had started with the larger version first then I could have done the smaller version with the same lip angle and tweaked out the weight. For some reason the bill angle on the smaller bait is not working as good on the upscaled bait. Not that both bill angles have to be the same..but it was my objective. I will try to get some pics.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


×
×
  • Create New...
Top