In a mid-1980s hit single, Huey Lewis and the News proclaim, “It’s Hip to be Square.”

Over 30 years later, a lot of bass anglers would agree, at least when it comes to squarebill crankbaits. Armstrong County bass fishing enthusiast Roger Ramer is one of them.

Unlike traditional crankbaits that feature a rounded diving lip, squarebill cranks, as the name plainly states, have square-shaped ones. This design encourages the lure to bounce off cover without hanging up, an important quality in that most bass hits are triggered by such deflection.

Commonly sporting a short, squat profile, squarebills are designed primarily for fishing the shallows, from a couple of feet out to five to six feet.

Ramer, who chronicles many of his angling outings on his YouTube channel “RGRTV,” plies the local bass waters such as Crooked Creek Lake and Keystone Lake. He begins combing the shallows with squarebill crankbaits in the spring, as soon as the water warms enough to draw bass into skinny water. Squarebills remain an important lure choice for him into mid-summer, at which time developing cover and evolving forage fish options often pull bass into deeper water.

“I like to cover water, so I always have a crankbait of some type rigged up,” Ramer noted. “Crankbaits off all types, squarebills included, are great search baits.”

Ramer considers boat control to be a vital component in presenting squarebills in such a way as to maximize their effectiveness. Since squarebill cranks are designed for working shallow cover, he likes to hold his boat tight to the bank, making lengthy casts more or less parallel to shore. This keeps the lure in the strike zone the greatest amount of time.

In terms of specific baits, Ramer is partial to Strike King’s KVD 1.5, for its availability, cost and most importantly, its effectiveness. He suggests switching out the stock hooks for Gamakatsu EWG short shank treble hooks that feature “Magic Eye,” a trait that makes the changing process easier.

The color patterns Sexy Shad and Natural Shad have been productive for him in clear to slightly stained water. He’s had success in the Firetiger pattern in more turbid waters.

Ramer prefers a relatively steady retrieve while grinding the lure against the bottom, or walking it over shoreline cover such as lay-downs, stumps, and rocks. He holds the rod tip low, toward the water, to maximize the lure’s diving depth.

Much has been made in recent years regarding the type of rod to use when fishing crankbaits, advice that commonly suggests using a fiberglass rod (rather than graphite, the material nearly all current rods are made from). The philosophy is such that the softer action and slower responsiveness of fiberglass is a plus when fishing crankbaits, making it easier for a bass to eat a lure as well as keeping it hooked once it does so.

Many rod companies now produce specialized glass crankbait rods. And while this is sound advice, Ramer has found that fluorocarbon or nylon monofilament line (as opposed to braided line) provides adequate stretchiness for efficiently fishing squarebill crankbaits when fished on a graphite rod in the 6.5 to 7-foot range sporting a more moderate action.

Currently he uses 12-pound test P-Line 100 percent fluorocarbon line. He likes low-profile casting reels with faster retrieve ratios to minimize fatigue.

Though the mid-winter doldrums are now here, soon spring will be upon us bringing warmer and longer days, ushering bass into the shallows, a time when hip anglers will be there to greet them with squarebilled crankbaits.

Jeff Knapp is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle