The more Booyah baits I use, the more I like them. This time I'm reporting on the Booyah Flex II square bill crankbait. This unique square bill has a hard plastic body that’s foam-injected, giving it the action only previously achieved with balsa wood baits. It comes in 11 popular colors in ½ oz size. I have only used four colors so far, but from my initial outing with them, I plan to use the rest of the colors.
When I first removed the crankbait from the package, I did what I always do with new crankbaits – check the hooks. Crankbaits are notorious for having dull or weak hooks, so it’s become routine for me to check them now. To my surprise, the hooks were strong and razor-sharp. I usually have to sharpen a few points or replace the hooks. I was shocked. I didn’t have to do either.
In addition to the hooks, I also replace the circle split-ring on my crankbaits because when you tie directly to them, the line almost always finds its way to the little notch between the two ends, and it gets nicked. But the Flex II comes with oval split rings, where the wires meet on the sides. This design eliminates that problem.
The bait is ready to fish straight out of the package.
Most anglers, myself included, who used balsa square bill baits in the early 90s discovered these baits were not very durable. Balsa is a softwood that doesn’t hold up well through the rigors of crankbait fishing. Eventually, you’d lose a fish to a hook hanger that pulled out, or you would cast out the lure only to reel in a bill!
Forget those days! Many manufacturers have long resorted to making lures from plastic – even the same models once made of balsa.
Booyah has changed the game. With the foam-injected plastic body, you can now have the characteristics of balsa with the strength and durability of plastic. I’ve banged the Flex II against several rocks without sustaining any damage. The wire-through design from pull-point to both hook hangers ensures strength and durability. I have no more ripped-out bills.
I noticed an aggressive and hard wobbling action at slow speeds on the first cast. This is the ideal action for square bills. First, for maximum water displacement. Second, you can slowly work it through cover and still trigger vicious reaction strikes. Square bills are designed for fishing through cover because they’re less prone to hanging up. But the action of this bait makes it even better, giving you the ability to work it through cover AND get great action simultaneously.
As I bounced it off wood, stumps, and rocks, it would sway off at a wild angle. You’d expect that from a square bill, but this was extreme. And even when it wasn’t hitting anything, it had an erratic “hunting” action. I caught quite a few fish by reeling the bait straight in because of this action.
Upon examination, the bill has two divots on it, which changes the way water moves over it. I also noticed the line-tie is not on the bill but under the “nose” of the bait. I can only assume that contributes to the action of the bait.
As I said, it acts like balsa bait. So when you hit a log, branch, or rock, pause it. It will rise up and away from the cover, making it look like a stunned baitfish. Geeze, I’ve caught a bunch of fish on the pause! There’s something about that rising action that you could only previously get with balsa that makes the bait look wounded, triggering strikes from bass, even when they’re not feeding. I call this “force-feeding” the bass – keying on their predator instincts rather than their appetite. This is why those 90’s balsa baits worked so well.
But here’s the thing that’s different from the balsa square bills from years ago – the Flex II has a rattle chamber. But it doesn’t sound like other rattling crankbaits. The foam, of course, dampens the sound, but the bill and rattle chamber is a fused one-piece design. This is the only crankbait on the market that I am aware of that has the bill and rattle chamber as a separate piece from the body of the crankbait. It builds in strength to the bill also aids in transmitting sound out through the bill, giving it a unique sound bass I haven’t heard before.
Once the bass move onto the rocks and docks and into their summer patterns, I expect the Flex II to become even more effective. In addition, the unique action and sound should work wonders on fish that are in a neutral feeding mood. You might want to get some before every angler on the lake throws a Flex II.
Please practice Catch and Release.