Jackall ASKA 60SR: A Super Square-Bill

Author note: This review was researched and written by Bad Poncho's Robert Taylor III.

Square-bill Crankbaits. When you hear those words you can't help but think of the classics and the legends. But there's a new kid on the block, the Jackall ASKA 60SR, and this silent-running crankbait is one that I personally plan to use when my money's on the line.

The engineering that went into this silent square-bill was a labor of love for legendary designer Seiji Kato. Kato's said to have spent over 5 years and made over 100 prototypes to come up with this gem. For those of you who may not recognize the name, Seiji Kato is pretty much the Calvin Klein of crankbaits and jerkbaits. He was the founding designer at Lucky Craft and a few years later founded Jackall in order to have more creative control in the design and production process.

As with all of the other Jackall products, the ASKA 60SR features some little modifications that simply make you want to say, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

The internals are what Jackall's known for – complex enough to discourage reproduction, yet simple enough to be effective every time on the water. The ASKA's internal weight system allowed me to cast it a few extra feet on my preferred rig – a 7-foot medium-heavy rod. That allowed me to cover more water, and that means I can get the bait in front of more fish.

After it gets out there you have to crank it back, and Jackall has you covered there as well. The ASKA sports a fiberglass, circuit-board-style lip that grabs water. This gives the slender body a quick wobble and roll that can appeal to highly pressured bass that react negatively to a rattle.

After a few hours of tossing the ASKA 60SR, you'll notice how the beautiful paintjob seems untouched. That's in part because of design. The belly-hook eye is positioned so that the specially made Gamakatsu hyper-shield short-shank hooks have less of a chance to scrape the sides of the bait.

I had quick success with the ASKA 60SR throwing it over vegetation and just ticking the top. Even when I drove it into the vegetation, it rarely came back covered in grass.

The main reason for the quick success, I think, was because it's a true reaction bait. A fish hears a rattle coming and it knows it's coming. A fish doesn't hear the ASKA 60SR until it's right there, and that can result in a genuine reaction bite.

I also made a strong attempt to beat it against laydowns and I failed to snag it, even though I tried. That's a testament to the bill design. The bill offers just enough flex to bounce it away from the cover without burying the high-quality hooks into submerged wood.

Although the ASKA 60SR does retail for around $16, if you have the funds and want the upper hand on the competition, this square-bill is the way to go.

JACKALL NEEDS YOU! Want to test and keep the Jackall ASKA 60SR for FREE? Fishhound members only! CLICK HERE for all the details.