Real World Tests: What I generally search for in a squarebill rod is something with a fast taper and that prototypical "medium heavy" power. I'll even lean heavy or extra-heavy if my bait is over half an ounce but for a bait weighing only 11g, I didn't feel the need to go into full on four wheel drive mode. So I pulled down one of my Point Blank PB731HXF builds and matched it with my Conquest 31HG pre-loaded with #3 Varivas Monster PE Si-X and a leader of ten pound (10lb) Sunline Shooter. I know what you're thinking, that "HXF" in the blank's descriptor suggests the blank is a heavy powered, extra-fast taper, but in reality it fishes a half a power if not a full power lighter and the taper is more fast than extra-fast, so really, it's exactly what I look for in a squarebill rod.

The LC 1.5 Silent (right) has a true squarebill where as the BDS3's (left) bill is actually rounded at the corners

Castability: Lucky Craft's LC 1.5 Silent Squarebill Crank is, as the name delineates, silent. As such, there is no internal weight transfer system to aid in the bait's casting, yet, it casts so very easily I could swear there's a weight transfer system in the bait. Matched with the PB731HXF and Conquest 31HG, it's as if I re-awakened something in my pre-big-bait fishing days where I used to sling baits like this all day long. This bait, at the end of that combo, really had me grinning from ear to ear.

The LC 1.5 Silent tipped our scale at 11.2g

The LC 1.5 Silent in Gold Pumpkin Seed

Dive Time: Crank your reel over, begin your retrieve and the LC 1.5 Silent goes right to work, as you'd expect a Lucky Craft bait to do. With that 10lb leader of Shooter, I was able to get the bait down to roughly three feet of water (tested in my swimming pool) on a short cast, so I imagine four feet would be the max with the setup I was using on a long cast.

Delta Crazy Red Craw

The Feel: Bumping and knocking against submerged structure aside, the LC 1.5 Silent gives off that telltale vibration you seek as feedback in a squarebill crank. If I toss a bait like this out in the water and can't feel it vibrating at the end of my line, I stop fishing it. If I can't feel my squarebill shaking and baking, it gives me zero confidence a fish is going to be annoyed or hungry enough to strike it.

The "Disco" colorway

Especially for its size, the LC 1.5 Silent sends a lot of feedback through the end of the line and bounces off obstructions as you'd expect. I mostly fished it in and around visible patches of weeds with the majority of my strikes coming as I tried to rip the bait away from those entanglements, but I managed to find a rock here and there to bounce the bait off as well to good effect.

Conclusion: I'm not sure at what point I lost touch with Lucky Craft's bait selection. Could be that rough patch they went through several years back where it was difficult to find inventory. Nevertheless, if the LC Silent 1.5 is any indication, they've not missed a beat.

This is a fun little crank with which to explore skinny water

This is a fun little crank with which to explore skinny water and the fact it can be had for under $10 is a big bonus. Certainly makes it easier to spend less time deciding between colors - just buy first and ask questions later! Only question now is, which new-to-me LC bait to try next?