Need to stock up on these type of baits. Anyone successful w the Spro little john in cold water. I lean towards the balsa baits but have many Spros. But yea need new baits in this category and like I said I like the balsa but if u got a plastic u smash em on let me know. Thanks guys!

Shad rap and Storm Smash Shad. The Bandit Flat Maxx has been good for me too. 

54 minutes ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Shad rap and Storm Smash Shad. The Bandit Flat Maxx has been good for me too. 

Got the shad raps., heard the bandits were good also but forgot about them. Thanks man.

I have never needed anything other than the original SPRO Little Johns.  Cell Mate is my preferred color in the colder water.  We tear up the smallmouth in the spring on assorted colors.   

Shad rap has been a staple but I've been really liking the Bagley Balsa Shad. Add to those I also like the Rapala DT-6, the DT Flat 7, and one of the most killer cold water cranks ever, the Bomber Deep Flat A, that is a producer when the water gets down below 50 degrees.

Bomber Flat A.

Shad Raps, DT's, and Wiggle Warts are my go to's. I've thrown the Little Johns and they're nice, but I have more confidence in the aforementioned baits.

The 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X has been very good for me.

A-Jay

SPRO little john is my favorite. Been catching a lot of bass with it.

I don't get what everyone sees in the little john. Someone gave me a used one recently and I can't get any depth out of it. Holding the rod tip down and cranking makes it run sideways. Everyone says that's a feature, not a bug. I don't get it. I've tried putting heavier hooks on it but it didn't help. Is there some trick to it?

16 minutes ago, Hank. said:

I don't get what everyone sees in the little john. Someone gave me a used one recently and I can't get any depth out of it. Holding the rod tip down and cranking makes it run sideways. Everyone says that's a feature, not a bug. I don't get it. I've tried putting heavier hooks on it but it didn't help. Is there some trick to it?

Maybe thats why someone gave it away . I've never used one .

40 minutes ago, Hank. said:

I don't get what everyone sees in the little john. Someone gave me a used one recently and I can't get any depth out of it. Holding the rod tip down and cranking makes it run sideways. Everyone says that's a feature, not a bug. I don't get it. I've tried putting heavier hooks on it but it didn't help. Is there some trick to it?

May need to 'tune' it ~ 

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/tune-fix-crankbait.html

 

https://1source.basspro.com/index.php/all-videos/109-bass-pro-shops-1source/video/1740-kvd-shows-you-how-to-super-tune-a-crankbait

 

A-Jay

I haven't tried that. I'll give it a shot, but I thought the little john is supposed to "hunt" or "walk" or whatever.

1 hour ago, Hank. said:

I haven't tried that. I'll give it a shot, but I thought the little john is supposed to "hunt" or "walk" or whatever.

No the other SPRO squarebills are designed to hunt. Not the little john. Something's wrong with it if it's running sideways, like others have suggested try tuning it. The little john has been my best producing lure I've used this fall.

The rapala DT 7 is my go to flat sided crank.

I stocked up on a bunch before they were discontinued.

 

I always seem to catch an early season walleye or 2 with them as well.

My wife likes that.

Luhr Jensen Speed Trap is hard to beat in my book.

I believe Strike King has a flat version also. Most likely some KVD Flat Side. 

Can't get much flatter than a lipless crankbait and the sinking models can be vertically jigged. Diving crankbaits in cold water, my choice is wide wobble lure digging up mud.

Tom

55 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I believe Strike King has a flat version also. Most likely some KVD Flat Side. 

KVD flat 1.5. I just bought a couple of these during the Black Friday sales to give a try. 

4 hours ago, Hank. said:

I don't get what everyone sees in the little john. Someone gave me a used one recently and I can't get any depth out of it. Holding the rod tip down and cranking makes it run sideways. Everyone says that's a feature, not a bug. I don't get it. I've tried putting heavier hooks on it but it didn't help. Is there some trick to it?

How deep are you trying to get it to run?  4 to 5 ft is about the max depending on your line choice.  What's your retrieve speed?  If you are cranking it hard to get it to dive beyond its designed depth, it will roll.  Most all flatsides are a slow retrieve and the SPRO is no different.  Designed to give a lot of wobble with a slow retrieve = a good cold water bait.  

58 minutes ago, ItsHardwick said:

KVD flat 1.5. I just bought a couple of these during the Black Friday sales to give a try. 

I fish a couple of Shad Rap type versions. Very productive all season. Never really considered them flat sides. Can’t get much flatter on the sides than a Rat-L-Trap and I love throwing them. Can’t say I’m into throwing many lipped with flat sides on them. 

Original D-Bait, WEC mutt and wobbler are about the only ones I use in cold water. If I get my hands on my jawjacker flats I'll add them to the list. MB Sonic side if I'm fishing around rock. 

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

How deep are you trying to get it to run?  4 to 5 ft is about the max depending on your line choice.  What's your retrieve speed?  If you are cranking it hard to get it to dive beyond its designed depth, it will roll.  Most all flatsides are a slow retrieve and the SPRO is no different.  Designed to give a lot of wobble with a slow retrieve = a good cold water bait.  

After tuning it's diving down now. It was only running 1-2 feet before. It's weird because the line tie looks crooked now and it was straight before.

 

It still sits funny, like it's heavy in the tail and the lip is pointing almost upwards. I've already got a smaller hook on the tail and a heavier one in front trying to get the nose down so it would dive. I'm going to have to monkey with it some more.

3 hours ago, Spankey said:

I fish a couple of Shad Rap type versions. Very productive all season. Never really considered them flat sides. Can’t get much flatter on the sides than a Rat-L-Trap and I love throwing them. Can’t say I’m into throwing many lipped with flat sides on them. 

 

Yeah I’ve never really thrown them either, however I’ve never really fished all winter before either. As I plan to this year I figured I better stock up on some of the so called “cold water” baits. 

Best crank I have had success with in cold water is lucky strike freak. Not a flat sided bait by any means but has produced. The only flat I have is the KVD 1.5, and it has produced better in the summer go figure.