So haven't gotten one yet, but what's the deal with them? How often do you guys fish them? When where etc.

 

How often are you guys using them over a standard crank.

1 hour ago, Jonas Staggs said:

what's the deal with them?

 

   Supposedly the flat surface has a flash pattern like a moving mirror; strobe-like. Lures with continuously curved surfaces don't have that.

   I've used them. IMO, they're neither better or worse than other cranks.   YMMV.     jj

Tighter wobble. Typically best from fall to spring when water temps are cooler

I have a couple strike King 1.5 flat sided cranks and they work good for the spring and fall.  I’ve never really tried using them summer. When I first started buying cranks I bought way to many wide wobble ones.  So I need to balance it out with more flat sides and Shad raps 

I use flat sides all year,  during the summer they aren't used much but they still work. The bait has a much tighter action which is why they do well in colder temps. 

They are a cold water deal for me. The flat A and Dt flat were both good ones back in the day.

Might check out the Berkley Fritside.

I dont use them much . The Bomber Flat A I use to throw all the time on the Mississippi river . It has a tight action ,sort of like using a diving Rattle Trap . Worked real well on the wing dams and rip rap banks . I rarely use them in lakes , no reason why , I just reach for something else .

Storm used to make one I liked years ago. Can't think of the name now. Shallow runner. I mostly fished it like a rattletrap

Not so much a cold water deal for me, it's a turned off bite, post front, or finesse deal for me... they tend to have tighter wiggle.  They are a year round starter/ flex player for me.  I just restocked on a lot of the discontinued ones from the storm arashi line up

I bought several flat balsa wood Lee Sissions thinking they would have the same tight action . For some reason they dont . I  dont even take them with me .

Flat side cranks have more subtle wobble.  They look more natural then wide wobbling baits in cold water.  Same goes for really warm water or pressured fish.  I love flat side cranks, but they can be a little tricky to cast in a cross wind.  Most of them are balsa which makes them really light.  More and more companies are getting into flat sides and adding weight transfer systems to help with distance, they can get expensive, but its worth it if that's what the fish want.  I like a few of different but I have the most confidence in the Shad Rap.  The smaller ones will work on days when its hard to get bit on anything else.  If you really want to you can drill a hole in one and add weight until you get it to suspend, then you have a deadly winter bait.

Flat sides crankbaits have been around a long time. 

All lipless are flat sided.

Bomber Speed Shad* and Bagley Small Fry bluegill and crappie series* are flat side tight wiggle action.

the round body cranks have a wobble action. 

Take you pick, they only work if you use them.

Tom

*availble in the Flea Mrket.

6 hours ago, Mobasser said:

Storm used to make one I liked years ago. Can't think of the name now. Shallow runner. I mostly fished it like a rattletrap

Storm Thin Fin

The Thin Fin was the  first hard plastic lure I caught bass on . Back when I fished with spin casters .They later came up with the Rattlin Thin Fin .  Heavier and cast decently with baitcasting gear . I have two of those . One has good action and the other doesnt .

Flat sided cranks are one of my main baits during the winter. This past year it was the SK 1.5 HTC, Berkley Frittsider, Rapala Shad Rap #5, and Berkley Flicker Shad Shallow #7.

Bought some 6th sense 75x this year for early pre-spawn. Caught my PB on it. It is a bigger presentation than the frittside, which I also got but haven't fished much. 

 

After reading this thread, they seem similar to a lipless crank or blade bait, but they float. I'll be grabbing some to try this year.

The Shad Rap is an all time great, but the Bomber Flat A catches em too.

Shad rap shallow #5 and various lipless cranks do work for me when the water gets under 50

20 hours ago, DitchPanda said:

Shad rap shallow #5 and various lipless cranks do work for me when the water gets under 50

I love my lipless crank, 1/2 oz. Sexy shad

The O.S.P. HPF and HPF Spec. 2 are the cheetos!

41 minutes ago, Pantera61 said:

The O.S.P. HPF and HPF Spec. 2 are the cheetos!

I'm lost dude. What are you abbreviating?

https://carolinafishingtackle.com/products/o-s-p-lures-hpf-flatside-spec2

 

https://osp-lures.com/product/hpf-crank-spec2/

This time of year, I throw a WEC Mutt and Black Label Peanut over anything else.

 

Flatsides are quite the difference makers in the spring and fall. 

They are becoming hard to find but I have always liked the Lucky Craft Flat Mini series.