To be totally honest, to date the SPRO Little John in Cell Mate has been my #1 crank period.  I just received a hefty supply of Bill Lewis cranks and I am going to give them a fair shot. Here they are, side by side.  

I have some frittsides, but have limited time with them.  Most of my flatsides have been around a while.

 

-WEC/ John Hott or Black label 'Hicky' and 'Mutt' (peanut in black label line)

-Evergreen Flat Force 4

-Lucky Craft KJ Flat and Flat Mini

-Bomber Flat A

I like the OG's and the Little Johns.  The Little Johns are heavy for their size, so they're easier to cast in the wind.   I like the action from the Frittsides, but I've had the bills and eyelets break off a few.  Maybe mine came from a bad batch.   

3 hours ago, TOXIC said:

To be totally honest, to date the SPRO Little John in Cell Mate has been my #1 crank period.

I have used the Little John in Cell Mate and all it ever caught was one little Bream. I need to put in my box of useless baits.

Not technically a flatside perse but has anyone looked at the new Rapala Balsa Shad raps? They look really good and have that subtle cold water wobble.

I’ve caught more fish on a Little John over the past 5 years than any other lure. It works year round for me. I do really like the Frittside in the pre spawn. I plan on using yhe Rapala OGs more this prespawn because I love the build and action. But the Little John stays on my deck year round. 

The og tiny 4 and the frittside 5 have been my best producers in flatsides. I throw them in the standard shad(white with black back, white with blue back, chart with black back) and red craw patterns depending on the time of year

16 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

I have used the Little John in Cell Mate and all it ever caught was one little Bream. I need to put in my box of useless baits.

That’s really funny.  That crankbait is what got me into the cranking game years ago.  When I was sponsored by SPRO, I had a large supply of all their cranks but I was a dedicated plastics guy and rarely tossed them.  I gave one to a friend on the water one day and watched him catch 4 bass in 4 casts.  Made me a believer and I started throwing them.  Specifically, I have had the best luck with the originals with the computer chip bill in various colors.  I’ve caught hundreds of fish on the cell mate including smallmouth, largemouth, white bass, walleye, pike, musky, snakeheads, brim, crappie and on and on….different colors for some like walleye eat the olive Shad color and snakeheads like the brighter colors.  Without knowing your gear, line and retrieve style, I couldn’t explain why we have such a different experience with them.  🙃

Hello @A-Jay @Glenn @NorthernBasser @Jmurphy87 @TOXIC @AlabamaSpothunter

@heavyduty and all others who replied and provided info/experiences/pics/expertise -- Thank you !

 

I have ordered the following from TW (several were on sale) -

-6th Sense Crush Flat 75 X ----(1 in Baby Bluegill, 1 in Bluegill Fire)

-SPRO Little John MD 50 ------(1 in Clear Chartreuse, 1 in Real Perch)

-Berkley Frittsside -------------(1 in Bluegill)

 

I will give these a try in the spring and see how it goes. 

Thank you again BR community ! 

 

 

 

@TOXIC I like the Little John baits. I like the Little John MD 50 the best. I have caught fish in several colors of them. I just never could get the Cell Mate color to work for me. 

 

I am using a Lews BB1 in a 5.0:1 gear ratio with 12# Sufix Siege mono line on it.

14 hours ago, WaskaCrank12 said:

Hello @A-Jay @Glenn @NorthernBasser @Jmurphy87 @TOXIC @AlabamaSpothunter

@heavyduty and all others who replied and provided info/experiences/pics/expertise -- Thank you !

 

I have ordered the following from TW (several were on sale) -

-6th Sense Crush Flat 75 X ----(1 in Baby Bluegill, 1 in Bluegill Fire)

-SPRO Little John MD 50 ------(1 in Clear Chartreuse, 1 in Real Perch)

-Berkley Frittsside -------------(1 in Bluegill)

 

I will give these a try in the spring and see how it goes. 

Thank you again BR community ! 

 

 

 

You may want to pick up something in red for the early spring.

Rapala OG Tiny 4

Little John 

Frittside

Rapala Shadrap 4, 5

The OG Tiny and Frittside 5 are what I throw the most, so they are my best producing baits.

My current load out for my kayak. Second layer has wiggle warts and money badgers but also one section for spro little john 50 md

 

https://imgur.com/gallery/7Yjaq5V

https://imgur.com/gallery/aqEYeG2

Tough one, but my favorite might be the sub and flat P.  Theyre great for the entire prespawn.  The sub p is great for shallow lily fields and it deflects great for a rounded bill crank.  

Only because I haven't seen it mentioned and I use them because they don't have rattles;

Cotton Cordell Wafer Shad.

"If I could only fish ONE flat-sided crank,

it would be the 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X Crankbait in Baby Bluegill."

 

I have 5 or 6 in different colors and have had pretty good success with them, but I don't have that color.

 

"On sale at TW right now $6.98"

 

Sure enough. And then I did the mailing list members only sale thingy and got 20% more off. Had to get a couple for my friends at that price. 

 

6th Sense Crush Flat 75X Baby Bluegill x 4  $22.32  $5.58 ea.

(And some other stuff to get free shipping. Mostly Nichols and Terminator spinnerbaits.)

_____________

Edited to add: The 6th Sense site does not show a 75x in Baby Bluegill. Must be discontinued.

https://6thsensefishing.com/products/crush-series-baby-bluegill

 

On 1/12/2024 at 7:20 PM, Log Catcher said:

I have used the Little John in Cell Mate and all it ever caught was one little Bream. I need to put in my box of useless baits.

Cell Mate is has been the best color Little John for me. It has saved the day for me many times.

Thanks to so many of you -- these are the flat-sided crank baits I ordered -- I look forward to slinging them and hopefully catching some fish this spring ! 

Here are some pics of the new Bass Pro Flatsider and the new 6th Sense Pressure Series. Hooks to me on flatsider are too small and probably junk. 
i put a Frittside 5 and a 6th Sense F4 so you can see the size of them

All

https://imgur.com/gallery/dPdEaY7

BP Flatsider

https://imgur.com/gallery/e5g3guA

 

6th Sense Pressure Series PD10, PD7, and PD4

https://imgur.com/gallery/9WQkyjE

The Little John, Frittside and Shad Rap are the ones I've landed on when I'm looking for something with a tighter wobble...might end up getting a separate rod just for the Shad Rap 6 at some point.

If I had to pick one it'd have to be Og slim. I have put alot of bass in the boat with that plug.