I've been using the H20X flat sided squarebill. It's similar to the Fritside 5, which I haven't tried yet. Can anyone comment on either? Anyone like the H20X?

What other flat sided crankbaits should I be looking at?

Here's a few more to consider:

 

Rapala Shad Rap -- https://bit.ly/3dp3Oa3

 

Rapala X-Rap -- https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/search-tackle.html?from=basres&start=0&count=20&searchtext=x-rap

 

Berkley Flicker Shad 3" Crankbaits -- https://bit.ly/3M5BWKy

 

Berkley Frittside 5 Crankbait - https://bit.ly/3YLZLgI

 

Strike King KVD HC Flat Side 1.5 -- https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Strike_King_KVD_HC_Flat_Side_15_Crankbait/descpage-SKKVDFS.html?from=basres

 

Storm Speed Trap -- https://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Storm_Speed_Trap_Crankbaits/descpage-SSTC.html?from=basres

 

SPRO Little John MD 50 Crankbait -- https://bit.ly/4aWlEOH

 

6th sense crush 75x. You’re welcome.

 The Bomber Flat A still catches fish. I especially like it in current.

Bomber flat A, if you look around on the auction site you can still find the pre pradco

version.

I have been using the Frittside 5 for the last 4 years. It has been my top producer every year, I also throw it all year long. The only downside is the bill is a little fragile.

I like the Evergreen Flat Force. Each color I have has caught fish but like a lot of things its gone up in price.  It use to be $15 but now it's $20. Good bait but ouch.

I fish flat sides a lot during the winter, but the H2O is not one that I'm a fan of. 

 

I have a long list of baits that I do fish depending on conditions;

 

Berkley Frittside

Evergreen Flat Force

Berkley Flicker Shad Shallow

6th Sense Flat 75X

6th Sense Pressure Series

Jackall Bling

Strike King Chick Magnet

Rapala OG Slim

Rapala Shad Rap

New to the market, Bill Lewis has a new Hammer trap flat sided crank.  I have some but have not had a chance to fish them yet.  
 

Personally I like a bait that doesn't rattle at all. Way more natural.

 

Frittside 5 (standard size) was my best late fall producer this year.

 

Primary forage for my lakes are bluegills.

 

My go to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original Bomber Speed Shad would be a flat side crank bait today, my personal favorite in shad color.

Today Frittside 7 has a similar tight action.

Tom

The 6th Sense Crush Flat 75X Crankbait has been a staple on Lake Menderchuck for over a decade.

However, over the past few seasons, the Megabass Sonicside Crankbait

has been making a run for the top spot.

A-Jay

The Frittside 5 is my favorite crankbait that has ever been created. The Candy Apple Red Craw is deadly in prespawn. Bluegill pattern around bream beds. Ghost Morning Dawn any other time. The smallmouth like the sexy shad with the baby blue back.  For bigger bites the biggin models are dynamite. 

SPRO Little John is one of my best producing lures year after year 

I personally like the shad rap 7 and 8 in their shad and helsinki shad color. Have tried a few other flat sides but haven't really found any that I like over a plain old shad rap. I don't know that it technically even falls into the 'flat side' category, but it's my favorite by far when the water gets colder or the conditions are tough and I'm on water with shad in it. I also like a lipless (specifically a LV 500 DRS in ghost minnow or the regular one in sexy chartreuse shad or pearl threadfin) around this time of year but there are probably some people that would disagree...suppose the fact that the water temp here is still 66 might have something to do with it.

Forgot to mention my favorite balsa flat the WEC Tapp.

1 hour ago, rangerjockey said:

Forgot to mention my favorite balsa flat the WEC Tapp.

 

Looove the Tapp.  David Fritts used a Tapp in chartreuse/rootbeer to win the '93 Classic on Logan Martin, among other finishes/wins with that particular bait. The Berkley Frittside 9 is a plastic copy of his beloved Tapp. 

Here’s a few.. look at the eyes to determine which is what. 

2 hours ago, KP Duty said:

 

Looove the Tapp.  David Fritts used a Tapp in chartreuse/rootbeer to win the '93 Classic on Logan Martin, among other finishes/wins with that particular bait. The Berkley Frittside 9 is a plastic copy of his beloved Tapp. 

Yep and I wonder how many realize his impact on crankbait design? Remember the Risto Rap? Of course he was the principal engineer on the DT series.. now Berkley. Oh and a long time before that Poe super cedar. 

6 hours ago, KP Duty said:

 

Looove the Tapp.  David Fritts used a Tapp in chartreuse/rootbeer to win the '93 Classic on Logan Martin, among other finishes/wins with that particular bait. The Berkley Frittside 9 is a plastic copy of his beloved Tapp. 

Man, I have a chartreuse/root beer. It makes me a little nervous when I tie it on .

3 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

Man, I have a chartreuse/root beer. It makes me a little nervous when I tie it on .

I purchased some Tapp copies, including the Greenfish Tackle version (big g smiley iirc).  I'd love to be able to keep the Zoom's around until I'm old.

 

Greenfish

Almost forgot about my contribution to the thread.  Try a Lucky craft KJ Flat. 💥

 

 

On 12/13/2025 at 8:00 AM, rangerjockey said:

Forgot to mention my favorite balsa flat the WEC Tapp.

Ran across this today-

 

The “Tapp” bait was named with a nod to Ronnie Tapp, a successful South Carolina angler. He shared the original design of Knoxville, TN bait maker, Steve Blazer, with some of his North Carolina crankbait aficionados, such as David Wright, David Fritts and Gerald Beck.  Then, when Blazer quit making the bait, Wright went to Ed Chambers.  Chambers picked up on the design and named it in honor of Ronnie Tapp.

7 hours ago, KP Duty said:

Ran across this today-

 

The “Tapp” bait was named with a nod to Ronnie Tapp, a successful South Carolina angler. He shared the original design of Knoxville, TN bait maker, Steve Blazer, with some of his North Carolina crankbait aficionados, such as David Wright, David Fritts and Gerald Beck.  Then, when Blazer quit making the bait, Wright went to Ed Chambers.  Chambers picked up on the design and named it in honor of Ronnie Tapp.

I did not know that. Thank you.

On 12/10/2025 at 12:01 PM, WRB-2.0 said:

The original Bomber Speed Shad would be a flat side crank bait today, my personal favorite in shad color.

Today Frittside 7 has a similar tight action.

Tom

I have two of those and neither one runs true. I tried to tune them to no avail.

I have two old Rattling Thin Fins that cast 0k on baitcasting gear. One of them has a great tight action and the other doesnt do much.