Rapala DT Flat vs OG or any other Flat Sided Crankbait?

[MK49]

My old Rapala DT Flat has been great for the last 2 weeks. I had two, but lost one. I fish riprap with many little sticks with it. Pretty much every trip, I get hung up more than a few times. In fact, I had to cut the line twice, but the last one came up to the surface, yeah twice.

I checked eBay, but the size and the color I want wasn't available. So, I'm afraid of losing it, but I don't want to stop using it. I actually changed my leader from 16lbs to 19lbs, just because I don't wanna lose it.

I checked what Rapala currently offers, and found Ott's Garage flat sided crankbaits. Is it similar to the old DT Flat? Do you have any recommendations for flat sided cranks, which are similar to the DT Flat? Preferably, the ones without rattles.

Thanks

[Heitman]

Those DT Flats are gold. I have 3 of the DT 7's and 2 of the DT 3's. Haven't found a flatside like those yet. But I too am curious about the OG's

[Johnny A]

O.S.P. HPF Spec II

[MK49]

Thanks. Mine is DT Flat 3, but it seems to go much deeper than DT Fat 3.

[Beboson]

In my opinion OG are the best. OSP hpf it is too good flat side, but away to OG in my experience.

[MK49]

In my opinion OG are the best. OSP hpf it is too good flat side, but away to OG in my experience.

Thanks. I ended up ordering OG. Should be here tomorrow.

[LowRange]

OG 3 and 6 would be close. Don't overlook the Fritts designed Berkley Frittside flatside cranks. The 7 is closest to the DT Flat 7. The Berkley hardbaits in general are good. I also like the new Bomber Flat A with the weight transfer for fishing rip rap. They are cheap, have the right action, cast well, come in good craw patterns and float faster than other flat sides to help to be worked more aggressively on rip rap. Bass Pro/Cabelas sells them for $3.99 every spring.

The Berkely Frittside

[MK49]

I received two Strike King flat sided and a Rapala yesterday. I fished this morning, and didn't get a bite on crankbaits, and lost one of the brand new ones in a tree.

I'll buy the Berkley one next. I was about to order a Bagley, but I didn't. I'll probably buy it soon. I didn't know about the Bomber. I'll check it out.

Well, I just checked the Bomber on TW website. It's $3.99, indeed. I got to buy some, so I can throw them into riprap from hell. I named this bank the riprap from hell, because I've lost so many lures there. If I can cast a Texas rig or a football jig more than a few times without losing the baits, I would feel lucky. It's the riprap with bunch of little sticks. I've probably lost 20 crankbaits and 25 weightless Fat Ika and Yamatanuki, a dozen of scroungers this year. I even lost a few topwater baits there, because the fish took them down to sticks. With the $3.99 crankbaits, I think I could catch more fish, just because I don't mind losing them.

Thanks

[LowRange]

I received two Strike King flat sided and a Rapala yesterday. I fished this morning, and didn't get a bite on crankbaits, and lost one of the brand new ones in a tree.

I'll buy the Berkley one next. I was about to order a Bagley, but I didn't. I'll probably buy it soon. I didn't know about the Bomber. I'll check it out.

Well, I just checked the Bomber on TW website. It's $3.99, indeed. I got to buy some, so I can throw them into riprap from hell. I named this bank the riprap from hell, because I've lost so many lures there. If I can cast a Texas rig or a football jig more than a few times without losing the baits, I would feel lucky. It's the riprap with bunch of little sticks. I've probably lost 20 crankbaits and 25 weightless Fat Ika and Yamatanuki, a dozen of scroungers this year. I even lost a few topwater baits there, because the fish took them down to sticks. With the $3.99 crankbaits, I think I could catch more fish, just because I don't mind losing them.

Thanks

The Flat As are cheap and have a tight wiggle but that pointed bill makes them more prone to getting wedged in rip rap. They are more buoyant which helps them back out faster but you will lose some. They are cheap and the hardware is good enough out of the package.

[MK49]

The Flat As are cheap and have a tight wiggle but that pointed bill makes them more prone to getting wedged in rip rap. They are more buoyant which helps them back out faster but you will lose some. They are cheap and the hardware is good enough out of the package.

Thanks for the info.

[LowRange]

Oh yeah after reading again you are after a replacement for the DT Flat 3 but have both the 3 and 7? For just the Flat 3 I would recommend the shallow Flat A, OG tiny 4, OG slim 6 and Fritts Side 5. The Flat A will be the cheapest and most expendable but it does rattle with the weight transfer system acting as a dual knocker rattle. The Fritts Side 5 and OG Tiny 4 are silent and cast as well as the Flat A despite not having a weight transfer system. The weight transfer update on the gen 2 Flat As was done because the old bait would cast like a potato chip.

[MK49]

Oh yeah after reading again you are after a replacement for the DT Flat 3 but have both the 3 and 7? For just the Flat 3 I would recommend the shallow Flat A, OG tiny 4, OG slim 6 and Fritts Side 5. The Flat A will be the cheapest and most expendable but it does rattle with the weight transfer system acting as a dual knocker rattle. The Fritts Side 5 and OG Tiny 4 are silent and cast as well as the Flat A despite not having a weight transfer system. The weight transfer update on the gen 2 Flat As was done because the old bait would cast like a potato chip.

Thanks, again. Now, I'm not really sure if the DT Flat I have is 3 or 7. It dives much deeper than DT Fat 3. DT Fat 3 doesn't dive deep enough to hit rocks/bottom, most of the time. So, I guess, I will try need to try both.

[MK49]

I received some flat sided crankbaits today, Berkley Frittside 5, Bomber, Bagley, Strike King Chick Magnet... For those I got in the last few weeks, Rapala OG Slim 6 "looks" the closest to my old DT Flat. It's basically the same bait, except for the lip. I didn't know how much smaller the Berkley and Strike King were. They're pretty tiny, which could be good or bad, depending on the situation. Bagley is about the same size as the old DT Flat. The Chick Magnet was on sale for $4.99, so I picked a few. Not sure how good they are, but it's pretty cheap.

Those cheap lures actually look better than I expected, and the hooks aren't that bad, either. The last time I bought a Strike King lure was about 15 years ago, and the quality was really bad. I got more than a few Strike King deep crankbaits that got water inside the lures, and they didn't look as good as today's Strike King or cheap Bomber Gen2. I was expecting much worse, because they're so cheap.

[Heitman]

Oh yeah after reading again you are after a replacement for the DT Flat 3 but have both the 3 and 7? For just the Flat 3 I would recommend the shallow Flat A, OG tiny 4, OG slim 6 and Fritts Side 5. The Flat A will be the cheapest and most expendable but it does rattle with the weight transfer system acting as a dual knocker rattle. The Fritts Side 5 and OG Tiny 4 are silent and cast as well as the Flat A despite not having a weight transfer system. The weight transfer update on the gen 2 Flat As was done because the old bait would cast like a potato chip.

Thanks, again. Now, I'm not really sure if the DT Flat I have is 3 or 7. It dives much deeper than DT Fat 3. DT Fat 3 doesn't dive deep enough to hit rocks/bottom, most of the time. So, I guess, I will try need to try both.

The DT Flat 7 has a longer bill like the Frittsides 7. The DT3 has a short bill like the Frittside 5 shown in the post above.

[MK49]

The DT Flat 7 has a longer bill like the Frittsides 7. The DT3 has a short bill like the Frittside 5 shown in the post above.

Thanks. I just looked at mine, and it's 3. I know it dives over 3ft, though, which is fine with me .

OK, I just compared my old DT3 Flat to the OG Slim 6. The size and angle of the bills are pretty much the same. OG Slim6 is supposed to dive to 6', so the DT3 Flat diving deeper than 3' seems to be just the way it should be.