Real World Tests: I fished the SonicSide this past Winter using a variety of setups depending on what I had to test rather than what I really suited this bait best. Fortunately, it's a versatile little crank, so the setup didn't really have much bearing on its success. Given the choice in an ideal world, I'd probably use something like Megabass of America's Orochi XX F5-75XX EMTF paired with my Shimano Chronarch MGL spooled with 8 or 10lb Seaguar Tatsu Fluorocarbon line.

The bait's weights are fixed, so it runs silent yet still casts very well

Castability: I fished this bait on both fluoro and braid, but would prefer fluoro as a go to for its better resistance to abrasion. As mentioned previously, the SonicSide has fixed internal weights, so there's no weight transfer system to aid in your casting. Weighing roughly half an ounce, this bait casts like a bullet.

The SonicSide doesn't need a moving balancer system and actually surprised me at how well it flies through the air despite those flat sides. I guess it's easy enough to build the momentum you need with today's choice in quality fishing rods.

The bait's hooks are the typical light wire option found on Megabass baits

Dive Time: Click your reel over after the cast and the SonicSide gets down pretty quickly. It has a tight wobbling action that you can feel through the fishing line and swims true at all the speeds I could generate with reels in the 6 and 7 to one range in retrieve ratios. I did not try this bait on any of the super fast, 8 to one and above retrieve ratio reels in today's market.

The SonicSide was made to bounce off hard obstacles not come through weeds, but sometimes, you gotta throw it where the fish are holding

I'd say the SonicSide does a good job bouncing off obstructions like rocks, stumps and the like. For whatever reason, I had better success running this bait on the edges of weed beds. It probably had to do more with where the fish were located though. Difficult to catch fish where there aren't any despite how good conditions look.

The crawdad colors are my personal favorite

In typical Megabass fashion, the SonicSide comes with light wire treble hooks though these hooks do not have the outbarb. Anglers that like to use heavier line when fishing cranks might want to swap hooks for something a little more stout.

I leave mine stock because I prefer light wire hooks in general. It's my feeling thinner wire hooks have better penetration so hookups are easier and more sure. I've never been one to muscle fish back to the boat, so the danger of straightening out a hook is minimal - with largemouth anyway.

Conclusion: Megabass of America's SonicSide crank has potential to be one of the brand's cult following baits. It casts well, gets to work as soon as you start cranking, and is super effective at triggering strikes. The only thing keeping it from that crazy following are the limited and hard to get colors. Maybe they're already out there and I just don't know about them because they're so limited and hard to get! But seriously, for a manufacturer that makes baits that are just as fun to collect as they are to fish, they have another winner here in the SonicSide crank.