Berkley Frittside X Gets an All New Circuit Board Bill
Anyone who throws a flat-sided crankbait around rock and wood knows how this story goes. The thin bill that gives the bait its tight, subtle action is the same bill that chips, cracks, and eventually snaps off. Berkley is addressing that with the Frittside X, a premium version of the Frittside built around a reinforced circuit board bill.
The Frittside itself traces back to David Fritts and the flat-sided crankbait style that helped him win the 1993 Bassmaster Classic. Berkley’s plastic version uses its patented FlashDisc Technology to balance weight and buoyancy so the bait swims like balsa without being as fragile as balsa. The Frittside X keeps all of that and swaps the polycarbonate bill for circuit board material.
“The goal with Frittside X was to improve durability without changing the action that anglers already trust,” said Nathan Ragsdale, Senior Product Manager, Freshwater Baits at Berkley. “The reinforced circuit board bill addresses a known durability challenge with traditional thin-billed crankbaits.”
Circuit board bills aren’t a new idea in the crankbait world; custom balsa builders have used them for years for exactly this reason. Putting one on a mass-produced plastic bait with a proven action is the selling point here.
- Bill: Reinforced circuit board
- Body: Plastic with FlashDisc Technology
- Hooks: Fusion19 trebles
- Sizes: X 5 Jr. (1/4 oz), X 5 (1/3 oz), X 5 Biggun’ (3/7 oz)
- Running Depth: 2-5 ft
- Colors: 13 custom-painted options
- MSRP: $17.99
- Availability: Available now
The color lineup leans heavily into craw patterns, which makes sense for a shallow flat-side. Options include Ghost Red Craw, Orange Fire Craw, Spicy Spray Tan, Spicy Special Red Craw, Mossback Craw, Phantom Green Craw, and Brown Craw, with Chrome Shad, Ghost Morning Dawn, Phantom Shad, Black Chartreuse, Kentucky Blue, and Vapor Herring rounding out the baitfish side.
At $17.99, the X costs noticeably more than the standard Frittside, which runs $7.99 to $12.99 depending on size. For anglers who fish flat-sides hard around rock and laydowns, a bill that survives the season may end up cheaper than replacing broken baits.
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