Fishing flats: when, why, and how?

[BigAngus752]

I never fish flats. Never. Why?  No confidence, I suppose, which is the result of never fishing flats. I fish shallow structure and cover near shore or isolated structure/cover, I fish channel swings, points, rip rap, etc. I would like to hear from you why you choose to fish a particular flat and what techniques you use. If I get some examples of when and how you pick them that will encourage me to give it a try. Thanks in advance. 

[TnRiver46]

White bass will teach you lots about flats

[Jleebesaw]

Im not sure what everybody considers a flat but I have been fishing what i call flats for the last few weekends. Up here in ny the spawn is just winding down. Its been hot with high air press. In the shallows the beds are mostly empy. We have found some bass under docks and in heavy weeds but the points and deep humps havent had a lot of fish. I think that the fish are mostly done spawning and starting to move out deeper. They are taking their time doing so though.

       We've had the most luck fishing 5-10 feet deep water with weeds just a couple of feet below the surface. These flats are just the bays they spawned in but between the shallow water and the mouth of the bays where it gets deep. We use shallow cranks, floating jerkbaits, spinners, and topwater lures. Basically just floating around fancasting in these bays. I cant see much for rocks or wood because the weeds hide everything. 

 

[lo n slo]

i like flats near deeper water. right now i like to fish them early in the morning. sometimes they’re up on top of the flat and other times they’re on the drop offs. if there’s wind blowing in on them it’s even better. i’ll anchor down and fan cast if i have to.  

[BigAngus752]

41 minutes ago, Jleebesaw said:

Im not sure what everybody considers a flat but I have been fishing what i call flats for the last few weekends. Up here in ny the spawn is just winding down. Its been hot with high air press. In the shallows the beds are mostly empy. We have found some bass under docks and in heavy weeds but the points and deep humps havent had a lot of fish. I think that the fish are mostly done spawning and starting to move out deeper. They are taking their time doing so though.

       We've had the most luck fishing 5-10 feet deep water with weeds just a couple of feet below the surface. These flats are just the bays they spawned in but between the shallow water and the mouth of the bays where it gets deep. We use shallow cranks, floating jerkbaits, spinners, and topwater lures. Basically just floating around fancasting in these bays. I cant see much for rocks or wood because the weeds hide everything. 

 

 

28 minutes ago, lo n slo said:

i like flats near deeper water. right now i like to fish them early in the morning. sometimes they’re up on top of the flat and other times they’re on the drop offs. if there’s wind blowing in on them it’s even better. i’ll anchor down and fan cast if i have to.  

These answers make perfect sense.  Thank you very much. I have really only looked at the creek beds and the points after spawn.  It make sense that they will come up on a "flat" area at prime feeding times.  Are you guys ever looking for feeding activity on the flat as a clue that some bass may be there?  I will be fishing rip rap or a point and I'll see white bass or panfish feeding on baitfish in the middle of a "flat".  Do you consider that an indicator?  I have half-heartedly thrown stuff through them but I don't spend much time doing it because I have no confidence in it. 

[RoLo]

 

Flats are best where they're interrupted, and where they end.

 

Roger

[Scott F]

I fish weedy flats in natural lakes especially on windy days. When the wind blows, I just set up a drift and fan cast around the boat with a spinner bait, lipless crank, or a swim jig. The fish are generally scattered, but there are almost always some fish biting. If the fish aren’t biting on the shore line or on the docks, I move out to the flats.

[Catt]

1 hour ago, RoLo said:

 

Flats are best where they're interrupted, and where they end.

 

Roger

 

Look for irregularities

Flats ain't 100% "flat"

Flats ain't square 

[A-Jay]

@Catt beat me to the punch  ~ 

 

I'm a bit of a Flats Fishing addict.

First off, they can be very productive and secondly, not many anglers will spend time on the really big ones.(at least here).  Bassheads who hit the lake with limited time to fish don't have docks to flip to, no lay down to fish, no visible weedline to throw down on an open water flat; just what looks at first glance like several hundred yards of the same thing.  In this area, it's rare that a 'flat' actually is entirely and completely featureless & flat.

So looking for and finding the humps, depressions, hard bottom areas, bottom composition changes, soft & hard cover, and BAIT, can be daunting.

No doubt it takes time and fish can & do move all over them depending on the bait they're after and the wind direction & speed.  I've spent HOURS idling on and across many a flat; just looking & graphing. 

Auto chart is your friend as well as SI & 360 imaging.  

Not every one is gold but some are.

Fish holding areas come in various sizes, some pretty small (like the boat) others are somewhat vast and the bass seem to roam around on them in packs.

I like those. 

Doesn't always need to be 'close' to deep water, but the better ones often are - especially early & late season.  

And don't forget about 'deep' flats like the ones between the second and perhaps the third major water level drop.

They can be insanely good late in the season (after turn over here) - blade baits do a lot of damage here for me. 

I always plan on covering water to make contact.

#chunkandwind

A-Jay

[scaleface]

  I   fish them shallow and deep .Shallow is simple for anyone  .When fishing deep I like to target the depth that most of the baitfish show up on sonar in open water . Say I'm seeing a lot of fish in the ten foot range , I follow the 12 to 14 foot contour chucking crankbaits or other lures shallower . I've caught some big ones doing that . Also like to fish them shallow at night because I can just make blind  random cast and catch fish .

[Catt]

4 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I'm a bit of a Flats Fishing addict.

 

Nahh! You a structure freak just like me ?

 

Everything y'all reading above can be applied to every piece of structure in the lake.

 

[Jleebesaw]

11 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

Are you guys ever looking for feeding activity on the flat as a clue that some bass may be there? 

Absolutely. If there is enough water between the surface and the weeds you can idle around looking for baitfish. Where ive been, the weeds are so close to the surface that this wont do anything for you. But if you sit still long enough you should see baitfish around checking out the boat or following lures. Also, if the predator fish are active you may see baitfish breaking the surface trying to get away, or fish swirls or even jumping when bass attack something close to the surface. Often there are schools of baitfish that you can see disturbing the surface. If you cast near them or if a bird flies close they will all scramble and make a big commotion. 

[scaleface]

The flat that I fish the most has a well defined breakline at the mouth of a creek arm .Through trial and error I found this area to be the most productive , the area where the flat comes to an end . Its basically ledge fishing . I always keep a marker buoy handy and toss it whenever I hook up . Buoys   keep a person  oriented , so one doesnt drift away and lose the spot  . Its not marking fish its marking the location of the boat at the hookup .

[TnRiver46]

I guess I’m a little different, I don’t necessarily fish a feature on a flat. The fish push the bait up onto and all over the flat most of the time. When they aren’t running the shad I fish the drop off . When they are running shad they seem to be all over a featureless area raising cane attacking shad. In fast water it seems timing is more important than a ditch or log. If they are feeding I just burn a trap all over it. I would focus more on the ends and ditches when they are resting with a jig or worm. Here’s what most of ours look like and you can see the shad in tight wads freaking out and bass flying through the air frequently . It’s exciting and maddening all at the same time .

[Bankbeater]

The lower end of a lake I fish is basically a flat with a creek bed running through it. The area gets filled up with coontail. If the wind is blowing in the right direction I will let the wind push me across the flat. As I’m moving I will fan cast with a shallow crankbait, topwater, or lipless bait. 

[BigAngus752]

22 hours ago, scaleface said:

because I can just make blind  random cast

This is what my plan usually degenerates to day or night.  

11 hours ago, scaleface said:

The flat that I fish the most has a well defined breakline at the mouth of a creek arm .Through trial and error I found this area to be the most productive , the area where the flat comes to an end . Its basically ledge fishing . I always keep a marker buoy handy and toss it whenever I hook up . Buoys   keep a person  oriented , so one doesnt drift away and lose the spot  . Its not marking fish its marking the location of the boat at the hookup .

This I already do.  I just consider it fishing a ledge.  I haven't really thought of it as the "end of a flat".  

[Sissyfishing]

Best bait for flats 1/8 oz lead head and a 2 inch single tail white grub fished like a spinner bait cover lots of water fast then key in on the areas where you get bit fishing the whole water column rapala’s on top, grub and neds under and split shots or drop shots or Texas rugged on bottom 

[river-rat]

Generally when I'm fishing a flat I am fan casting with a rattle bait to search for bass and keeping an eye on the depth finder looking for any type of irregularity. When I find the fish, I'll slow down and fish a jig and texas rigged plastic.