How To Fish Flats

!±8± How To Fish Flats

Knowing how to fish flats is a basic requirement in most lakes. Flats are preferred feeding areas most of the year, and this holds true from Florida to Minnesota, and points east and west. So serious anglers need to learn about flats and then check them out whenever they're out on the water. Following are methods for fishing these overlooked places.

1. When To Fish Flats:

When is the best time to fish flats? Flats are worth fishing all the time except in the dead of winter, when the fish school up and hold in deep water. But from early spring through late fall, flats are prime fishing spots. Fall is the very best time to fish flats, followed by spring, then summer. In the spring, shallower flats toward the backs of the creeks are best, places that are good spawning areas. In summer, deeper flats on the main lake or lower creek areas are better. And in the fall, the bass tend to migrate back to the medium to shallow flats, again in the creeks.

2. Attractive Flats:

Flats may seem similar, but some have certain features that make them a lot more attractive to bass. Savvy flat fishermen recognize these features and understand how to judge flats for bass holding potential. Following are guidelines for making such appraisals: First, water depth. The productive flats are the ones that are 8 feet deep and shallower. That's not to say flats deeper than 8 feet won't produce fish. Sometimes they will. But overall, the deeper flats aren't as consistent as the shallower ones. Many anglers believe most bass spend most of their lives in shallow water. Fishing shallow flats just increases your odds of running into fish. Second, substructure features. Good flats are the ones that have extra features like stumps, brushpiles, grassbeds or some other type cover. On flats, these objects are like magnets to bass. The fish are naturally drawn to them. They'll even orient to a stick, anything they can get their eye behind so they feel hidden. Other bass attracting features on flats may include shallow ditches or humps, anything that breaks the uniformity of the bottom. A little run in might be as little as 6 inches deep, but that's enough of a change to draw the fish. That's the key word, change. Flats have these extra objects or features that stand out from a plain bottom are more attractive to bass than flats that are just monotonous nothings. Third, presence of baitfish. This is probably the biggest of all. If a flat has baitfish, it'll probably have bass. But if the bait isn't there, the bass won't be either. Don't spend too much time on a flat that doesn't have baitfish. Baitfish (such as shad) probably won't use a flat that doesn't meet the first two conditions. If a flat is just a featureless bottom, the baitfish won't be attracted to it, and neither will the bass. You need to bypass these places. Several other temporary conditions add to a flat's appeal to baitfish and bass. One is the presence of wind. A flat's more likely to have feeding bass on it if there's some wind blowing across it. The wind 'pushes' the baitfish in. It also ripples the surface and makes the fish feel more secure than they are in calm water. Another temporary condition is a rising or falling water level. If the lake is dropping, bass pull back off the shallow flats into the channels. But if the lake is stable or rising, the fish will move up on the flats and feed. Water clarity is another temporary condition worthy of notice. In stained or off colored water, the fish feel safer than they do in clear water, but there's still enough clarity for them to feed. Also, since they can't see the angler as easily, they're not as spooky. One more temporary condition is current. If current is washing over a flat, it's usually a plus. Current moves baitfish, and this turns bass on.

3. Running and Gunning:

Learning how to judge a flat and actually using that knowledge to put bass in the boat are two different matters. It's one thing to understand that bass hold around scattered stumps or ditches. It's another thing to locate these objects under 8 feet of water on a 50 to 100 acre flat. You've got to know how to cover a lot of water and maximize your time. The idea is to test fish what you think are the best parts of a flat. Hit them quickly, and if you don't find anything, move on to the next spot. Check several flats, and eventually you'll find some bass. This is the fishing strategy for which the term "run and gun" was coined. Identify likely flats through map study. (On a topographical map, flats are characterized by contour lines that are far apart and wavy.) One the water, begin checking these areas to see if bass are present. Run into a cove until you hit the right depth. Then throttle back and start idling and study the flat. Is there any visible cover? Is the wind blowing over the flat? What's the water color like? And most important, do you see any any evidence of baitfish? Again, this is critical. If you don't see baitfish, don't waste time on that flat. Keep looking until you find one that has some bait. You can find baitfish two ways: visually and electronically. Sometimes you can see minnows flipping on the surface or cruising along a few inches under water, warming in the sun. Also, watch the wake behind your outboard. A lot of times shad get scared when the boat goes by, and they jump out of the water. Also you should monitor your depthfinder when motoring over a flat. Keep the unit's sensitivity set high enough to show schools of shad below the surface. If they're not close to the top, you can see the baitfish 2 to 3 feet down. If a flat passes this initial inspection, then it's time to get down to the actual fishing process. This is really the only true means of learning whether bass are present.

4. Fish Flats Fast:

Once you decide to test fish a flat, put the trolling motor down, turn it on high and never let up. Now your goal is to cover as much water as fast as possible. Bass don't scatter all over a flat. Instead, they concentrate on certain areas, and these are what you're looking for. So continually move and cast while staying alert for any clues that will tip you off as to where they are. Search by casting to anything that offers any obvious attraction to the fish. Throw to any piece of cover, brush, logs whatever. And while moving from one such spot to the next, make random casts across the flat, hoping to find something that doesn't break the surface. A lot of times you might catch a fish right out in the middle of nowhere. But after you mark the spot and check it out, you may find stumps or a little hump or a change in the bottom content. It'll be something real subtle but different from the surrounding area. Approach a flat from a creek or river channel, if one exists. Look on the map for where the channel makes a sharp turn or horseshoe, some logical spot where fish migrating along the channel will move up onto the flat. From here, just pick a direction, maybe toward the bank or a brushpile or treetop that you can see. And then just roll toward it, casting on both sides of the boats as you go. Prospect flats by following what is called a Z pattern. Go in a straight line for 50 yards. Then turn at an angle for 25 yards, then straighten back out for 50 more yards. If you don't get a strike in this run, crank up the motor, idle back on the flats a couple of hundred yards and then run another stretch. While moving and casting monitor your depthfinder. Even in shallow water, it's very important to watch your depthfinder all the time. This is how you'll find a lot of little hidden objects. You'll be going along, and suddenly you'll see a little dip on the finder. Always turn and follow these subtle contours for a way to see if they're holding fish. Any change in the contour whatever can be important. A rise from 5 feet to 4 feet can be the key to finding fish. The same holds for little depressions. Again, the key word is "change". You've got to cover enough water on a flat to find the changes and see if the bass are present. You just move and cast and stay attuned to where the baitfish and the changes are. This is how you fish flats. When searching for bass, don't linger on a flat that doesn't produce quick action. When you try a flat, generally fish what looks like the best part, where the wind's blowing or where the baitfish or cover are most plentiful. If you don't catch anything again, crank up and idle maybe another 200 yards, then fish another stretch. If you don't catch anything this time, move on to another cove. When bass are located, slow down and fish thoroughly to see if a school is present. For example, you're going along and not getting any action then suddenly come to an area where you get two or three quick strikes. Now turn around and go back through that area, fishing slow and more thoroughly. Basically, you just stay with that area for a while and try to work it out and expand it. This is your goal: Find that little part of the flat where the fish are concentrated and feeding, then stay with them and catch them. If bass like a particular set of conditions on flats in one cove, anglers should look for duplicate conditions in other coves: same side of the cove, same water depth, same type cover, etc. This pattern may hold throughout the lake, and if it does, vastly expand one's fish catching opportunities.

5. Baits For Flats:

Since your moving constantly, you want baits you can fish quickly to cover the water. Spinnerbaits, buzzbaits and lipless crankbaits fill the bill. You can just throw them out and reel them back in. Sometimes you might also diving crankbaits, and if you find fish on cover and want to work slower, switch to a worm or a jig. But while you're running and looking, stay pretty much with the faster baits. Frequently change lures to see which one the fish prefer. If you fish a good looking log or brushpile with a spinnerbait and don't get a strike, pick up the buzzbait rod and make a few casts. Sometimes the fish will hit on top of the water but not underneath, or vice versa. You've just got to try the different options to see what they want. Using a Rat-L-Trap you can employ a special retrieve. Pump the bait, letting it sink down to the bottom, then pulling it back up. This is like yo-yoing a spinnerbait. Move it around 3 feet at a time. When you pick the bait up off the bottom, it kicks up mud, and this excites the bass and causes them to strike. For whatever reason, this technique is especially effective in the fall.

6. Special Flats Situations:

Fishing flats requires a special technique during the spawning season. Look for shallow flats toward the backs of the creeks or pockets that are protected from the northwest wind. These flats warm faster than wind exposed area, and the bass will move onto them sooner. You can still troll and cast randomly through these spawning areas. It's a lot like fishing other flats. Look for cover and isolated objects. But you should also watch for beds. They look like little circles in a dark bottom. (Polarized sunglasses help you spot spawning beds.) If you find a flat where you can see the beds, then switch over to a lizard or tube or a minnow type bait, and fish the bait right in the bed. In spring, you can alter your run and gun technique. You can pitch to objects that bass would orient to when nesting. If there are bushes or logs on the flat, flip a jig around them. This approach is more likely to make a bedding bass strike. Another condition worth extra scrutiny is when aquatic vegetation is thick on the flat. Vegetation is one of the best things a flat can offer bass. The vegetation draws bait. It hides the bass. It gives off oxygen, and it helps clean the water. So a flat with grass or weeds on it is an ideal flat to fish. You can scour heavy matted vegetation with a surface spoon or a rubber frog. You can also cast spinnerbaits along the edges of weedlines, paying attention to point and holes in the greenery. A lot of times weed growth stops where the bottom composition changes, or where a little drop-off begins. In either case, this is an ideal place for bass to collect. A third special flats fishing circumstance is found in tidal waters. Basically, whether the tide's coming in or going out determines where the fish will hold and feed. When the tide is rising, bass move up onto flats and feed. If lily pads or aquatic weeds are on the flat, when the water's high, bass get back in those weeds. Then flipping is the best way to catch them. When the tide starts falling, the bass pull back off the flats into ditches and the last outside cover adjacent to the flats. These become the best ambush sites. Generally you can fish spinnerbaits in these locations. Regardless of prevailing conditions, flats fishing involves a lot of trial and error. There's no substitute for covering water and casting continually. A lot of times there's nothing visual to help you find the good spots. You just have to keep going until you run into them. Fish fast and hopscotch around. Then when you hit bass, slow down and ring the register.