Best Bass Fishing Flats

A flat is an expansive lake area that is uniform in depth and structural makeup. For the most part, flats are relatively shallow (between 3 and 10 feet deep) and can be found both close to shore and out in mid-lake. They can be less than an acre in size to a mile or more in length. Bottom composition will remain relatively level. However, aquatic plants found throughout it can vary from sparse to dense. The best bass fishing flats may lack overall unique qualities, but this is what makes them gold mines for savvy bass anglers.

They are the centers of life, the areas with the greatest concentrations of opportunity. But they are also the areas on which you can waste inordinate amounts of time. Indeed, understanding why certain flats produce more consistent bass fishing and why certain areas of certain flats tend to hold the most fish is a wisdom hard earned. However, it is profoundly rewarding.

Largemouth bass use flats for a number of reasons

Largemouth bass use flats for a number of reasons, but food ranks high among the list. An expanse of water littered with weed and other cover makes an excellent feeding ground. Weed cover offers many hiding spots for baitfish, giving ambushing largemouth ample opportunities to chow down when you are on the best bass fishing flats.

A healthy mixture of vegetation, including cabbage milfoil and grasses, is a prerequisite. Not only should there be variety, but irregular patches, clumps and weed lines strewn throughout the best flats for bass fishing.

With close access to deeper water, largemouth move up on a flat at will. They also have the option to retreat to safety again, if the need arises. This is an important Fishing Factors™, as these fish seldom spend all of their time in skinny water on even the best fishing flats for bass.

The flats on natural lakes tend to present more subtle variances than those of man-made reservoirs. This makes any change in depth or habitat that much more important. A lot of it has to do with what’s in the surrounding area, and it’s all relative to the lake. For instance, on a highland reservoir like Table Rock, a flat that’s 50 yards wide is pretty big. Up in the Great Lakes, flats that are miles long and a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile wide with very little depth change are the norm. These are often some of the best bass fishing flats.

Excerpts taken from Lee’s new book “Strategies for Bass“.