definition of "flats"

[gooch]

I am reading that the fall is the time to fish the "flats". I have read post about fishing flats in 18 feet of water and flats in 5 feet of water. The lake I have been fishing due to gas prices is 10 miles long 1 1/2 wide with a channel about 35 deep. I would say that 70% of the lake is 20 foot deep and flat. Now there are some bays and coves that have water in the 15 feet or less and agiain the bottoms are pretty flat. I just dont know what you guys are saying when you say fish a flat. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Crappie Reaper]

I have always believed that a "flat" was an area that has a very slow grade as far as depth is concerned. An area where there are no, or few sharp dropoffs. An area that remains fairly constant depth wise.

If I am wrong, someone please correct me.

[crappieseeker]

I think someone posted a thread a few weeks back that detailed a flat very well. They had it drawn out.

[frank lawhead]

I,m with you on the flats

[abarkley]

I am reading that the fall is the time to fish the "flats". I have read post about fishing flats in 18 feet of water and flats in 5 feet of water. The lake I have been fishing due to gas prices is 10 miles long 1 1/2 wide with a channel about 35 deep. I would say that 70% of the lake is 20 foot deep and flat. Now there are some bays and coves that have water in the 15 feet or less and agiain the bottoms are pretty flat. I just dont know what you guys are saying when you say fish a flat. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

you got your mind right. flats are the "plains" of the river. rolling areas of pretty much the same depth adjacent to the main channel or creek channel. a flat may be big or it may be 10 acres or less. as a good rule of thumb on most lakes target the flats near deep water to begin with. typically your summer fish will be deep near the flats hanging on ledges in their comfort zone. when the water cools and the baitfish start to move with the changing water temps the fish will move with them up onto the flats out of the main channel or creek channel as well. one of my favorite flats to fish on my home lake is a horseshoe shaped flat that is surrounded on three sides by a creek channel giving it it's horseshoe shape. it's about 1/2 mile off the main channel so fall fish hit it first when they migrate up the creek with cooler water temps. it is full of stumps and has a big time channel bend to fish. although it contains only about 3 ft of water on it in the winter, we consistently catch fish off it because it has the deep water of a creek channel nearby.
flats arent the easiest thing to fish, but they can be rewarding. you'll need to use a large water fast fishing technique to eliminate water. pull jigs or spider rig and get yourself a good depth finder. leave the one pole stuff at home on this one. look for superstructure (ie structure on structure) stumps and brush piles, minor or major depth changes(humps for instance), small ditches that cross flat. anything that is different is worth giving a shot at for a few minutes.

hope this helps a little

[DENNIS BOWERS]

abarkely--Good Answer!!!

[abarkley]

abarkely--Good Answer!!!

thanks dennis

[Lonnie84]

I came across this 10 year old post and found it very helpful in defining "Flats". The wealth of knowledge that we have here at crappie.com is just amazing!

[Tom 513]

Thanks for dusting this one off Lonnie, once again I've learned more on CDC

[Hanr3]

Crappie prefer to push the bait fish up on the flats and drop down to a comfortable depth. They will slip up on the flat to eat and drop back down when done. Fishing the flats isn't restricted to on top of the flat, I prefer to fish the depths around it.