Hunting fall flats bass is in many ways the same as that deer or hog hunters must identify animal signs, scents and habitat, skinny – water bass anglers should understand how to read a flat and react to different variables they encounter. There are many different kinds of shallow water flats, and fishermen are wise to treat them individually.
Even the same flat can be fished in numerous ways depending on different conditions. I find it best to treat a flat like a kaleidoscope, with new patterns and elements emerging each trip. All anglers must consider five essential variables when fishing the flats: wind and air conditions; the sun’s position; water clarity and temperature; the size, shape and composition of the flat; and existing signs of life
Hunting fall flats bass is in many ways the same as that deer or hog hunters must identify animal signs, scents and habitat, skinny-water bass anglers should understand how to read a flat and react to different variables they encounter. There are many different kinds of shallow water flats, and fishermen are wise to treat them individually. Even the same flat can be fished in numerous ways depending on different conditions. I find it best to treat a flat like a kaleidoscope, with new patterns and elements emerging each trip. All inshore anglers must consider five essential variables when fishing the flats: wind and air conditions; the sun’s position; water clarity and temperature; the size, shape and composition of the flat; and existing signs of life.
When the water and air temperatures begin to cool after a long, hot summer, you need to be hunting fall flats bass. Throughout the fall, these flats play temporary host to millions of migrating shad as they make their annual trek to the backs of creeks. Wherever you find shad in the fall, you won’t have a hard time finding bass.
When the fall months arrive, the water starts to cool because the daylight hours get shorter and the nighttime hours become longer. The first little cold snap – when the air temperature dips into the 60 and 50-degree range—really kicks everything into gear.
As soon as the temperatures begin to drop, a switch flips in those shad and tells them it’s time to go shallow.
“I’ve seen so many times when you have great looking cover and the bass are paying absolutely no attention to it.” When it’s the heart of the shad migration, bass will actually use the bait balls as cover, almost like a big security blanket. It gives them the best of both worlds—a constant food source and plenty of shade. You can throw at the good looking stumps all you want, but you’ll catch more bass concentrating underneath the bait balls.
Knowing the bottom composition of the flat is key to hunting fall flats bass as well. For those flats fishing anglers who have electronics on their boat or kayak, being able to identify rock formations or other hard sources of cover is a good sign there will be fish there. If you don’t have electronics, be familiar with the bottom structure. Those fish know cold weather isn’t far away and they follow the bait like a wolf pack. That’s why many anglers think early fall is the best fishing of the year.
I can’t stress enough the importance of bait fish during this time of year and acknowledges their presence as to why the bass head toward the flats. “This is why the flats in the fall are such a key structure.” During the fall feed, the bait makes its way back to shallow water. Generally speaking, on most fisheries, the forage has spent their summer in deeper water. When the temperature begins to drop, those bait fish migrate back to the flats and the bass follow.
Not all flats are created equally. If you make an effort to understand shad behavior, recognize desirable characteristics within a flat and learn what lures to throw, there’s a great possibility you will catch a lot more bass this fall.
Lee Bailey, Jr.
Retired Bassmaster Elite Pro
3 – time Bassmaster Classic Qualifier
