Ok so I know the basics of flats but am having troubling knowing for sure if the non obv flats are flats if that makes sense so if the lines are far apart or they don’t change depth quickly it is a flat but what if it looks like this?

Not flats in my opinion 

Yeah I don’t see any productive looking flats. I wouldn’t fish any of those spots based off what I see here. 

These are better flats imo. Near sharp drop offs into deep water. 
 

 

14 minutes ago, Catt said:

Not flats in my opinion 

Lines need to be wider apart?

I generally agree that what I see, I would not consider flats.

 

Here are two examples of what I would call a flat. One is huge. They both are fairly large though

24 minutes ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

Lines need to be wider apart?

 

Not really ?

 

That could be considered a flat

 

16 minutes ago, Catt said:

 

Not really ?

 

That could be considered a flat

 

But not in your eyes your looking for more?

35 minutes ago, GoneFishingLTN said:

But not in your eyes your looking for more?

 

In my eyes that's part of an underwater point. Yes that can be considered a "flat", as can the top of a hump.

To this dumb coonass this is what you're looking at.

 

 

During certain times of the year,

I'm a bit of a flats freak.

Meaning I seek them out and fish them often.

IMO, there's quite a bit that goes into making a 'flat' something that holds the fish I'm looking to catch.

In no particular order, flats that have some type of cover (hard or soft) hold bait, has an absence of fish looking to eat bass, less boating traffic and of course the right depth as well as 'proximity' to deeper water.  Subtle depth changes and or bottom compositions changes can be money too. 

All of this varies quite a bit but when it's right, it's right.

IME bass might only venture onto a flat very briefly - usually to feed, and then they bail.

Low light & cloud cover can extent their stay a bit and I like that.

Locating 'fishable flats' on a chart or map, is pretty easy.

Unfortunately these documents don't come close to telling the whole story.

At the very least we have go to them and see what's what.

Then we have to fish the ones we think might produce.

This may need to be done many times and at many different times of the day, or at different seasons. 

Several different presentations may need to be tried - over & over. 

All of this before we get out first strike.

OR, if we're fairly lucky, a fatty hits our offering straight away.

That's fun.

 

Either way, the 10 ft Lake Menderchuck flat pictured above

(bottom right hand corner),

has produced a number of trophy brown bass for me over past few years.  

At first glance it might not look like much but it most certainly is.

My point being, chart study is good and an important aspect of locating possible fish holding areas.

But it doesn't end there.

Fish Hard

A-Jay

 

 

I think there is very little in a lake bottom that is flat. 
 

I fished what I thought was a flat. I could see the bottom.  I came home and looked at a detailed contour and what a fished is actually a super wide, super gentle slope down.  
 

Wider and consistent contour lines.  

When you gotta kill the engine and trim up...... that's a flat ?.

 

What I consider a flat is something isolated and surrounded by deep water and holds a fishable depth.

Some lakes I fish are basically a big swimming pool, no flats.

2 Disclaimers: 

1. Feel free to laugh at the stuff I've drawn on the map.  I'm not an artist

2. Every one who's posted in this thread probably knows more about this stuff than I do.....but here's my 2 cents worth.

 

For me it's not just a flat area, or one that's a gently slope.  A flat that's good for holding bass is going to be near other attractive areas.   I have good luck in the area I've circled on the map at times.  It's not "just" a flat (or area with gentle slope).  It's next to a channel swing bank as well as a 90 degree bend in the main river channel.   Main river channel is marked with my attempt to draw an "A".  The area I'm calling a "flat" kinda becomes an eddy when they're moving water through the lake.   I can pretty much always find bass either on the "flat", the ledge at the main river channel near the "A" or at the point that isn't in the picture.   This particular "flat" has a bunch of stumps too.   Also, for some reason I rarely see anyone fishing there.   During the Summer people tie their boats together and "party" (whatever that means) in the area notes a small craft mooring.   It doesn't seem to bother the fish.   I've caught decent size bass and huge catfish at the underwater point near the "Menu" button on the screenshot, while people were "partying" on the hump.   

 

So, in a short distance bass (and other fish) have current, a stumpy flat, multiple points, ledges and a channel swing bank.   The pocket near the top of the map on the right side is a good spawning pocket too.   Past the bottom of the screenshot is another channel swing bank.  The main channel runs really close to the bank for several hundred yards, then turns away, creating another flat and eddy. 

 

An area the same depth as a football field in a depth less then 10 or so that isn’t the lake bottom I consider a flat. Look at AJ’s example.

Most of the early example I consider a shelf, a flat area on fast sloping structure, good locations.

Tom

6 hours ago, Catt said:

 

In my eyes that's part of an underwater point. Yes that can be considered a "flat", as can the top of a hump.

Yeah that’s probably what mine would be too. I always try to look for a “flat” spot on top of a point but I could see how It could be looked at just as a point. 
 

I’ve never had any luck on my lakes if there wasn’t ledges very close to the flat part. 

5 hours ago, Cbump said:

I always try to look for a “flat” spot on top of a point but I could see how It could be looked at just as a point

 

You have to understand the overall topography of your body of water. What your describing could be the only "flats" on your waters. We've looking at a snippet of a body of water & asked to make a snap decision.

 

Here on Toledo Bend we have everything from those types, & up to 100+ acre flats.

 

To me flats are large areas of gently sloping bottom . I like to fish the edges  where they drop in deeper water .Never caught much on the drop itself but on top of the flat close to the drop . Then of course any cover will also hold fish. I fish them shallow and deep.