The time immediately after the spawn presents its own fishing challenges. Postspawn female largemouths, rather than swimming directly to a deep drop-off, typically disperse to the first cover adjacent to the flats. Developing weeds in the 4-to 8-foot range often hold clusters of fish, which must be fished slowly and carefully, since females aren’t very aggressive at this time. Once newly hatched fingerlings disperse, males join the females on the flats. Bass continually shift location, relating to the best available habitat as the weeds bloom and thicken, progressing from the shoreline toward deeper breaks. It’s common to catch several bass in one spot and then find none there the next trip. The fish are in transition, spreading throughout their expanding habitat.

The key is to think about what makes a productive flat. Flats are any region of relatively minor depth change, located anywhere in the littoral (shoreline) zone of a lake. Flats are the food-producing zones of lakes and reservoirs, extending from shore to the deep weedline. A productive flat provides an extended area of favorable bass habitat at a depth conducive to growing plants. Sunlight must penetrate for the weeds to grow. But if the bottom is too hard, weeds won’t develop.

Not all weedy areas are flats, of course. Steeply sloping banks may harbor clumps of vegetation that offer food and shelter, but not much of either. Such areas have limited areas to hold fish but are worth fishing because they can be quickly checked. Major flats offer a larger food and shelter zone; bass have more choices. Flats can be found on points, in weedy bays, on big sunken islands, along slowly tapering, straight shorelines, and they can be any shape.

Substantial weedgrowth makes a flat productive. Flats with sparse vegetation aren’t very attractive to largemouth bass. But some have such thick weedgrowth that it’s hard for bass to feed there. The best flats combine thick weeds with many edges.