# So you pull up to a flat...



## firecat1981 (Nov 27, 2007)

Life! If you don't see mullet, bait, and birds around then that flat might be difficult to get to produce.


----------



## Boneheaded (Oct 4, 2017)

i like to see sharks.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

That’s a HUGE question!
Pelicans, egrets, herons, gulls, stingrays, drum, baitfish, crabs, slicks...and most importantly other people catching fish! 
I honestly just like to fish areas that look fishy and if they don’t produce quickly I move on. Some flats show zero signs of fish and are loaded. There is such a thing as too much bait!


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

I scan the horizon to see who is catching fish. Then I pull up a ways down wind and drift the flat


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I want to see active predation.
Bait being chased and caught.
Blowups, slurps, pops, tailers and blasts.
A dead calm flat with zero movement anywhere is a bad sign.
I live by the 5 minute rule.
If I haven't seen or caught a fish in 5 minutes, move.


----------



## Cam (Apr 5, 2017)

Good spots change greatly on the suns position, moon, weather and tides. For example in hot weather peak of the day, "action" doesn't matter as much as the terrain. Finding a deep cut running parallel with mangrove overhangs or bars often yields the best bite. In hot conditions on a flat, mullet can be going nuts with glass minnows and birds everywhere but heat is like a switch that often turns off the bite in shallow flats. 

On a warm overcast day with a moving tide after a partial moon, a person can go just about anywhere and catch fish. Same day after a full moon... hold onto that rod every cast or be prepared for a struggle getting the skunk off. Fishing after full moons feels like pure luck to me.

I am no expert though.


----------



## RunningOnEmpty (Jun 20, 2015)

I like to see birds feeding or some signs of bait getting chased. Some days I don't see anything and we have a productive day. Staying consistent is my biggest problem lately?


----------



## lsunoe (Dec 5, 2016)

I look for clean water and that's about it. I leave if there's too many mullet


----------



## Shadowcast (Feb 26, 2008)

Here's what I look for. I look for great blue herons. They are my marker bird (when there are not diving birds) that I focus on. They are a tide marker for me. If I can see more than 50% of their legs, I know the tide is too low to hold reds generally. However, when I am on a flat and I see a heron whose butt feathers are touching the water, I fish on the line in front of him. That heron is not going to put himself in water like that unless he is on point and actively foraging. The heron feeds on the same stuff that reds do so there is food for both. Plus as tall as the heron is, that is enough water to hold predator fish when their butt is touching the water. I also look for mullet activity. They stir up the bottom and scare all the little guys that redfish like to eat. This is what I focus on when looking for reds, especially in the winter. I also look for early morning exposed mud flats, that get baked by the sun and have the tide come up later in the morning. The heat in the mud activates all the little guys that reds eat and they come out of the mud once water starts to cover the flat.


----------



## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

I look for:
- Shrimp jumping, fiddler crabs, small mullet
- clean water
- *Moving water *(90% of the time I don't see fish in still water, I ignored this one for a long time but it is high on the list for me now)
- Structure of some kind - Grass, oyster bars, ledges, etc

I leave if:
- There's a ton of mullet
- The water is clean and shallow but I don't see any fish action in a few minutes
- There's other boats making a racket


----------



## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

I'm lookin' for them cold beers and a good time, you boys seen any around here?


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Cold beer and a good time?
Inner tube and a sammich floating around at the sand bar,
while keeping an eye on the shenanigans taking place in the vicinity. 











Plenty of feeding activity on that flat, eh?


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

jimsmicro said:


> I'm lookin' for them cold beers and a good time, you boys seen any around here?


Save that nonsense for congesting the sandbar at the local bass lake.


----------



## richg99 (Nov 28, 2009)

*" as tall as the heron is, that is enough water to hold predator fish when their butt is touching the water."*

Interesting observation. I like it. I always used the presence of partially sunken crab traps as an indicator of "shallowness".


----------



## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> Save that nonsense for congesting the sandbar at the local bass lake.


Sandbars are the friggin WORST. Can't a man crack open a cold one with the boys while tossing plugs for a few reds or snook? Fishing can be as serious or as light as you make it. I'm in this thing for a good time and to relax.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

jimsmicro said:


> Sandbars are the friggin WORST. Can't a man crack open a cold one with the boys while tossing plugs for a few reds or snook? Fishing can be as serious or as light as you make it. I'm in this thing for a good time and to relax.


A man sure can but these days lots of flatbilled preppy fu**boys are out there getting drunk and acting like idiots making our waterways unsafe and overpopulated. People have gone full retard these days. 
Pop the top on a cold one and enjoy your time on the water bro!


----------



## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> A man sure can but these days lots of flatbilled preppy fu**boys are out there getting drunk and acting like idiots making our waterways unsafe and overpopulated. People have gone full retard these days.
> Pop the top on a cold one and enjoy your time on the water bro!


Don't scratch my dad's Yellowfin, bruh! My boys and I will f you up!


----------



## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

I don't consume on the water.
I have enough trouble dealing with the stupidity of others
without adding my own to the mix. Just ain't happening.

https://www.boat-ed.com/florida/handbook/page/31/Alcohol-and-Drugs/

I'm on the water for solitude and attitude re-balancing.
I'm so far back in the marsh even the yakkers can't find me.










Here in NE Florida, the herons cooperate with the reds.
I've sat and watched while reds push the bait into the the shallows
where the herons spook the bait back towards the reds.
Both sides end up with full bellies and the baitfish just can't win.


----------



## WillW (Dec 6, 2012)

SomaliPirate said:


> Don't scratch my dad's Yellowfin, bruh! My boys and I will f you up!


Why do they all wear the same damn sunglasses, I going to be uniquely the same. Also my wife is always trying to get me wearing some shite like that dude on the right. Loafers with no socks & shorts. What is that, dressy casual? Maybe 40 is the bs break over point.


----------



## manny2376 (Mar 15, 2007)

This guy is a pirate! 



SomaliPirate said:


> Don't scratch my dad's Yellowfin, bruh! My boys and I will f you up!


----------



## jimsmicro (Oct 29, 2013)

It sucks that deck shoes, decent looking shorts, and a button down is the "bro" uniform. I think I'm young enough to pull the look off but I also don't want to look like a bro either.


----------



## ZaneD (Feb 28, 2017)

WillW said:


> Why do they all wear the same damn sunglasses, I going to be uniquely the same. Also my wife is always trying to get me wearing some shite like that dude on the right. Loafers with no socks & shorts. What is that, dressy casual? Maybe 40 is the bs break over point.


Don't do it!! Loafers with shorts = NO, loafers with no socks = NO, long sleeve button down with shorts = NO


----------



## makin moves (Mar 20, 2010)

Dude is definitely a pirate just not the type on the high seas.


----------



## jboriol (Jan 2, 2010)

How did did the discussion go all Vinyard Vines??? Did not see that coming but just LMAO.

I also like to fish/scout at low tide to get a peek at the bottom/oysters/structure so I know where I should target when reds are there as tide comes up.


----------



## devrep (Feb 22, 2009)

in the mangroves I like to see mullet jumping, its a good indicator of redfish being in there. Sometimes they're everywhere but not jumping and its just not as good. Also like to see a lot of bait moving around on the bottom. At oyster bars in the bay the jumping mullet don't seem to mean anything. Moving water is also key in the mangroves where I fish, at slack tide the bite disappears.


----------



## TylertheTrout2 (Apr 21, 2016)

cold beer on the boat is a must!! ever been broke down on a boat and theres not beer on-board..?? never again friends...never again.. !!!


----------



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Dunno about you guys but I'm looking for Doritos when I roll up on a skinny flat. 

They look like this...


----------



## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

for me, first key is moving water. then its looking for any movement then finding where the structure is. weather if its a pinchpoints, grass edges, potholes, mangroves, little troughs, and bottom hard edges. if it has moving water and some form of structure, there's going to be a fish there 90% of the time.


----------



## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

The flats I fish are deeper than what you guys are talking about. I look first for rolling tarpon. Short of that, I look for any activity like bait schools, fish, birds diving, whatever. If I don’t see any of that I move to the edges where there had better be structure or drop offs and moving water. Otherwise I fish some where’s else.


----------



## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

jimsmicro said:


> It sucks that deck shoes, decent looking shorts, and a button down is the "bro" uniform. I think I'm young enough to pull the look off but I also don't want to look like a bro either.


Not gonna lie, I dressed sorta like that when I was a kid in the 80’s when the preppy thing took hold, still did in HS and college in the 90’s and still generally do today in my 40’s. Main difference is that I’m fat and bald now.


----------



## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

It should be noted that if you went to college in Texas in the 90's like I did (even at A&M where I went) and were in a fraternity, the "Good Old Boy" above was basically the model with the modification of wearing trashed out Red Wing boots or ropers and a what had once been a white ball cap that was completely filthy and trashed out- fraying at the edges and the bill curved so much it looked like an upside down "U."


----------



## SomaliPirate (Feb 5, 2016)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> It should be noted that if you went to college in Texas in the 90's like I did (even at A&M where I went) and were in a fraternity, the "Good Old Boy" above was basically the model with the modification of wearing trashed out Red Wing boots or ropers and a what had once been a white ball cap that was completely filthy and trashed out- fraying at the edges and the bill curved so much it looked like an upside down "U."


I still wear my ball caps like that!


----------



## Finn Maccumhail (Apr 9, 2010)

SomaliPirate said:


> I still wear my ball caps like that!


Same here. Every time I see these flat bills I want to smack the kid in the mouth.


----------



## flatzcrazy (Feb 5, 2013)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> Same here. Every time I see these flat bills I want to smack the kid in the mouth.


Damn!
Thinking maybe we need to Keep Calm & have some whisky & a cigar!


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> Same here. Every time I see these flat bills I want to smack the kid in the mouth.


Don’t you know these flatbillers have rights too?


----------



## GullsGoneWild (Dec 16, 2014)

I'm currently wearing a pair of red wing boots that I bought in 8th grade


----------



## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

Grass. I look for grass. 
And listen and feel for a little crunch on the pushpole. 

Capt Bob always said, “ that crunch means oysters .....and oysters mean redfish .......gotta love the crunch”


----------



## Capnredfish (Feb 1, 2012)

I like to look for shorelines of island surrounded by flats. Particularly if water is up and floating grass is built up on the shore. I also fish areas on flats where fish seem to use the area as a highway. Don’t know what I’m looking for, just learned these patterns over the years. I also like mullet schools along the edge of a flat. And trough what I call them, slightly deeper areas just off the edge of shorelines. Finally. I just stake off, stand on the tower. Wait and watch. See what the fish are doing. Tailing, traveling across it, rolling. Then proceed. If none of that works. Throw out a natural bait and start eating a sandwich. Something will bite.


----------



## Surffshr (Dec 28, 2017)

Finn Maccumhail said:


> It should be noted that if you went to college in Texas in the 90's like I did (even at A&M where I went) and were in a fraternity, the "Good Old Boy" above was basically the model with the modification of wearing trashed out Red Wing boots or ropers and a what had once been a white ball cap that was completely filthy and trashed out- fraying at the edges and the bill curved so much it looked like an upside down "U."


This is a true statement. Red Wings were the footwear of choice at Bonfire. For those of us in the Corps, it was a rare op to stand apart a bit. I remember this one time having someone ask me if they could buy my redwings...they weren’t for sale.

And I look for signs from God that a flat is producing.


----------



## CurtisWright (May 9, 2012)

Stingrays and crabs. Oysters for water clarity.


----------



## hawkman (May 19, 2018)

DuckNut said:


> I scan the horizon to see who is catching fish. Then I pull up a ways down wind and drift the flat


You mean 'upwind', right?


----------



## DuckNut (Apr 3, 2009)

hawkman said:


> You mean 'upwind', right?


Nope, down wind...that way I can fish where he hasn't.


----------

