When: This lure is strong from September to December. The cold water in the winter keeps it from being my first choice then but it still will work in smaller sizes during that time. It goes back to a top producer in March until the season ends in April.

Where: Creek mouths and along the shorelines in the lake when fish are staging. Once fish are in it can be used from the creek mouth to the higher stretches. There isn’t a place where this lure can’t be used in some manner.

Why: It’s a reaction lure. Fish hit out of anger or instinct. It’s a snap decision. Sometimes you will get follows without a strike, but more often than not a fish that locks on to it will strike. Some fish will charge from 20 feet back and through fish to get to the lure. Others only want to take it on a swing when it is wobbling in front of them in current. Either way, it’s not a slow strike. The most important factor is the speed of the lure. It works at a slow retrieve, and wobbles in good current without any retrieve at all. This allows the fish a lot of time to make a decision. Unlike other lures that require much more room for a fish to chase, like a spoon or spinner, you only need about 10 feet of water to use this lure. Depth control can be obtained with split shot usage and raising or lowering your rod tip and utilizing the diving behavior of the lure.

Sizes:
F4- 1.5″- Use in the slowest of pools and in slow drifts in very cold water in the winter. Also in very low and clear water. Not a good choice when you need to get down deeper due to it’s small size.
F5- 1.75″- A better choice when a smaller size is needed. Dives better than the F4 for more depth, but a good shallow water choice. Slow pools and slow to medium drifts against banks. A split shot about 8″ above the lure will give you better casts and depth control. Optimum choice in pools where fish are scattered in different directions. Casting through the middle of the pool will usually get a chaser. Swinging in light current in front of fish or casting and retrieving at an upstream angle will draw strikes.
F6- 2″- A good all around size to have. If I had to choose one size it would be F5 or F6, but F6′s are difficult find in stores. Can be thrown in the lake and in the streams. Best in current but is small enough to use in slow pools. Swinging in current at fish’s eye level or casting and retrieving in slower drifts at upstream angles will work.
F7- 2.25″- This seems like a monster compaired to what some use to catch these fish. Next to a size 14 nymph or tiny single egg, this beast doesn’t even seem like it would work in our small streams. IT DOES. Excellent for throwing in the lake but really excels in good drifts and medium to fast current. The flow is enough to work the lure and you barely will retrieve it as it works in the flow and is swung across current and across the fish’s field of vision. Swing it in front of one fish, swing it in front of packs, it will draw strikes. Also a great choice below waterfalls or washout holes. Use split shot to get it down further but fast current should be enough. Keep rod tip low and get it down in front of fish. Retrieve as slow as you can with the lure still wobbling in the current. Feel the rop tip vibrate and when it stops or you feel a strike, set the hook.

Colors: There are some basic categories most colors fall into.
Whites- Rainbow Trout is in the white category, with just a hint of blue and pink. Others are Pearl, Luminescent (white in daytime, glows at night), White/Chartreuse is a white with just a hint of lime on the sides. Whites will work all day from morning to evening. Best used when you can actually see the lure yourself, about a half hour after sunrise. Good through the morning and best to keep it in the rotation through the daylight hours as you use other colors.
Yellow/Red/Black Dots- This is in a category all it’s own. A classic color for any lure, it is another one that can be used from sunup to sundown. As with the Whites sunlight or dark skies do not seem to matter when using this color. Good in discolored water.
Flourescents- Oranges, Pinks, Chartreuse, these are best in the first and last hour of daylight. Orange is a killer on fresh run fish. A good one to pull out also when the bite is slow as it seems to always tick off at least 1 fish in a pack. They just can’t stand it sometimes. Again sunrise and the first few runs of fish this lures is huge. Stained water would also be a good choice for these colors. Stained, not muddy.
Darks- Frog, Perch Scale, Black with Green or Red Dots. I cannot understate the importance of having a few dark colors. They are best when the sun is high and bright, but will work in dark sky conditions as well. Another option to keep in the rotation in the middle of the day.
Firetiger- A color all it’s own. Will work best early in the morning and with dark skies, but can work at any time.
Metallics- Never have done well on chrome or gold, but Metallic Greens and Blues can work well. A newer addition to my box, I’ll keep you posted on results. Did well last spring with them.
Glow in the Dark- As mentioned it works as a white in the daytime but if you want to try night fishing early in the season this is the lure to use. Light it up with a strong flashlight or black light, cast out, and watch it work. When it goes black, a fish just inhaled it. Set the hook! One of the best things you will ever witness.

General How-To: How do I fit 10 years of fishing this lure into a few paragraphs? Here goes.

Slow pools- Use smaller sizes. Cast and retrieve at upstream angle. Work lure just fast enough for it to wobble correctly. If necessary use shot to get lure down to where fish are holding. Like jigging you want lure to work at eye level or slightly above. Use rod tip to lower or raise lure accordingly. If fish are holding in one direction cast beyond them, than retrieve and swing in front of the pack while holding rod as far upstream as you can. The more upstream the lure travels instead of across stream the better. Not many fish will make a 90 degree turn to chase. Some will, most want to see traveling upstream in front of them. If the pool is swirling and fish are holding in different directions, work each direction. Also cast in the middle and retrieve through the center of the pool. At some point it will be in front of a fish. Note: In pools with fish stacked on top of eachother this lure is tough to use. You don’t want to snag fish. You can try working the top of the water if you have the room above the fish, or try working the front of the pool to the first line of fish. If you can’t do that, go with another option. Note #2: Only retrieve a Flatfish lure as fast as you have to for it to have the right action. In otherwords, reel as slow as you can get away with while maintaining a wide wobble.

Again on sizes, smaller ones work best in slow pools, slow drifts, low water, clear water. They can be equally good when casted and retrieved through pools or swung in light current. Bigger sizes work best in drifts and against banks, medium to fast current, normal to high water, and clear to stained. These larger lures are best when swung or held in current. Casting and retrieving them is best for the lake shore or in the first stretches of the stream mouths where the water may not be moving that much.

Using Flatfish in current: You can hold these lures in current and make them dive and work in front of fish to get strikes. Do it right and it seems way to easy. Never get the lure too close to the fish in any situation. About a foot from the mouth is as close as you need to go. Use shot if you have to, just get the lure to the depth of the fish and let it work. If the current slows you may have to reel a touch to keep the right action.

To fish holding against banks: This is where some finesse may be required. Getting the lure to dive at the right time in current when standing across from a cut bank that fish are holding on can be tricky. This is where the flotation of the lure comes in handy. Cast across and against the bank and let the lure drift down to the fish. With 4-5 feet to go until it gets to the fish get your rod tip down and on the upstream side of you. Stick it out as far as you can. With a tight line, get the lure to dive in front of the fish with room to spare. Get it to work in front of fish as long as you can. When the current pushes the lure back toward your side of the stream, keep it going by reeling a little. The lure “swings” from the bank, across the fish’s field of vision and the main current, and back your side of the stream. This is swinging. Just like swinging a streamer with a fly rod, and a jig with a noodle rod. You are using the current to your advantage. You will reel very little. Within time you will develop the right touch, and synchronize the minimal reeling, with rod tip placement, line tightness, lure depth, and lure action. All this adds up to violent strikes that may not even require a hook set.

Some final tips and recap:

Reel this lure as slow as you can while maintaining a wide wobble.
Match light conditions to colors. Whites and brights to low light, Darks to bright light.
Get a rotation going and don’t hesitate to go against all color rules when the bite slows.
Use the right size in the right situation. A large lure will rarely work in a slow pool or very slow drift. A small lure will not be enough to properly fish good current.
Work lures in front of fish, upstream when possible. If fish are holding in multiple directions you can cast and retrieve through the middle of them.
When swinging and working fish in drifts use angles. Don’t cast to fish directly across from you. Get upstream from the fish, cast downstream and across, and work the lure back to you. Use your rod tip and get it out and upstream as far as you can. Make room for the fish to chase. A fish will stop chasing when it sees the shoreline and rarely makes a complete right or left turn to follow and strike.
In the winter or in very tough conditions downsize!
Fish staging in the lake just off the mouth and too close for spoons and spinners? Forget about floating bait. Put on a Flatfish.
Water stained up from a rain but starting to clear? Put on a Flatfish. It can be used as a search lure up and down a stream when you can’t see fish. Not much good in muddy water, but anything better than that, it will do you good.

I think I’ve just about covered it. If I come up with anything else I’ll repost, but that’s the basics, without actually getting on the water with me and seeing this lure in action. It’s a tool, even a weapon, in the right hands. You don’t have to use flies and baits the size of a gnat in tough conditions. That doesn’t mean you can powerfish these lures like you’re burning a spinnerbait over weeds for bass or musky either. It takes some time to develop the touch to use these right. Some situations like holding them in current in front of fish are easy for anyone to do. Swinging in drifts against banks is another story. In any situation I try to find a way to use this lure, and it’s yet to let me down.

When I figure out how I can use one while ice fishing for Steelhead I’ll let you know. Good luck this season and I hope everyone reading this who hasn’t tried these lures will do so. It’s just one more way of hooking fish and having a huge amount of fun on the Erie tribs. If you want to see fish chase and strike instead of drifting and trying to tell if a fish sucked in your bait or fly this is the lure for you. If you want to see your lure get crushed and inhaled instead of watching for any tiny movement in your float, this lure is for you.

If it works for you, send me a pic this season to post on my site with the fish and the lure in its mouth. I’ll start a gallery of Flatfish caught Steelhead only. I’ll post mine in about a month.
-JB