At the end of the year, I like to reflect back on my tournament season and consider what worked for me. One thing I’ve noticed is that fishing flats produced some good catches for me in 2011.

Though flats in the backs of coves or on a long stretch of bank usually aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think about great bass structure, those with isolated cover are worth checking. The presence of baitfish is a good indicator, but more important to me is that a flat has, say, maybe just five docks instead of 20, or one lay-down, or a couple of grass patches, or one brush pile. When deep water isn’t close by, bass tend to orient more to any available cover. I can fish such places quickly with a ChatterBait, a shallow-running crankbait or a jig and move on. Some fish hit because they’re hungry and are up there feeding; some live there and just instinctively hit a lure that comes by all of a sudden. Either way, you got them.

In the winter – and in the summer – look at a lake map or GPS and find the places where the contour lines are fairly spaced out. These indicate flats, and you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find there.

— Snickers Peanut Butter Squared pro Chris Baumgardner of Gastonia, N.C.