Fantastic Flats

This week I had the opportunity to join Gamma Line president Dale Black and Gamma pro staff member Pete Gluszek for a day on the Susquehanna Flats out of North East Maryland.  I had not fished the Flats since the early 1980s, when anglers would struggle all day to catch just a couple average size largemouth bass.  An extremely productive bass fishery in the 1960s, the Flats had fallen on hard times by the late 1970s due largely to loss of grassbeds on - what else - the shallow flats.  But today the grass is back, and so are the bass! 

Pete Gluszek, a founding partner in The Bass University educational fishing program, has been guiding on the Flats for several years.  He certainly knows the ins and outs of this massive tidal fishery.  When he met us at our hotel, Pete stated that bass would be in pre-spawn mode holding in protected grass beds, and that a modified Chatter Bait would likely be the ticket.  However, he had left his box of Chatter Baits at a recent seminar.  So before we hit the water, we had to hunt for Chatter Baits at a local store.  A stop at the local Wal Mart - supposedly recognized for catering to anglers - did not yield a single Chatter Bait.  Thanks goodness for Herb's Tackle Shop at 203 Main Street, North East.  They had just what we needed - and more!  I love stopping at local shops that have been around for years and years 'casue you never know what treasure you may find.

Once on the water, Pete commenced modifying each Chatter Bait with a new skirt and tail to make it resemble a bluegill.  Our first couple hours of fishing produced only one small largemouth.  But Pete said not to worry.  The tide had turned - literally - and he anticipated the action to pick up.  It did, slowly at first but then more intently.  Our last hour of fishing certainly made the trip, with a number of quality bass including one which we estimated to be pushing six pounds.  All bass but one came on Chatter Baits.  The exception was the lunker which struck Pete's custom-made shallow crankbait.

I'm look forward to another visit to the Flats, and I can say with certainty it will not be another quarter century before wetting a line down there!