Mention a flatwing and everyone thinks of Kenney
Actually that's a pity because what he advocates has more to do with observation, a style of fishing and presentation than a style of fly pattern.
My best results after 2 seasons (and still discovering ....)
1) In the surf, fishing a combination of "dead drift" and wetfly swing - mending over the waves and keeping the flie(s) in "the zone". I think this is where flatwings reign. Until the seals took up residence in the honey hole on South Beach earlier this season, I had my best results ever from shore just letting the current do its thing with a 9 inch flatwing in squid colors.
2) On the flats using a very skinny version when sight fishing in water 3ft or less water. When sight fishing shallow water I find fish hit best either on / just above the bottom or on / just below the surface. Anywhere's in between has always been a bit hit and miss for me. For bottom work, clouser/crazy charlie and crab patters are my first choice, flatwing style for working just under the surface.
3) On a dark night - an eel-punt style retrieved very slowly just under the surface has produced some frightening strikes!
A couple of important observations:
- If you strip them fast the profile becomes very thin and defeats the object - there are better and cheaper patterns if you want a needle fish or king-size sand-eel immitation.
- If you tie them sparse and make them swim slowly, the long saddles and bucktail collar flare and create a subtle 3D silhouette. So yes, you can create the impression (not a close copy) of a large deep bodied baitfish. Swimming them slowly is key. If there is any current at all there's no need to strip, just let the current work the flies.
- They will foul unless you modify your casting stroke! I tried an "inverted" style this season on a keel-hook which has potential to help this tendency.
When I first met Ken at one of his seminars, the first thing he pulled out of his bag was a seven inch amber colored floating plug. :whoa: A favorite of the commercial striper hunters, who fished the surf, invariably at night. The secret code was working big plugs very very slowly in the currents of the rips and troughs
on the surface.
This was the formula for catching very large bass, not large numbers of small bass!
I still enjoy strip, strip, bang from time-to-time! But that's just another style of fishing